Richie (Binance Angel)

Hello and welcome everybody to a new and another session of Binance DEX AMA. The AMA of today will be out Travala.com and as a guest we will have the Co-Founder and CSO, Mr. Juan Otero 🥳. So before we put the show on track, could you please tell us about yourself and of course, about Travala.com 🙏

Juan Otero (Founder & CSO)

Of course. I’m Co-Founder & CSO at Travala.com.

Previously, I worked at some of the largest tech companies in the world such as Oracle and Booking.com and I also founded Europe’s leading online restaurant reservation platform, which was acquired by The Michelin Group in France.

I’m also an Advisor at several leading start-up accelerators such as Silicon Valley’s Founder Institute and government organizations such as the European Institute of Innovation & Technology and the European Commission in Brussels.

At Travala.com, I’m currently responsible for managing the long-term strategy.

Founded in 2017, Travala.com is the leading cryptocurrency-friendly hotel and accommodation booking service with 2,000,000+ properties in 230 countries.

We are a champion of cryptocurrency adoption, accepting over 25 leading cryptocurrencies in addition to traditional payment methods.

The Travala.com value proposition is bolstered by AVA. As the native cryptocurrency of the platform, AVA can be used for payments, receiving and redeeming loyalty rewards, discounts and staking, among several other use cases which you can find here https://whitepaper.travala.com/#AVA

Richie (Binance Angel)

Okay Juan, if I got your GO, we can start pushing towards our first segment, which is number 1. Okay, chat, Segment 1 number will start with a few questions from my side.

Richie (Binance Angel)

What is the business model of the Project?

Juan Otero (Founder & CSO)

The Travala.com business model is driven by booking commissions generated from properties aggregated via strategic partnerships with world-leading travel suppliers such as Booking.com, Priceline, Hotelbeds, Webbeds and many more. This is currently the largest source of revenue for Travala.com.

Our commission fees currently average 10% of the booking value with prices on average 15% cheaper than mainstream travel booking platforms.

In the future, we plan to offer more travel booking options such as car rentals, activities and flights. As we move closer to our vision for a decentralized peer-to-property booking platform, Travala.com plans to earn fees from listings of new properties and commissions on the bookings via our native token AVA.

As we expand our decentralised platform, we will add reviews, direct bookings, hotel listing expansion, and more using a distributed salesforce over the blockchain with AVA incentivizing actions that benefit the project and increase the utility of AVA.

More information on the business model here: https://whitepaper.travala.com/#business

Richie (Binance Angel)

What are the use-cases for the AVA Token?

Juan Otero (Founder & CSO)

AVA’s functionality makes it critical to the success of Travala.com. The interplay of AVA use-cases is designed to encourage loyalty to the Travala.com platform while increasing distribution and liquidity of the token.

👉 Payment Method

👉 Booking Giveback

👉 SMART Discounts

👉 SMART Loyalty

👉 SMART Staking

👉 Repurchasing Plan

👉 Best Price Guarantee

👉 INVITE Referrals

👉 Review Rewards

👉 Partner listing fees

👉 TravalAds

For more details on this please see our whitepaper https://whitepaper.travala.com/#AVA

Richie (Binance Angel)

How can you offer 15% cheaper on average prices compared to other booking sites?

Juan Otero (Founder & CSO)

We work with over 15 of the leading hotel and accommodation suppliers including Booking.com, Priceline and Hotelbeds. With each supplier there are retail rates and business rates that come in the form of B2C and B2B. B2C rates can be shown and sold publicly and B2B rates must be behind a password login. The innovation from Travala.com regarding pricing is that we will incorporate both types of rates into the same platform which is only done by a handful of other OTAs worldwide.

When you are not logged in you will see the publicly available B2C prices along with the additional % you could save by creating an account / logging in. Once you login the feed switches to the B2B prices for the same search. Using this method we will be able to maintain our on average 15% cheaper prices when discounts and all incentives are taken into account.

Richie (Binance Angel)

How does Travala utilise the Binance Chain?

Juan Otero (Founder & CSO)

Currently we use Binance Chain for all AVA transactions that happen on the platform. There are 3 Wallet addresses in use with all transactions made on-chain.

