Travala

TLDR

Travala is a blockchain-based travel booking platform founded in 2018 that connects travelers to more than 2.2 million hotels, 600,000 activities, and global flight and car rental inventory across 230+ countries, all payable in over 100 cryptocurrencies. Its native AVA token anchors the AVA Smart Program, a Web3 loyalty system that awards post-booking cashback in AVA, BTC, SOL, or travel credits. In September 2024, Travala deployed AVA on Solana and added SOL as a payment and reward currency, naming Solana a cornerstone of its future development strategy.

Core Mechanism

Travala aggregates travel supply from major inventory partners including Expedia and Agoda, and surfaces it through a crypto-first booking interface. Rather than charging booking fees, the platform monetizes through wholesale rates negotiated with suppliers, passing savings of up to 40% to users versus standard retail pricing.

Users fund a Travala account with cryptocurrency, browse and select travel products, and pay at checkout using any of the platform's 100-plus accepted tokens. Smart Program members receive a percentage of each booking value back as a loyalty reward after their stay or trip completes. Rewards are distributed in the token or credit format the user selects: AVA, BTC, SOL, or travel credits.

A monthly AVA buyback program using a portion of platform revenue purchases AVA from open markets, creating a deflationary pressure mechanism tied directly to booking volume.

AVA Smart Program

The AVA Smart Program is Travala's central loyalty layer, structured around AVA token holdings. Members unlock tiered benefits based on the amount of AVA they hold in a connected on-chain wallet.

Givebacks deliver up to 10% of booking value returned post-trip in the chosen reward token (AVA, BTC, SOL, or travel credits). Discounts run up to 5% off listed prices, plus 3% more when paying exclusively in AVA. Annual allowances include up to 500 AVA tokens per year and four complimentary airport lounge passes. Governance rights: community votes on protocol upgrades — including the Solana deployment — are weighted by AVA held in on-chain wallets.

As of mid-2025, the Smart Program had grown to over 75,700 registered members.

Solana Integration

Travala announced full Solana integration on September 21, 2024 at the Solana Breakpoint conference in Singapore. The integration covers three areas.

On payments: users can fund their Travala account by depositing SOL, USDT (SPL), and USDC (SPL) directly from Solana wallets with zero transaction fees. On rewards: SOL became the third travel reward currency available through the AVA Smart Program alongside AVA and BTC, with eligible members receiving up to 10% of booking value back in SOL. On token deployment: following a community governance vote, AVA was deployed on Solana as its third native network, joining existing deployments on Ethereum (ERC-20) and BNB Chain (BEP-20). This enables AVA holders to operate entirely within the Solana ecosystem without bridging to other chains.

CEO Juan Otero stated at the announcement: "The Solana network has become one of the most-used blockchains due to its cost-effectiveness and scalability. Solana's technologies open significant avenues to build the next phase of travel." Travala committed that Solana will become a cornerstone of its development strategy, with the goal of building products that expand real-world utility within the Solana ecosystem.

Features and Inventory

Travala offers accommodations across 2.2 million-plus hotels, hostels, apartments, and resorts globally, along with 600,000-plus tours, experiences, and attractions. Flight inventory spans global airline coverage through aggregated supply. Car rentals are supported with AVA givebacks and crypto payment options. The platform accepts 100-plus cryptocurrencies including BTC, ETH, SOL, USDC, USDT, BNB, and AVA. A best price guarantee covers the difference if a lower rate is found within a specified window, and 24/7 customer support is available.

In 2024, 78% of all bookings on Travala were completed using cryptocurrency. Monthly gross revenue reached $7.61 million as of May 2026, with the annual run-rate approaching $100 million. The platform was the first crypto-native travel service to be listed on Skyscanner.

AI and Agentic Booking

In 2025, Travala launched the Travala Travel MCP (Model Context Protocol), an agentic booking protocol that allows AI agents to search, select, and pay for hotels from the 2.2 million property catalog within a single conversational interface. Payments on the MCP protocol use gasless USDC on the Base blockchain at approximately $0.01 per booking, positioning Travala as early infrastructure for agentic commerce in the travel sector.

Token and Tokenomics

AVA launched via ICO on March 31, 2018 at $0.35 per token, raising $2.64 million in 21 days. Token distribution at ICO: 65% sold publicly, 15% reserved for founders and team, 20% allocated to R&D reserves. AVA now trades on major centralized exchanges and is available natively on Ethereum, BNB Chain, and Solana.

The monthly buyback program purchases AVA from open markets using platform revenue, with buyback volume tied to Smart Program reward issuance. This creates a direct link between platform usage and token supply management.

Team

Travala was co-founded by Juan Otero (CEO) and Steve Hipwell (COO). Otero brings over 15 years of experience spanning Oracle, Booking.com, and Restaurantes.com — which Wired Magazine described as one of Europe's fastest-growing digital companies in 2012. Hipwell leads day-to-day operations with a decade of online travel industry experience. The executive team also includes Charles Grenier-Green (CFO, formerly Big 4 audit and senior crypto exchange finance roles) and Ezra Tay (Chief Legal and Compliance Officer, Singapore-qualified lawyer with 12 years in banking, fintech, and crypto). The broader team comprises more than 30 engineering and travel industry professionals.

Solana Fit

Travala's integration with Solana reflects the blockchain's strengths in the consumer-facing, real-economy use case segment. Solana's sub-cent transaction fees make SOL viable as a payment rail for travel bookings where Ethereum gas costs would be prohibitive. The community-governed deployment of AVA on Solana via governance vote demonstrates an approach to multi-chain expansion that keeps token holders involved in strategic decisions. With the MCP agentic protocol signaling a roadmap toward programmatic AI-driven travel bookings, Solana's throughput and composability position Travala to build next-layer travel infrastructure beyond the current consumer wallet experience.