Expedia Accepting Bitcoins

[TopherB]

Another Brand name merchant joins the fray.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2014/06/11/expedia-wants-you-to-book-your-next-hotel-stay-with-bitcoin/

[jjc326]

Wow all these new merchants, it really is like online merchants are interested in BTC.  I think everyone has started accepting it  since it's come down in price, right?  I wonder what would happen if Bitcoin went down to like $100/BTC? 

[LavaWave]

I don't think price would have anything to do with it, but seeing these companies starting to accept it is great news!

[boumalo]

I don't think price would have anything to do with it, but seeing these companies starting to accept it is great news!

It seems like it is taking a while but it only picked up 7months ago and the media and politicians are trying to make us believe that there is a recovery and the financial system is sound again when it is not

[blatchcorn]

I am booking a holiday to the moon

[ejinte]

They'll save a lot of money thanks to this. They're very smart those guys on expedia. Apparently they're using coinbase as their service.

[littlewizard]

Seems i can plan a holiday in expedia..

[amitrwt]

So the adoption is spreading like a wild fire..! quite fascinating

[Mikez]

This is actually quite big. More and more big businesses start accepting Bitcoin. These are great times to live in!

[ShakyhandsBTCer]

Wow all these new merchants, it really is like online merchants are interested in BTC.  I think everyone has started accepting it  since it's come down in price, right?  I wonder what would happen if Bitcoin went down to like $100/BTC? 

I don't think it is because bitcoin has decreased in price, I think it is because it has become more widely held and users have requested that it be accepted. Many companies will not just start accepting a new payment method without first understanding how it works at a very deep level.

[boumalo]

Wow all these new merchants, it really is like online merchants are interested in BTC.  I think everyone has started accepting it  since it's come down in price, right?  I wonder what would happen if Bitcoin went down to like $100/BTC? 

I don't think it is because bitcoin has decreased in price, I think it is because it has become more widely held and users have requested that it be accepted. Many companies will not just start accepting a new payment method without first understanding how it works at a very deep level.

Companies that accept it are still pioneers : it just started to get widespread; when enough people will use it most companies will accept it, not the other way around

[koshgel]

The more companies accept bitcoin, the more legitimacy it gains. Don't want to always associate bitcoin with Silk Road and drugs

[keithers]

Wow all these new merchants, it really is like online merchants are interested in BTC.  I think everyone has started accepting it  since it's come down in price, right?  I wonder what would happen if Bitcoin went down to like $100/BTC? 

I don't think it is because bitcoin has decreased in price, I think it is because it has become more widely held and users have requested that it be accepted. Many companies will not just start accepting a new payment method without first understanding how it works at a very deep level.

Companies that accept it are still pioneers : it just started to get widespread; when enough people will use it most companies will accept it, not the other way around

I agree here. Companies are much more likely to accept it when their customers keep asking for it. Companies with slim profit margins (like overstock), will be the first to jump aboard, because a few extra percent of profit is huge to them.

[boumalo]

Wow all these new merchants, it really is like online merchants are interested in BTC.  I think everyone has started accepting it  since it's come down in price, right?  I wonder what would happen if Bitcoin went down to like $100/BTC? 

I don't think it is because bitcoin has decreased in price, I think it is because it has become more widely held and users have requested that it be accepted. Many companies will not just start accepting a new payment method without first understanding how it works at a very deep level.

Companies that accept it are still pioneers : it just started to get widespread; when enough people will use it most companies will accept it, not the other way around

I agree here. Companies are much more likely to accept it when their customers keep asking for it. Companies with slim profit margins (like overstock), will be the first to jump aboard, because a few extra percent of profit is huge to them.

Companies do what is profitable for them and try to lower prices, lower costs and have happy customers, the number of persons using bitcoins is growing quite rapidly

[haploid23]

Wow expedia accepting bitcoin is actually pretty huge, as they are one of the larger travel agencies. This will trigger other merchants to also accept bitcoin, otherwise give up the market share.

I've used expedia several times to book trips, and next time will definitely be using btc to pay.

[boumalo]

Wow expedia accepting bitcoin is actually pretty huge, as they are one of the larger travel agencies. This will trigger other merchants to also accept bitcoin, otherwise give up the market share.

I've used expedia several times to book trips, and next time will definitely be using btc to pay.

Expedia customers will see the Bitcoin logo and those who know about Bitcoin may decide to have 0.5 or 1BTC ready as an alternate form of payment

[haploid23]

I think everyone has started accepting it  since it's come down in price, right?  I wonder what would happen if Bitcoin went down to like $100/BTC?  