User Wallet – bnb1g4wdwdj0x9gcggluxq6hrxgm4rw4evxjv3h6yw

👉 Receives user deposits from external wallets

👉 Sends AVA booking payments to company wallet

👉 Sends smart program lockup to Smart Wallet

👉 Sends user withdrawals to external wallets

👉 Receives Smart Bonus from Company Wallet

Smart Wallet – bnb1ujj2knlj7grqlm74vdf4kd7wl7lk6ugtgjewck

👉 Receives Smart program lockup from user wallet

👉 Sends smart program unlock to user wallet

Company Wallet – bnb1ae5k4xhqdgsehkj8546nm2daatlcul4rravvd6

👉 Receives AVA booking payments from user wallet

👉 Sends standard giveback to user wallet

👉 Sends smart loyalty to user wallet

👉 Sends Smart Bonus to user wallet

👉 Sends invite referrals to user wallet

👉 Sends best price refunds to user wallet

👉 Sends swapped AVA (Bep2) to user wallet

👉 Receives listing fees for new coins added

AVA will be at the heart of all future use cases Travala.com is pursuing. As the Travala.com consumer base continues to grow, usage of AVA is integral to their experience on the platform.

With its use incentivised by valuable rewards, demand for AVA can be expected to grow in line with platform adoption, leading to the establishment of a healthy internal token economy from which all stakeholders may benefit and continued use of the Binance Chain.

Richie (Binance Angel)

Can you give us some information of actual usage of the platform?

Juan Otero (Founder & CSO)

Travala.com is a real world use case project with real growth traction and driving adoption of the entire cryptocurrency space providing utility for 25 of the leading projects and cryptocurrencies.

In 2019 we completed 9,241 room nights booked with a total revenue of $1,253,782 with 64% coming from cryptocurrency payments. From January to December in 2019 our yearly growth in revenue was 1,020% and 967% in room nights booked. Our conversion rates of unique users to bookings in 2019 was 1.33%.

In 2020 as of 15th February we have completed 3,011 room nights booked with a total revenue of $424,469 with 56% coming from cryptocurrency payments. Comparing January 2020 to January 2019, our revenue increased by 1,185% and room nights increased by 1,109%. Our conversion rates of unique users to bookings in 2020 so far is 3.34%.

We have forecasted 39,215 room nights to be booked in 2020 with total revenue of $6,215,124.

For 2021 we have forecast 159,027 room nights to be booked with total revenue of $23,713,739.

As you can see by the numbers above we are a real business with real revenues and real utility for the AVA token as every booking made on the platform interacts with AVA by booking givebacks between 2-5% and the quarterly repurchasing plan.

You can follow our reports here – https://blog.travala.com/category/reports/

Telegram User

What is the use case of TRAVALA TOKEN ?

Juan Otero (Founder & CSO)

Payment Method

Booking Giveback

SMART Discounts

SMART Loyalty

SMART Staking

Repurchasing Plan

Best Price Guarantee

INVITE Referrals

Review Rewards

Advertising

Partner listing fees

For more details on this please see our whitepaper https://whitepaper.travala.com/#AVA

Telegram User

When we can expect the Mobile apps of Travala platform for good Booking experience?

Juan Otero (Founder & CSO)

Native mobile Apps on iOS and Android will be released within the next 2-3 weeks.

Telegram User

What role do you think Travala will play in making blockchain highly adaptable in the worldwide stage?

Juan Otero (Founder & CSO)

Travala.com is a real champion of cryptocurrency adoption so we hope we will play a key role in mass adoption. We also hope that our decentralized technology will one day change the whole online travel industry.

Telegram User

Your vision for travala in late 2020 and beyond?

Juan Otero (Founder & CSO)

As we head into 2020, our vision is to align travel booking with the ethos of decentralised technology. That being, promote accessibility to anyone, anywhere, offer censorship-resistant and peer-to-peer transactions, and build open-source technology for the online travel booking space.

Our mission is to bring to the travel industry transparent pricing, innovation, authentic truth, enhanced security. The travel booking market is estimated to reach a global revenue of over $800 billion by 2020 and AVA will be the first digital asset to truly bring cryptocurrency to the masses!

Each booking made on the Travala.com platform regardless of the payment method (Crypto or Fiat) interacts with the AVA token to bring the users a smooth and rewarding experience. For many users this will be their first experience with a blockchain-based token.

Telegram User

Can you explain in details about Travala Smart Program? Why should i join it & whats the benefits of Travala’s Smart Program for me or any user?

Juan Otero (Founder & CSO)

Individuals participating in the Smart Program can get up to 10% Savings on Hotel and Accommodation Bookings and up to 18% Per Annum Bonuses on your AVA with our Smart Bonus Rewards.

The higher the Smart level the greater your rewards will be. For example, in the highest reward bracket Smart Level 5 (5000 AVA), users receive a 5% discount on Smart listed hotel and accommodation prices, a 5% loyalty reward following completion of your stay, and also Smart bonus rewards of 1.5% per month of your locked amount of AVA.

Each member taking part in the SMART Program is required to lock their AVA for a minimum of 30 days.

