Worldline tests metaverse as new channel for hotel sales

Global payment services provider Worldline wants to show its clients, including travel brands, that the metaverse can become a viable new channel to sell products and services.

The company has created a virtual “shopping mall” in Decentraland, an Ethereum-based platform that is one of the largest metaverses, and has invited its partners to create “stores” in the mall to test how the digital world functions. 

The Chedi Andermatt, a luxury hotel in Switzerland, is the first of Worldline’s travel-industry clients to participate in its mall, along with a handful of banks and other merchants. 

Sascha Münger, head of crypto-related projects and metaverse at Worldline, said the company began exploring the metaverse about two years ago and now believes it could become a viable channel for commerce.

“The space is moving really fast here,” Münger said.

“I personally believe in the next five to 10 years we’ll have the metaverse as a commerce channel besides traditional e-commerce and point-of-sale. … Especially the younger generation will engage with the metaverse.”

Münger said Chedi Andermatt’s store is, for now, primarily an advertising tool that has a virtual showroom with photos and videos of the luxury property in the Swiss Alps. 

But it can also be used to drive sales. Users who want to book a stay can click through to the booking flow right from the virtual store, and payments – in fiat or cryptocurrency – are handled by Worldine’s system.

“The Chedi Andermatt is recognized for being a pioneer or more precisely a trendsetter for new and innovative approaches in the luxury hospitality industry,” said Jean-Yves Blatt, general manager of the Chedi Andermatt.

“More and more guests prefer the uncomplicated opportunities that the online world entails nowadays. Thus, we are confident that in the future, the tourism and hotel industry will be just as unimaginable without the metaverse as is online shopping for fashion.”

Münger said Worldline is discussing enhancements with the Chedi Andermatt, such as incorporating augmented reality so users can virtually walk through the property.

While Worldline’s merchants are very interested in trying the metaverse, Münger said, there is also some hesitation.

“One of the main problems is that one metaverse does not exist today,” he said.

“We have different metaverse players racing for the pole position - decentralized players and non-virtual reality players like Decentraland and then on the other hand players based on virtual reality and not using blockchain. We believe this will work out similar to social media today [where] you will have three to four players in the pole position and winning the race. … This is a concern of merchants of course. They want to choose the right path and this, at the moment, is a little bit hard to say.”

In the last year, other hospitality companies have been testing having a presence in a metaverse, including CitizenM and Leven.

In other metaverse news, Singapore’s Changi Airport has created a metaverse experience that is a game on Roblox, a global shared experience platform. Created in collaboration with Accenture, the “ChangiVerse” is a digital representation of the airport. Users can explore the airport, play games and earn collectibles.