And how did you come to this conclusion? Price has nothing to do with merchants accepting bitcoin. Currently most merchants that accept btc as payment, just immediately cash them out to fiat so price does not matter.

[boumalo]

I think everyone has started accepting it  since it's come down in price, right?  I wonder what would happen if Bitcoin went down to like $100/BTC?  

And how did you come to this conclusion? Price has nothing to do with merchants accepting bitcoin. Currently most merchants that accept btc as payment, just immediately cash them out to fiat so price does not matter.

More merchants accepting bitcoins mean more merchants believing Bitcoin is useful, used and will be used more so it is a good sign

Also, more merchants accepting bitcoins mean there are more ways to spend your bitcoins so having bitcoins is more useful thus more valuable

[guybrushthreepwood]

I've used Expedia a couple of times over the past few years. I look forward to using bitcoin on it. Always great to see more companies popping up accepting bitcoin as it gets us that little bit closer to mainstream adoption and actually being able to spend our coins on something worthwhile.

[gondel]

Hello,
From Expedia said that they will only accept BTC for the offers for Hotels . Also they will hold BTC for up to 24 Hours and then exchange it to USD. This is a big step, but they are still scared of the investment and dont want to hold BTC for the moment. May be it will be better if they hold for more time. BTW can I book with BTC for offers for hotels from my country ( I am from Bulgaria)? Are they putting higher price then the original?
BR

[boumalo]

Hello,
From Expedia said that they will only accept BTC for the offers for Hotels . Also they will hold BTC for up to 24 Hours and then exchange it to USD. This is a big step, but they are still scared of the investment and dont want to hold BTC for the moment. May be it will be better if they hold for more time. BTW can I book with BTC for offers for hotels from my country ( I am from Bulgaria)? Are they putting higher price then the original?
BR

Yes only for hotels booking right now

Another day, another company accepting bitcoin in an attempt to cash in on the craze. This time it’s Expedia the travel booking site that’s accepting the virtual currency for hotel bookings. They’re working directly with Coinbase to accept and then convert the BTC into dollars as soon as they hit the travel agent’s coffers.

“While they haven’t officially announced anything aside from hotels, Expedia does plan to eventually expand bitcoin payments to its other lines of business including flights, activities, car rentals, etc as well,” wrote an Expedia spokesperson. “The biggest question is really just around when – and the timing all depends on how well it goes with hotels to start.”

Where did you see they wait for 24h before exchanging them to cash?

[ShakyhandsBTCer]

Hello,
From Expedia said that they will only accept BTC for the offers for Hotels . Also they will hold BTC for up to 24 Hours and then exchange it to USD. This is a big step, but they are still scared of the investment and dont want to hold BTC for the moment. May be it will be better if they hold for more time. BTW can I book with BTC for offers for hotels from my country ( I am from Bulgaria)? Are they putting higher price then the original?
BR

they don't hold it because they have nothing they can do with it. They need to use the majority of their money from bookings to pay the hotel.

[keithers]

Hello,
From Expedia said that they will only accept BTC for the offers for Hotels . Also they will hold BTC for up to 24 Hours and then exchange it to USD. This is a big step, but they are still scared of the investment and dont want to hold BTC for the moment. May be it will be better if they hold for more time. BTW can I book with BTC for offers for hotels from my country ( I am from Bulgaria)? Are they putting higher price then the original?
BR

It's definitely a big step in the right direction though. I can't wait to be able to book an entire trip to Vegas in btc. Would be cool if they can somehow work it into the comps that the casinos give. The Cosmopolitan is very good to me there

[JypsiCreme]

First they laugh at you.
Then they fight you.
Then they ask if you'd like a room with a jacuzzi.

[rext]

First they laugh at you.
Then they fight you.
Then they ask if you'd like a room with a jacuzzi.

You can't beat them, Join them lol.

[ShakyhandsBTCer]

Hello,
From Expedia said that they will only accept BTC for the offers for Hotels . Also they will hold BTC for up to 24 Hours and then exchange it to USD. This is a big step, but they are still scared of the investment and dont want to hold BTC for the moment. May be it will be better if they hold for more time. BTW can I book with BTC for offers for hotels from my country ( I am from Bulgaria)? Are they putting higher price then the original?
BR

It's definitely a big step in the right direction though. I can't wait to be able to book an entire trip to Vegas in btc. Would be cool if they can somehow work it into the comps that the casinos give. The Cosmopolitan is very good to me there

If you have been to Vegas before and signed up for their loyalty programs you can likely stay at a hotel for next to nothing. The only thing you would really need to book a trip to vegas would be the airfare. 

