Luxury hospitality pioneer Soneva expands in the world of cryptocurrencies with the acceptance of Bitcoin and Ethereum across each of its resorts in the Maldives and Thailand. The recent expansion provides guests with the flexibility to choose the best payment option to suit their needs. Soneva Fushi, Soneva Jani and Soneva in Aqua in the Maldives all now accept these new payments.

“At Soneva, we have always endeavored to be a pioneer in the hospitality industry, hence accepting cryptocurrencies as a payment method is another example of enabling our international guests to easily make payments from anywhere in the world,” said Bruce Bromley, CFO and Deputy CEO, Soneva.

© Courtesy of Soneva

Designed to make the transaction process easier, the new payment channel offers guests the utmost peace of mind when making secure international payments. In addition to providing guests with more payment options, both Bitcoin and Ethereum can also be used for Soneva Villa Ownership. This feature is the first and only scheme offering real estate and foreign buyers in the Maldives all of the appropriate controls and compliance in place.

Cryptocurrency payments solutions provider TripleA and payment platform provider Pomelo Pay also recently partnered with Soneva to remove many of the other barriers that come with luxury travel. TripleA allows Soneva’s guests to make crypto payments without any risk of price volatility. The provider also offers instant confirmation, locked-in exchange rates, real-time conversions and no chargebacks.

TripleA is used in conjunction with Pomelo Pay, a frictionless payment platform, in order to facilitate cryptocurrency payments using secure QR codes and payment link technology.

“TripleA is thrilled to partner with Pomelo Pay to allow businesses like Soneva to accept cryptocurrency payments,” said Eric Barbier, CEO, TripleA. “With our partnership, businesses get to tap into the spending power of more than 300 million crypto owners globally, without bearing any price volatility risk.”

Guests wanting to book a stay at one of Soneva’s resorts can do so directly with Soneva’s reservations department. Payment links can then be arranged securely and from anywhere in the world. Although any payments made using Bitcoin or Ethereum are 100 percent nonrefundable, credits can apply in line with Soneva’s flexible payment and cancellation policy. This policy came to fruition in response to the COVID-19 pandemic to help guests book their stay with confidence.

© Courtesy of Soneva

The increasing popularity of cryptocurrency payments across the world sees a projected global crypto market of $4.94 billion by 2030. This new payment method holds the potential to help decarbonize unreliable power grids and help countries meet their climate goals faster. As a pioneer for responsible tourism, Soneva’s adoption of cryptocurrencies only adds to its commitment to making conscientious and proactive approaches to helping the environment and combatting climate change.

Do you think more hotels should implement cryptocurrencies as a form of payment? Have you used cryptocurrencies on any travels? What do you like or dislike most about cryptocurrencies? Tell us your thoughts. Email us at letters@globaltravelerusa.com. Please include your full name and location.