Great news for crypto fans that are also into football! Several Russian hotels will accept Bitcoin as method of payment from football fans that want to come to the World Cup. Supporters from eight countries will check in hotels from Kaliningrad. According to hotel managers, booking a room in the day when England plays Belgium will cost approx. $300 in fiat.
Russian Hotels accepting Bitcoin
This year, for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, one of the hosts will be Kaliningrad, the capital of the most Western region from Russia. Kaliningrad is expecting to host both teams and supporters from Spain, Belgium, Serbia, England, Switzerland, Croatia, Morocco and Nigeria.
Hotel owners from Russia have decided to accept the payment in Bitcoin. A hotel chain already has made a partnership with a payment processor to provide the service. Anna Subbotina, manager of Apartments Malina, has declared:
We are seeing increasing interest in cryptocurrencies. They will gradually come into use as a means of payment.
“We have decided that fans should be able to pay for our services with the help of this innovative technology”, Subbotina told Buying Business Travel Russia. She expects other hotels in the area to soon follow the example to offering Bitcoin as a payment option.
Her company is partnering with one of Russia’s electronic payment providers, which supports cryptocurrency transactions, including Bitcoin payments. “This is an interesting experience for us – we haven’t worked with hotels so far”, said Vitaliy Lavrov, Development Manager at Free-Kassa. “The hospitality industry is quite sensitive towards new trends”, he noted.
Kaliningrad is among the most expensive destinations, according to Yanis Dzenis, PR Director at Aviasales Travel. “Booking a room there on June 28, when England plays Belgium, will cost you ₽18,000 RUB (over $300)”, he told Interfax. That’s 10 times more than the regular fare, he added.
Mundial of Many Firsts
With this mundial, will take place many events for the first time. The most important things that will happen are:
- It is the first time when the mundial will be in Russia, in Eastern Europe, and on two continents – Europe and Asia
- For the first time will be used the video assistant referee
- Kaliningrad will host 4 games
- Most of the stadiums are newly built or renovated
- 32 national teams will compete for the World Cup.
- The matches of football will be on 12 stadiums from 11 Russian cities
Source: https://news.bitcoin.com/russian-hotels-to-surprise-world-cup-fans-with-bitcoin-payments/