[bigasic]

Just got back from my trip and I used Expedia to pay for my hotel in BTC.. I mainly did it as an experiment since I haven't purchased too many things in bitcoin, but since coinbase now has an auto top op function, I decided to use it.  Even though you cant get a refund when  paying with btc, its the company that backs it, so with Expedia, I  didn't have any problem. I think more companies will start taking it. Watch out Visa/Mastercard, If i were them, Id be a tad worried.

BTW, it was vegas.. Things have really changed there. They have cheap rooms, but they get you with a resort fee. I looked and I couldn't find one that didn't have one. They range from 9.99 to 39.99 a night. But, if you look around there are deals to be had, for example, my hotel gave us a 9.99 credit for food to be used at the hotel, no problem, they had about 10 different restaurants, etc, so if you look at it right, you can get the resort fee for free..

[Nerazzura]

Another Brand name merchant joins the fray.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2014/06/11/expedia-wants-you-to-book-your-next-hotel-stay-with-bitcoin/

What can be done Expedia Bitcoin vital key to unlock the golden gates of her became more global virtual currency. Therefore, Expedia was recorded as the first major online travel company in the world is willing to accept Bitcoin.

[Cicero2.0]

I will be traveling in August and got two hotel nights for BTC. I replaced them immediately with a purchase at coinbase, but it was pretty cool to buy something in bitcoin finally. 

[adamas]

I've booked a trip to Vienna (from Germany) with BTC. Took me only 10 min. Great service 

[sumantso]

Actually bought tickets two weeks back from Expedia. Won't be wasting BTCs for this, though it does sound cool

[boumalo]

Actually bought tickets two weeks back from Expedia. Won't be wasting BTCs for this, though it does sound cool

Thank you for your feedback

So you can tickets too now? Not only pay for hotel booking

[Finchy]

So as I understand it's just hotel bookings? Anyone know where I can book flights with BTC too? Would love to book an entire holiday with my coins if I can.

[ejinte]

Yeah here you can: http://www.cheapair.com/

[ShakyhandsBTCer]

Actually bought tickets two weeks back from Expedia. Won't be wasting BTCs for this, though it does sound cool

Thank you for your feedback

So you can tickets too now? Not only pay for hotel booking

Expedia is only booking hotel rooms via bitcoin as of now. You will need to use fiat to pay for airline flights if booking via expedia

[sumantso]

Actually bought tickets two weeks back from Expedia. Won't be wasting BTCs for this, though it does sound cool

Thank you for your feedback

So you can tickets too now? Not only pay for hotel booking

Yeah, my bad. I thought Expedia was accepting Bitcoins across board.

This would be useful if you are trying to hide something from your significant other

[DannyElfman]

Actually bought tickets two weeks back from Expedia. Won't be wasting BTCs for this, though it does sound cool

They are only accepting bitcoin for hotel rooms (see above).

If you didn't want to give up your bitcoin to spend on tickets/hotel room you could simply use bitcoin to buy your room then buy more bitcoin on an exchange so that your overall balance is the same.

[666uazan]

Great news! You can now use your bitcoins for hotel rooms. Bad news! It's through Expedia.

[666uazan]

Let's look into what this means for you, shall we?

You book a room through Expedia and you say you want a king room. So far so good? Well your reservation says you have a "standard room", that means you will NOT be getting the king room you requested. In fact you will probably end up in a wheelchair accessible room or, if the hotel has them, a smoking room. Yes hotels still have smoking rooms even in states with smoking bans. Source: Me.

[666uazan]

Expedia has also been known to lie to guests so they can lock in a reservation and get their commission. Don't believe me? Ask any hotel worker how they feel about Expedia or other 3rd party booking sites (many of which use Expedia as a back end). I recently had to turn a guest away because we have a 21+ policy and he had booked through Expedia and already paid. We were quite happy with our free revenue as he did not do what he was told (call Expedia and tell them we couldn't allow him to stay here). This was booked through a credit card so he had options to fight it. If he had paid through bitcoin, there is no way to challenge the transaction.

[666uazan]

While this is good for bitcoin it's mostly because Expedia knows that they will never have to give a refund to anyone paying with the coins. Ever.

[Ron~Popeil]

The key now is to get the next level of penetration. Hotels accepting bit coin directly would be huge. It would be a nice role for escrow services as well to hold reservations and release funds once the cut off time is reached or release them back to the originator if they cancel.

