Would you accept Bitcoin for a TS rental?

[jabberwocky]

I’ve often wondered whether accepting a major cryptocurrency like Bitcoin, Ethereum or Solana would be attractive to potential renters. I know there are a lot of people who are sitting on some big gains and looking for ways to use their newfound wealth.

Given that it has advantages for cross-border transactions, speed and the renter can’t reverse their payment I’m wondering if any other TUG members have considered accepting this as a form of payment.

 

[billymach4]

Bitcoin as an investment is one thing. The fraudsters and scammers are way too prevalent to trust crypto as a payment method. Additionally the price volatility is all over the map. There are enough scammers and fraud already in the TS industry as it is. Accepting crypto is just another vector for fraud in TS rental payment. I would still take Redweek over a crypto payment.

The rental landscape already has a trust issue with respect to owners. I have had renters that can't even use Venmo or PayPal. No way any renter is going to embrace a crypto payment.

Sure you could use PayPal or Coinbase as the payment exchange. Then you also have to consider the crytpo exchange fee in addition to possible Redweek or Koala fees. Too many cooks and bakers in the kitchen.

 

[easyrider]

I like cash.

Bill

 

[jorcus]

Bitcoin it's self has a lot of flaws as a form of currency. You never really know what it is going to be worth beyond any given moment in time. It is common for the value of bitcoin to go up or down more than 3% in a day. Every trade of bitcoin requires more power than the last and it will get to the point where the cost of trading bitcoin for consumer uses is just too high vs other forms of economic transfer. Bitcoin can only process a few transactions per second so again not good enough to use as currency.

With recent legislation defining stable coin rules I am pretty confident there will be a digital currency soon that consumers will adopt. The question will be which one? It sounds as if the big retailers want to get into the game and they have the most to win by side stepping visa and master card fees. Walmart and Amazon are probably going to try to get consumers to adopt to a stable digital currency. Will that be allowed for person to person transfer at a low cost? If so then you could see how Walmart becomes a shadow bank. It all comes down to a matter of trust for the consumer.

Right now Banks are gravitating toward using XRP (ripple) to exchange currency. I don't know if that will trickle down to consumers. The challenge is keeping the currency stable when there is investment demand.

So to answer the question is yes someday it will be common but not today. Maybe soon.

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

I’ve often wondered whether accepting a major cryptocurrency like Bitcoin, Ethereum or Solana would be attractive to potential renters. I know there are a lot of people who are sitting on some big gains and looking for ways to use their newfound wealth.

Given that it has advantages for cross-border transactions, speed and the renter can’t reverse their payment I’m wondering if any other TUG members have considered accepting this as a form of payment.

The downside is getting roped into some kind of fraudulent transaction since crypto is a hotbed for that.

 

[TheHolleys87]

Bitcoin is more foreign to me, as far as being able to use it, than another country’s currency. I wouldn’t accept payment in foreign currency, and I wouldn’t accept bitcoin.

 

[TUGBrian]

if one already has an account to accept/send/trade btc...why not?

i doubt id set all that up just to take money for a rental though.

(that said, perhaps the process for doing that today is much easier than it was years ago)

 

[Luanne]

No.

 

[pedro47]

Cash or CC

 

[jabberwocky]

Bitcoin as an investment is one thing. The fraudsters and scammers are way too prevalent to trust crypto as a payment method. Additionally the price volatility is all over the map. There are enough scammers and fraud already in the TS industry as it is. Accepting crypto is just another vector for fraud in TS rental payment. I would still take Redweek over a crypto payment.

The rental landscape already has a trust issue with respect to owners. I have had renters that can't even use Venmo or PayPal. No way any renter is going to embrace a crypto payment.

Sure you could use PayPal or Coinbase as the payment exchange. Then you also have to consider the crytpo exchange fee in addition to possible Redweek or Koala fees. Too many cooks and bakers in the kitchen.

How is accepting it as payment a vector for fraud? Once you have the bitcoin in your wallet the transaction is not reversible (bank transactions) and isn’t subject to a chargeback like you could potentially have if accepting a cc.

The fees are a legitimate point. But I would argue from a legitimate owners perspective it would be a secure form of payment.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

I would need to understand a lot more about Bitcoin. (Newbie - learning).

Aren't there different types of cryptocurrency [edited] (Bitcoin, Altcoins, Etherium...)? If I did my research and felt comfortable, I would not accept small brands because they are too risky to fluctuation. I have heard of coins linked to the Euro or USD maybe those would be okay.

 

[jabberwocky]

Bitcoin it's self has a lot of flaws as a form of currency. You never really know what it is going to be worth beyond any given moment in time. It is common for the value of bitcoin to go up or down more than 3% in a day. Every trade of bitcoin requires more power than the last and it will get to the point where the cost of trading bitcoin for consumer uses is just too high vs other forms of economic transfer. Bitcoin can only process a few transactions per second so again not good enough to use as currency.

With recent legislation defining stable coin rules I am pretty confident there will be a digital currency soon that consumers will adopt. The question will be which one? It sounds as if the big retailers want to get into the game and they have the most to win by side stepping visa and master card fees. Walmart and Amazon are probably going to try to get consumers to adopt to a stable digital currency. Will that be allowed for person to person transfer at a low cost? If so then you could see how Walmart becomes a shadow bank. It all comes down to a matter of trust for the consumer.

Right now Banks are gravitating toward using XRP (ripple) to exchange currency. I don't know if that will trickle down to consumers. The challenge is keeping the currency stable when there is investment demand.