Telegram User

One of my favorite things about AVA when I first heard about it was that Travala would help bring people without money to the cryptocurrency community through an AVA refund on every booking. I think this is awesome, is it still happening?

Juan Otero (Founder & CSO)

Yes, this is still happening and indeed it is bringing “no-coiners” into the world of crypto. Every time a booking is completed on Travala.com, the traveller gets 2% of the total booking price back in AVA

Telegram User

Is Travala ready for a massive influx of bookings? Let’s say March suddenly jumps to 10.000 room nights booked. Will the platform and support be able to handle this smoothly?

Juan Otero (Founder & CSO)

Yes, we have the infrastructure ready, a very strong team and a clear strategy and execution plan, as well as enough funding and amazing support from our community and investors

Telegram User

How travala founded and created ?

Juan Otero (Founder & CSO)

Travala.com was founded back in 2017 with the goal to disrupt the existing monopoly of large online travel agencies like Booking.com. We have successfully created a frictionless travel booking experience that incorporates next generation blockchain technology and tokenised incentives. By introducing cutting edge user experience and multiple cryptocurrency and traditional payment options alongside benefits tied to our proprietary cryptocurrency AVA, our customers know they are booking with a platform of the future with transparent pricing and backed up by our Best Price Guarantee.

Telegram User

What is the business model of Travala? How Travala generates revenue for development? Why should everyone use TRAVALA?

Juan Otero (Founder & CSO)

You can find more info about our business model here: https://whitepaper.travala.com/#business

Telegram User

How do you perform cancellation, change and return transactions for travel and tourism reservations? How do you ensure the crypto money refund when the payment is made with crypto money?

Juan Otero (Founder & CSO)

For refunds from payments made in cryptocurrency, we give them back in stablecoins; this is to protect both parties against unexpected gains/losses in the value of the underlying cryptocurrency. Yes, in total we have 25 different payment options. This includes a range of different cryptocurrencies.

Telegram User

What features does the AVA token have? Are there any benefits to AVA token holders?

Juan Otero (Founder & CSO)

You can find more info re the AVA token here: https://whitepaper.travala.com/#AVA

Telegram User

how did you achieve a deal with BOOKING whats in it for them? isnt TRAVALA competition?

Juan Otero (Founder & CSO)

This partnership enables users on the Travala.com platform to book all their hotels using over 25 different cryptocurrencies as well as the native AVA token. It also makes Travala.com one of the largest OTAs in the world by the amount of hotels and accommodations available.

More info about the strategic partnership can be found here: https://blog.travala.com/travala-com-booking-com-strategic-partnership-targets-massive-crypto-adoption/

Telegram User

Why did you choosing to build ava token in BEP2 blockchain ecosystem?

Juan Otero (Founder & CSO)

The main reasons for the migration are that we wanted to improve the token economics of our native token (AVA), while offering faster processing times, better performance and ease of on-chain use of AVA within the platform.

Telegram User

Travala is constantly finding new big partners.Audience is constantly growing.What’s the secret to this growth rate?

Juan Otero (Founder & CSO)

Hard work, constant building, innovating and a team that stays hungry 💪

Telegram User

Q1. The AVA Smart program is very tempting. Does TRAVALA plan to add a DISCOUNT program on the big DAY ? Like New Year, Christmas

Q2. Are there any other OTAS /TRAVEL suppliers in the pipeline for the same kind of partnership as with BOOKING ?

Juan Otero (Founder & CSO)

Q1: Yes, we will be offering special discounts for specific dates and limited amounts of time.

Q2: We have several new major partnerships coming soon.

Telegram User

What is the need of the Travala token when you can pay with a lot of other cryptos on their site?

Juan Otero (Founder & CSO)

We recognize the need to offer other cryptocurrencies as payment methods. But, AVA has incentives designed specifically for our platform and loyal customers. This includes our Smart program, givebacks, and other token utilities. Please see our white paper for more: https://whitepaper.travala.com/#AVA

Telegram User

Adoption is a headache challenge for every blockchain projects, especially at this sensitive period of the whole market when many blockchain projects were dead since no-one uses their blockchain.

Juan Otero (Founder & CSO)

We are taking the approach of progressive decentralisation. We want to continue improving our fundamentals, like building a globally recognised brand, hiring a world-class team, acquiring a robust user base, developing cutting edge technology, and finding product-market fit.

So far we have done that and will continue to grow our user base at a rapid rate while adding new decentralised business models.

Telegram User

Do you take into account the community’s FEEDBACK and DEMANDS in the development of TRAVALA ..?