[tspacepilot]

Another Brand name merchant joins the fray.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2014/06/11/expedia-wants-you-to-book-your-next-hotel-stay-with-bitcoin/

Really great news, I actually may use this service.  Thanks for the news!

[666uazan]

So celebrate this, what are we calling it? Victory? This 'victory' for bitcoin, but know that it is a victory that can, and will, bite some of you in the ass.

[tspacepilot]

So celebrate this, what are we calling it? Victory? This 'victory' for bitcoin, but know that it is a victory that can, and will, bite some of you in the ass.

Why is it going to 'bite some of us in the ass'.  I've booked a hotel with expedia in the past and didn't have a problem.  I used a visa card.  Next time I use expedia I may get to pay with BTC.  I think that would be wonderfully convenient.  Can you be a little more clear?

[sumantso]

So celebrate this, what are we calling it? Victory? This 'victory' for bitcoin, but know that it is a victory that can, and will, bite some of you in the ass.

Why is it going to 'bite some of us in the ass'.  I've booked a hotel with expedia in the past and didn't have a problem.  I used a visa card.  Next time I use expedia I may get to pay with BTC.  I think that would be wonderfully convenient.  Can you be a little more clear?

I guess the ability to chargeback on your card is what he meant. Bitcoin transactions are irreversible but I guess they will still issue refunds.

[tspacepilot]

So celebrate this, what are we calling it? Victory? This 'victory' for bitcoin, but know that it is a victory that can, and will, bite some of you in the ass.

Why is it going to 'bite some of us in the ass'.  I've booked a hotel with expedia in the past and didn't have a problem.  I used a visa card.  Next time I use expedia I may get to pay with BTC.  I think that would be wonderfully convenient.  Can you be a little more clear?

I guess the ability to chargeback on your card is what he meant. Bitcoin transactions are irreversible but I guess they will still issue refunds.

Aha, yes that seems like it might be what was meant.  However, if I was negotiating in good faith with expedia and they owed me a refund, I'm sure they can find some way to do it (either by sending my BTC back or by generating a payment in fiat).

[ShakyhandsBTCer]

So celebrate this, what are we calling it? Victory? This 'victory' for bitcoin, but know that it is a victory that can, and will, bite some of you in the ass.

Why is it going to 'bite some of us in the ass'.  I've booked a hotel with expedia in the past and didn't have a problem.  I used a visa card.  Next time I use expedia I may get to pay with BTC.  I think that would be wonderfully convenient.  Can you be a little more clear?

I guess the ability to chargeback on your card is what he meant. Bitcoin transactions are irreversible but I guess they will still issue refunds.

Aha, yes that seems like it might be what was meant.  However, if I was negotiating in good faith with expedia and they owed me a refund, I'm sure they can find some way to do it (either by sending my BTC back or by generating a payment in fiat).

I think that overstock will only issue bitcoin refunds for people that buy with bitcoin, and if you buy with bitcoin you cannot get a fiat refund. AFAIK the items are priced in fiat and refunds are given in terms of fiat, so if for example you buy something for $600 and the price of one BTC is $600, you would send 1 btc for your purchase. A few days later you request a refund and when the refund is processed the price of BTC $550, you would receive 1.09090909 BTC ($600 worth of bitcoin based on the price when refund is issued).

I would imagine that expedia would have similar policies for refunds.

[DannyElfman]

So celebrate this, what are we calling it? Victory? This 'victory' for bitcoin, but know that it is a victory that can, and will, bite some of you in the ass.

Why is it going to 'bite some of us in the ass'.  I've booked a hotel with expedia in the past and didn't have a problem.  I used a visa card.  Next time I use expedia I may get to pay with BTC.  I think that would be wonderfully convenient.  Can you be a little more clear?

I guess the ability to chargeback on your card is what he meant. Bitcoin transactions are irreversible but I guess they will still issue refunds.

Aha, yes that seems like it might be what was meant.  However, if I was negotiating in good faith with expedia and they owed me a refund, I'm sure they can find some way to do it (either by sending my BTC back or by generating a payment in fiat).

Companies like expedia have their reputation on the line so they have an incentive to issue a refund when one is due as people would not do business with them if they have this kind of reputation

[tspacepilot]

So celebrate this, what are we calling it? Victory? This 'victory' for bitcoin, but know that it is a victory that can, and will, bite some of you in the ass.

Why is it going to 'bite some of us in the ass'.  I've booked a hotel with expedia in the past and didn't have a problem.  I used a visa card.  Next time I use expedia I may get to pay with BTC.  I think that would be wonderfully convenient.  Can you be a little more clear?

