Blockchain technologies for challenges in hospitality

Everyone strives for loyal customers, but maintaining loyalty is time-consuming and costly. Other industries lead by example on how loyalty programs can be reinvented with web3 technologies, e.g., Starbucks.

With Camino Network, the travel industry has the tech infrastructure at hand to create loyalty platforms, more efficient and less costly in bringing on new collection and redemption partners, with streamlined processes and instant views of balances for the customers and partners. Also, for smaller hotels or vacation rentals, this could bring new opportunities to easily join a loyalty program, where customers can collect & redeem in a safe and automized environment.

Travelers love collecting things from their trip, such as souvenirs. As of today, these souvenirs can only be physical. The next generation, however, strives for digital proofs of travel that they can share with social networks online.

Therefore, a use case of digital collectibles is very interesting for additional income streams and customer loyalty. It can be adopted in variations; for example, in the form of unique NFT collections.

Negotiating, coordinating, and consequently tracking and monitoring incentives is costly and sometimes doesn't equal the outcome.

Blockchain technology offers ways to rethink incentives B2B and B2C. Token rewards such as NFTs are a great tool to incentivize the behaviors of travelers, communities, or partners. In a hotel, a possible use case could be offering a free night after a minimum stay of some nights in this hotel, and smart contracts could completely automize the implementation. NFTs also allow for creative gamification ideas.

Implementing voucher solutions can be complex, especially when multiple parties are involved.

The Camino ecosystem provides a simple setup for companies to add and redeem vouchers, with added flexibility and higher loyalty potential.

Traditional distribution models in the hospitality industry are expensive as most hotels rely on gate-keeping OTAs, limiting opportunities for both customers and hotels.

Leverage Camino Network's blockchain infrastructure to build direct distribution channels owned and governed by hospitality companies that serve customers the way hotels want. Additionally, various distribution options powered by NFT technology and smart contracts earn the hospitality industry an extra commission. Implement trading models such as B2B(2C), B2C(2B), C2B, and even C2C, which allow customers to resell room nights benefiting both hotel companies (with a commission) and customers.

The payment and settlement process in the hospitality industry is typically complex, time-consuming, and costly.

The payment process on Camino Network will change this as all travel services along the value chain take place in a global peer-to-peer network, which is extremely fast, and results in significantly lower transaction costs. This could mean that even micro services and products could be offered online by the hospitality industry at a fraction of today's transaction cost. The settlement between suppliers, partners, and B2B customers could be done more efficiently thanks to automatization. Records on the Camino Network will provide auditable data. Another advantage is the security aspect, which is given by definition by a blockchain and reduces fraud significantly.

The lack of standardization in the travel industry causes confusion and errors between hotels, vacation homes, and booking platforms because everyone describes room types differently.

With web3 technology, a digital wallet could be allocated to each room, creating one single source of truth where all information is stored. This enables distribution platforms to pull the information from a single source of truth down to the room information.

Lack of staff and resources is a common problem in the hospitality industry. Thus, the check-in process can often be a bottleneck, leading to waiting times for customers.

With web3 technology, the first touchpoint with customers is true hospitality, as all check-in procedures are taken care of automatically. Imagine a hotel without any physical keys and check-in processes. With the help of NFTs, securing a room key as a virtual token is easily possible. With this key, a hotel could handle the access of any customer to any area of a hotel or resort. This token-gated access can be attached to preconditions such as whether the payment is made or whether the customer has a certain loyalty or booking status.

User-generated content provides more authentic and trustworthy marketing for businesses and can increase engagement immensely. The problem is that guests often do not have a high incentive to share their experiences.

Leverage web3 technologies to increase customer engagement with user-generated content. Users can generate content for various services or products on the blockchain and get rewarded instantly.

Integrating information services such as disaster or weather information for customers can be challenging for the hospitality industry. The compatibility of different systems, data security issues, and the overall cost of integrating can prevent the implementation of such valuable services for the customers.

With Camino Network, any kind of information service, such as disaster or weather information, can be easily provided for customers.

Along the entire travel supply chain, the industry relies on identity verification to ensure passengers' safety and security and comply with regulatory requirements. However, the current process can be slow, inefficient, and vulnerable to fraud.

Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI) introduces a new era of data management, providing travelers with true control over their personal information. This reduces the need for companies to store sensitive records, mitigating the risk of data leaks. Now travelers can create a single wallet containing all their data. This allows them to have accounts across various websites without multiple passwords, store essential travel information, and attach identity verification for secure travel bookings and other transactions.