European fintech giant Revolut is stepping into the travel industry by launching a new service known as ‘Stays’ that allows hotels and accommodations bookings using the app.
Revolut was founded in 2015 as a digital-only banking platform for travelers to spend money abroad without hefty exchange fees. It continues to innovate its offerings, having already introduced new features for trading shares and cryptocurrency.
The firm is one of the most popular “neo banks” that have emerged in Europe and other parts of the world by luring mostly younger customers with an efficient user experience and colorful bank cards.
The new product is initially launched in the UK and it is Revolut’s first push beyond the financial sector making it compete with other apps in the competition such as Expedia, TripAdvisor, and Booking.com. The Stays feature will be expanded into other parts of Europe and the US as well in the coming months and this move can be a boon to the fintech company as the world is recovering from the global pandemic and the travel industry which has been the worst hit due to the lockdown is expected to receive a huge boost.
Marsel Nikaj, head of savings and lifestyle at Revolut said, “As the world begins to cautiously open up, we know everyone is desperate to get away whenever they can, whether it’s to Margate or Mallorca”.
“We’ve built Stays to make it easy for people to find and book their perfect break in their ideal destination. After 18 months of endless restrictions and lockdowns, we want to give people more and make their money travel further,” Nikaj said.
Revolut gives incentives, 10% cashback, and exclusive rates.
As an added incentive, Revolut is also providing 10% cashback on bookings that are made through the app which the platform says could save the average customer GBP69 ($95.14) per year.
Customers can also receive exclusive rates on accommodation and no booking fees will be charged by Revolut although the accommodation providers may charge fees.
The in-app capability is the first of its kind by a fintech platform and aims to “help users spend more smartly when traveling across the globe”.
Revolut also plans to add travel-related products such as flights, car rentals, travel experiences, and other features in the future.
The company also released new travel data which found out that 72% of the respondents want to travel abroad as soon as they are able to. Meanwhile, 84% of French and 72% of Spaniards are willing to travel abroad even with travel restrictions being imposed.
Moreover, the data also revealed that 48% of the respondents in the UK wish to stay in a hotel that follows COVID-19 regulations, while a quarter of 24% plan to rent a private apartment or villa.