Spanish Theme Park Says Now Is the Time to Begin Cryptocurrency Acceptance

PortAventura World, a resort that boasts the most theme parks in Europe, in addition to six hotels with 2,300 rooms, recently announced that it is developing software so that its guests can use cryptocurrency as a means of payment. This caught our attention at Hospitality Technology because it seems to match up with the trend of more and more hotels and restaurants willingly moving in the direction of cryptocurrency acceptance.

For example, on the restaurant side: Quizno's announced it would be accepting Bitcoin payment while technology vendor NCR said it purchased a cryptocurrency software provider to help its clients accept digital payments and cryptocurrency capabilities. And Chipotle announced a Bitcoin giveaway to coincide with National Burrito Day earlier this year.

And on the hotel side, Resorts World Las Vegas announced a partnership with cryptocurrency exchange Gemini to eventually make the casino resort one of the most crypto-friendly resorts on the Las Vegas Strip. Plus, both Wyndham Hotels & Resorts and Choice Hotels have partnered with Bakkt to allow loyalty members to purchase Bitcoin with their loyalty points.

However, there still seems to be some hesitancy around the use of cryptocurrency in hospitality within the United States. So, HT reached out to PortAventura World and asked why they felt that now was the right time to begin implementing this technology.

"Society is quickly changing, and customers have new consumption habits. So, we believe that the common use of digital currency – both in Spain and all over Europe – will be here in just a short time," the company said in a statement. "Customers are always ahead of innovation. For example, since the announcement that we will begin to accept bitcoin as a way of payment, our hotel staff have already begun to receive requests for more information. In this early phase, our clients will be able to use Bitcoin to pay for just for their stay in our hotels. As the digitization project progresses, using cryptocurrency payment methods will be extended to the rest of the resort."

According to PortAventura World, this initiative is just one part of the company’s strategy to increase digitalization and innovation. For example, it has formed a joint venture with LaLiga to provide a new form of entertainment through an e-game experiences. The company is also looking to innovate with corporate events in hybrid format.

HT certainly feels that this is a trend that won't be losing steam. For that reason, we plan on covering it in depth during HT-NEXT 2021. Stay tuned for more details on that particular session. Register now to reserve your spot at HT-NEXT!