Juan Otero (Founder & CSO)

We take constructive community feedback seriously. In the past, it has helped shape the direction of the business and we expect the same going forward. We welcome all individuals to join the discussion in our community channels.

Telegram User

Which countries are supported travala currently? i feel most of indian users are excited to use your platform

Juan Otero (Founder & CSO)

Travala.com is global. We have over 2m accommodation options that can be booked around the world.

Telegram User

1/3 of reviews can be considered fake on TripAdvisor. How are you guys going to handle the reviews on your platform ?. Can you tell me more about this topic? Because this is a very important issue in the tourism industry.

Juan Otero (Founder & CSO)

We know the importance of a genuine verification system and adequate economic incentivisation for well-intentioned reviewers.

We plan to leverage decentralised technology under a Booking Platform Consortium model to create such a system. You can read more about this model on our whitepaper under “Decentralised Reviews” https://whitepaper.travala.com/#business

Telegram User

Please tell us that which mediums are present/ available in travala support system? Also share in detail about travala customer support?

Juan Otero (Founder & CSO)

24/7, livechat, ticket with telephone support coming soon

Telegram User

How do you see and your 2-5 years plan for travala and its ecosystem?

Juan Otero (Founder & CSO)

We built a very strong ecosystem around Travala.com and AVA and we hope to continue to consolidate our position as market leaders in travel within the blockchain and cryptocurrency space, while also innovating to decentralise the whole travel ecosystem.

Telegram User

What is Smart Program?

Juan Otero (Founder & CSO)

Here you can find all the info: https://blog.travala.com/smart-discounts-loyalty-and-bonus-rewards/

Telegram User

Why travel industry need blockchain?

Juan Otero (Founder & CSO)

The online travel booking model was revolutionary when it arrived over 20 years ago, but in its current form is outdated. The problems have been well hidden, but noticeable cracks are beginning to appear.

The success of disruptors such as Airbnb show that consumers are ready to migrate to platforms which empower more reasonable pricing, allow smaller suppliers to compete more freely, and make more relevant the impact of user reputation and trustworthy reviews.

The rise of the internet allowed online travel booking platforms to dramatically change the market but we believe decentralised technologies built on public blockchains are set to change it again for good.

Telegram User

Why Decentralization?

Juan Otero (Founder & CSO)

Since setting out to build Travala.com we have always had the intention to decentralise aspects of the business in order to leverage the advantages of disintermediation.

Telegram User

Most investors only focus on the price of the token in the short term instead of the real value of the project. Can you tell me the benefits for long-term investors?

Juan Otero (Founder & CSO)

Travala.com is a great business experience rapid growth while driving adoption of the entire cryptocurrency space because we also provide utility for 25 of the leading projects and cryptocurrencies.

Last year we generated over $1.2m in revenue and this year we are forecasting over $6.0m in revenue.

We expect the growth of our business to bring value to AVA owing to how our token economy is designed.

Telegram User

What are the current target markets that $AVA is targeting? What do you have a plan to grow rapidly in terms of users, global market and partners?

Juan Otero (Founder & CSO)

We want AVA to be a global token for the travel industry. So we are targeting all individuals and businesses interested in booking with a platform that offers freedom of choice, transparency, liquid rewards and competitive pricing.

For 2020, we have forecasted 39,215 room nights with total revenue of $6,215,124. For 2021 we have forecast 159,027 room nights to be booked with total revenue of $23,713,739. We are going to continue growing our partner network within and outside the cryptocurrency space.

Telegram User

Are there any other otas/travel suppliers in the pipeline for the same kind of partnership as with booking?

Juan Otero (Founder & CSO)

Yes, we have several major new partnerships coming with world-leading OTAs, as well as other industry-leading players!

Telegram User

As i see that TrustPilot rated Travala as Excellent with 4.6 out of 5 ⭐️ & also you’re working great ! Can you share the Travala’s Recipe of Success?

Juan Otero (Founder & CSO)

A strong team, a clear strategy, and good execution. Combined with the support from our community and investors of course.

Telegram User

While looking back what major problem does travala faced? And which was the proud moment?

Juan Otero (Founder & CSO)

We have been fortunate to already have thousands of people book accommodation through Travala.com. In addition, our native platform cryptocurrency, AVA, has proven utility and ample community support. That said, every business faces challenges including us. Typical challenges we come across include attracting the right talent, allocating resources to the best causes, coordinating marketing efforts and so forth.

Telegram User

Finding real world blockchain uses cases has always been a concern for everyone. What specific applications does Travala hope to address?

