Nordic Choice Hotels aims to lower distribution costs and raise additional revenue by utilizing blockchain technology.
The company, which is a franchise of Choice Hotels, will put one of its properties onto an open-source blockchain distribution platform developed by Winding Tree.
There is a great deal of excitement about blockchain and its still-unproven transformational potential. By its very nature, blockchain is decentralized, meaning there is no information gatekeeper – something that has clear ramifications for the travel industry fee-driven distribution system.
All users share Information in any blockchain, enabling anyone to access and verify the particular database. It is widely associated with the cryptocurrency bitcoin,but it has the potential to disrupt other industries like hospitality.
Starting in Stockholm But Poised for Chain-Wide Test
Nordic Choice Hotels’ test will gauge whether the theory can work in practice. Should it prove successful and and get wide adoption, blockchain could lead to a big change in how hoteliers record and sell their rooms. It is being trialed at the hotel’s Hobo property in Stockholm before being rolled out across the rest of the portfolio.
Hobo Hotel’s distribution is currently on a Winding Tree test system and the companies plan to move it to a live site in February, a Winding Tree spokesperson said.
Christian Lundén, director of future business at Nordic Choice Hotels, said the blockchain trial would hopefully help create further innovation in the hotel distribution segment.
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https://skift.com/2017/12/13/nordic-choice-hotels-tests-blockchain-distribution-for-stockholm-property/
