Five-star hotel accepts bitcoin and ethereum in bid to woo luxury ‘clients of the future’, but is it just a gimmick?
- The move by the Chedi Andermatt in the Swiss Alps is an attempt to appeal to a new, younger and tech-savvy breed of wealthy tourist
- Some experts praise the hotel for giving customers more ways to pay, while others see the decision as just being good for marketing purposes
It is not the first, but a hotel in the Swiss Alps has just become arguably the most luxurious at which guests may use digital currencies to pay for their stay.
“As the digital age continues to grow and cryptocurrency rises in demand, we wanted to embrace these advances and integrate them into our hotel operations,” says general manager Jean-Yves Blatt. “We’ve known for a while that digital payment has a future in hospitality and … we wanted to lead the charge. We wanted to ensure customers have the ability to choose how they pay for their stay – traditionally or via cryptocurrency.
“The guests who use this system differ a bit from our usual guests – and, above all, most other Swiss luxury hotel clients. They are younger [in their 30s] and very trend- and technology-conscious. For us, these are the clients of the future.”
The implementation is in partnership with payment service provider Worldline and Bitcoin Suisse. Payments made in cryptocurrency will be converted into Swiss francs as soon as they are confirmed.