Juan Otero (Founder & CSO)

Liquid loyalty rewards have already been addressed. Our users are very happy with the AVA rewards program. Range of payments outside of fiat currencies has been addressed since we accept many of the world’s most well-known cryptocurrencies. We have other plans to tackle other use cases in the future with decentralised technology. This includes reviews, referrals, and more.

Telegram User

Somewhere you mentioned that AVA will create decentralized direct booking model , so when that is coming up and what’s your pre take aways for that?

Juan Otero (Founder & CSO)

This is a large technical undertaking, the R&D is on our roadmap for later this year. Under a decentralised model, accommodation seekers are able to book stays without the need for an intermediary. This means that individuals seeking to rent an apartment, bedroom, or hotel room can deal directly with the property owner. AVA will be the common currency for booking.

Telegram User

Can you share where Travala is Registered & have Headoffices?

Juan Otero (Founder & CSO)

Travala Limited is a UK registered business. The majority of the team resides in Hanoi, Vietnam with other team members located in Hong Kong, Thailand, Australia and Canada.

Telegram User

Tell us about your marketing strategy ! what would you do to attracts your users and people come to explore it?

Juan Otero (Founder & CSO)

You can find more info about our marketing strategy here: https://whitepaper.travala.com/#marketing

Telegram User

Why did you create AVA? Are there any competitors for AVA and what are AVA advantages? Who are the AVA advisors?

Juan Otero (Founder & CSO)

You can find all the info about AVA here: https://whitepaper.travala.com/#AVA and the current team here: https://whitepaper.travala.com/#team

Telegram User

What do you thing about Choosing crypto currencies as payment is really a good option? Why is so?

Juan Otero (Founder & CSO)

We want to offer better prices, more transparency, etc.. but offering more choice is also very important for us. We want to promote accessibility to anyone, with any currency, anywhere!

Telegram User

What is meant by Best Price Guarantee of Travala project?

Juan Otero (Founder & CSO)

To ensure that consumers always get the best price on bookings, Travala.com will match any competitor’s price. If a traveller books accommodation on Travala.com and finds a cheaper price somewhere else, they can claim a refund for the difference up to 24 hours before the check-in date at the property. This refund will be paid in AVA directly to the traveller’s Travala.com wallet.

https://travala.com/best-price-guarantee

Telegram User

Why Travala is partnering with Booking. com? What are the benefits of this partnership?

Juan Otero (Founder & CSO)

Booking.com gives our customers access to hundreds of thousands of properties around the world; all payable in cryptocurrency. They are the world leader in the online travel booking space, this has been valuable for us.

Telegram User

Is AVA repurchasing and burn Programme different? Or both are same?

Juan Otero (Founder & CSO)

Both are part of our AVA Repurchasing Plan. Travala.com’s AVA Repurchasing Plan will take place every quarter until 21,571,086 AVA are permanently destroyed. This represents 35% of the total supply (the starting supply is 61,571,086 AVA), reducing the overall total supply to 40,000,000 AVA. The amount of AVA to be repurchased each quarter is determined by Travala.com’s booking activity.

You can follow our reports as they are released on our blog: https://blog.travala.com/category/burns/

Telegram User

Travala support Fiat?

Juan Otero (Founder & CSO)

Users on Travala.com can also pay with traditional payment methods such as PayPal and credit cards

Telegram User

Any benefit holding ava for long term?

Juan Otero (Founder & CSO)

We believe that the current market cap of AVA nowhere near reflects the actual value of our platform, developments, achievements, etc. when compared to some other competitors in the space for example. We believe it’ll be just a matter of time for Travala.com and AVA to explode!

Telegram User

What percentage of users booking use crypto instead of traditional payment?

Juan Otero (Founder & CSO)

On average, over 60% of the total number of bookings are paid with cryptocurrencies. You can see our payment options here: https://www.travala.com/payment-options

Richie (Binance Angel)

Okay, seems that our time is up for today and I must say, it was very well spent. Very informative and the positive vibes knocked out by you binancians are just superb ❤️

Juan Otero (Founder & CSO)

Thanks, everyone for the great questions. It’s awesome to be part of this community of Binancians. Let’s keep pushing to bring cryptocurrency adoption to the masses and I hope I’ll see you using Travala.com for your next travel booking!

Richie (Binance Angel)

Some useful link resources for you chat. Bookmark the, save them, as you never know when they can home in handy.

👉 Book Hotels – https://travala.com

👉 Invite Program – https://travala.com/invite

👉 Smart Program – https://travala.com/smart

👉 Telegram – https://t.me/travala

👉 Whitepaper – https://whitepaper.travala.com

👉Official Blog – https://blog.travala.com

👉 Twitter – https://twitter.com/travalacom

👉 Explorer – https://explorer.binance.org/asset/AVA-645