I guess the ability to chargeback on your card is what he meant. Bitcoin transactions are irreversible but I guess they will still issue refunds.

Aha, yes that seems like it might be what was meant.  However, if I was negotiating in good faith with expedia and they owed me a refund, I'm sure they can find some way to do it (either by sending my BTC back or by generating a payment in fiat).

Companies like expedia have their reputation on the line so they have an incentive to issue a refund when one is due as people would not do business with them if they have this kind of reputation

Yes, Danny Elfman with a David Spade face, I couldn't agree more.  For large, well established companies, reputation is crucial.

[Denise520]

Maybe this showed Bitcoin was accepted by more and more people.

[Keyara]

Now that bad news is gone with the auction. We can finally focus on good news such as this.

[tspacepilot]

Now that bad news is gone with the auction. We can finally focus on good news such as this.

I agree that this is good news.  However, I'm not sure that the auction was actually bad news.  I mean, in some sense, it seemed to me to be a legitimization of bitcoin by the us gov't.  A pragmatic one perhaps, but a validation nonetheless.

[ThomasCrowne]

The key now is to get the next level of penetration. Hotels accepting bit coin directly would be huge. It would be a nice role for escrow services as well to hold reservations and release funds once the cut off time is reached or release them back to the originator if they cancel.

I agree.  Hotel reservation/booking as well as car rental's the obvious next step for the travel-based industries.

[Nerazzura]

Wow all these new merchants, it really is like online merchants are interested in BTC.  I think everyone has started accepting it  since it's come down in price, right?  I wonder what would happen if Bitcoin went down to like $100/BTC? 

hmm, if the price of bitcoin down like that. I really hate it and I hope it does not happen, but if all online merchants interested and accept bitcoin. let's massive shopping: D

[beetcoin]

Now that bad news is gone with the auction. We can finally focus on good news such as this.

wrong. the auction was good news - it was a litmus test to see how big and interested the whales are. i am pretty sure the coins sold at over spot value.

[DannyElfman]

So celebrate this, what are we calling it? Victory? This 'victory' for bitcoin, but know that it is a victory that can, and will, bite some of you in the ass.

Why is it going to 'bite some of us in the ass'.  I've booked a hotel with expedia in the past and didn't have a problem.  I used a visa card.  Next time I use expedia I may get to pay with BTC.  I think that would be wonderfully convenient.  Can you be a little more clear?

I guess the ability to chargeback on your card is what he meant. Bitcoin transactions are irreversible but I guess they will still issue refunds.

Aha, yes that seems like it might be what was meant.  However, if I was negotiating in good faith with expedia and they owed me a refund, I'm sure they can find some way to do it (either by sending my BTC back or by generating a payment in fiat).

Companies like expedia have their reputation on the line so they have an incentive to issue a refund when one is due as people would not do business with them if they have this kind of reputation

Yes, Danny Elfman with a David Spade face, I couldn't agree more.  For large, well established companies, reputation is crucial.

So larger companies do not really need to worry about credit card charge backs as much as their reputation. Credit card processors still need to price in chargebacks and related expenses. This is why bitcoin is so advantageous for large companies. 

[NotAtOld]

This is huge! This Washington Post article is totally endorsing Bitcoin!

[wordman267645]

Wow!! that's really a good news.Everyone just start accepting bitcoin..

[oceans]

This is brilliant to see the more and more big top online merchants come forward and start accepting the more bitcoin may become accepted and possibly accepted by those who are reluctant to accept at the moment. Seeing these accept only goes to show that bitcoin is becoming more popular it's just a slow process.

[haploid23]

Actually bought tickets two weeks back from Expedia. Won't be wasting BTCs for this, though it does sound cool

A bit of an old post, but how is this a waste? You're getting something for your btc. A waste would be deleting your wallet and getting nothing in return. But as mentioned before, you currently can't buy tickets with btc anyways. I'm sure this will change in the future if the hotel thing proves to be successful.

[itsAj]

Actually bought tickets two weeks back from Expedia. Won't be wasting BTCs for this, though it does sound cool

A bit of an old post, but how is this a waste? You're getting something for your btc. A waste would be deleting your wallet and getting nothing in return. But as mentioned before, you currently can't buy tickets with btc anyways. I'm sure this will change in the future if the hotel thing proves to be successful.

If you are receiving anything of value in return for your BTC then it would not be a waste. If you would normally spend an equal amount of fiat for something then you might as well use BTC and simply purchase an equal amount of BTC on an exchange. This would make the bitcoin related economy grow.