Sevilla is becoming a crypto-friendly city in Spain at a fast pace, with two prominent local hotels announcing they will start accepting crypto payments. Hotel Bécquer and Hotel Kivir have joined the crypto adoption bandwagon by allowing customers to book rooms with digital assets.
Hotels Will Receive 100% of Funds in Fiat Euros
According to Diario de Sevilla, both hotels signed a partnership agreement with the domestic exchange Criptan to enable crypto payment gateway for their customers. Bécquer is a 134-room hotel located in the former place of the Marquises of Las Torres while the 31-room Hotel Kivir is based in the city’s Old Town.
With both four-star hotels partnering with the exchange, Criptan has increased its portfolio of retail stores and even tourism businesses across Spain that now accept cryptos, such as bitcoin (BTC), as a means of payment.
Alejandro Rodríguez, general manager of both hotels, is optimistic about the extensive future adoption of cryptos across the tourism sector that has been heavily hit by the coronavirus pandemic:
It is very significant that the tourism sector is one of the first to adopt this new payment methodology with what it represents for the economy at an international and national level and the possibilities of cryptocurrencies that can be used globally.
Per the agreement, Criptan will process such crypto payments but both hotels will receive 100% of the money in fiat euros.
Pandemic Drives Hotels Administration to Target Crypto Users
Criptan’s representatives told Diario de Sevilla that such integration in hotels, like Bécquer and Kivir, follows the European regulation PSD2 of electronic payment services, whose objective is to “increase security in Europe, promote innovation and favor the adaptation of banking services to new technologies.”
Rodríguez also cited a restructuring of the business model to follow the emerging technologies, as the economic crisis boosted by the pandemic made him think about targeting new segments.
As Sevilla becomes even more familiar with crypto, Bitcoin.com News reported in December 2020 that a municipality in Sevilla launched its own cryptocurrency, which aims to encourage residents and merchants to transact with it in the midst of the coronavirus-driven economic impact.
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