So to answer the question is yes someday it will be common but not today. Maybe soon.

I agree with you that Bitcoin won’t be the medium for everyday transactions for the reasons you’ve mentioned.

The stablecoins look interesting and have potential as it takes some of the volatility out of the equation. I could see an environment where you may even be able to build a smart contract to provide an escrow like service for the buyer and seller.

 

[Ken555]

Absolutely. There are various payment gateways for merchants.

 

[WorldT]

I would need to understand a lot more about Bitcoin. (Newbie - learning).

Aren't there different types of Bitcoin (Altcoins, Etherium...)? If I did my research and felt comfortable, I would not accept small brands because they are too risky to fluctuation. I have heard of coins linked to the Euro or USD maybe those would be okay.

Bitcoin is Bitcoin. Bitcoin is an example of a crypto currency. There are other types of crypto currency such as Ethereum.
Cryptocurrency that are linked to USD or Euro are called stable coins (emphasis on stable).

 

[CalGalTraveler]

Thanks @WorldT for clarifying. I was meant "cryptocurrency" not Bitcoin. (I am showing my newbieness - but learning quickly.) [Edited prior post.]

I plan to shift some USD to Bitcoin and Etherium or possibly stable coin tied to Euro to hedge risk but have a lot of research to do before investing (on my to-do list!)

 

[jp10558]

Personally, none of the crypto I'm aware of is worth it as a consumer transaction. It's way to easy to get your wallet stolen completely, or get ripped off by and exchange with no recourse - look up Mt Gox and the 4 or 5 other ones that went away that way.

Then there's the slow transaction closing, the cost to do the transaction, the fees to exchange into a real currency that you could realistically use for paying any bills or buying anything yourself.

As a consumer, I sort of doubt stablecoins are going to catch on quick - mostly because many people need the instant credit of a credit card to operate daily, and of those who don't they like the benefits of churn for hotel points / status, or cash back, or airline miles - not to mention fraud protection, extended warranty and car rental coverage, etc etc etc. None of which you get paying digital cash.

Maybe if the stable coins do somehow take off - banks will start offering revolving lines of personal credit that works similar to credit cards but puts actual cash in your account to use to purchase stable coins? IDK.

 

[easyrider]

Absolutely. There are various payment gateways for merchants.

Is there ? I don't know anyone using Bitcoin for everyday type purchases. It's just not practical. Bitcoin has become like gold in that it's used mostly to store wealth, imo.

Bill

 

[billymach4]

How is accepting it as payment a vector for fraud? Once you have the bitcoin in your wallet the transaction is not reversible (bank transactions) and isn’t subject to a chargeback like you could potentially have if accepting a cc.
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The fees are a legitimate point. But I would argue from a legitimate owners perspective it would be a secure form of payment.

Scammers and fraud characters are always sending phishing emails that take on the look of legitimate emails. Emails get delivered from the likes of Trezor the hardware wallet vendor posing as a legitimate data breach. The email looks legit however it is a veiled phish with a clickable link to another site that will attempt to steal your wallet and credentials.

I have seen these emails from Coinbase, PayPal, Bankruptcy Law firms. These emails are extremely deceptive and they look legit. This opens you up the this vulnerability and vector for the bad actor to break into your wallet. @jabberwocky

 

[billymach4]

Personally, none of the crypto I'm aware of is worth it as a consumer transaction. It's way to easy to get your wallet stolen completely, or get ripped off by and exchange with no recourse - look up Mt Gox and the 4 or 5 other ones that went away that way.

Then there's the slow transaction closing, the cost to do the transaction, the fees to exchange into a real currency that you could realistically use for paying any bills or buying anything yourself.

As a consumer, I sort of doubt stablecoins are going to catch on quick - mostly because many people need the instant credit of a credit card to operate daily, and of those who don't they like the benefits of churn for hotel points / status, or cash back, or airline miles - not to mention fraud protection, extended warranty and car rental coverage, etc etc etc. None of which you get paying digital cash.

Maybe if the stable coins do somehow take off - banks will start offering revolving lines of personal credit that works similar to credit cards but puts actual cash in your account to use to purchase stable coins? IDK.

@jabberwocky ^^^^ See the bold.

 

[billymach4]

@jabberwocky https://securelist.com/hot-and-cold-cryptowallet-phishing/110136/

https://usa.kaspersky.com/resource-center/definitions/cryptocurrency-scams

You asked. Believe me when I tell you. It's way too easy to fall victim to this crap.

Keep the crypto out of any Timeshare transaction. Timeshares have enough fraud and abuse without adding crypto to the surface area.

 

[emeryjre]

There is an infrastructure around crypto
I stopped paying attention to it about 5 years ago
My awareness is kicking in as I have watched CRCL stock go ballistic in the last 60 days
The stories of the "dark web" thefts, wallets being unsecure, general sketchiness are all true
But times are changing
There is a push to use "stablecoins" as payment methods and cut out the fees of the credit card companies
I am not up to speed on any of this
But the winds of change have come to crypto currencies

 

[jp10558]

There is an infrastructure around crypto
I stopped paying attention to it about 5 years ago
My awareness is kicking in as I have watched CRCL stock go ballistic in the last 60 days
The stories of the "dark web" thefts, wallets being unsecure, general sketchiness are all true
But times are changing
There is a push to use "stablecoins" as payment methods and cut out the fees of the credit card companies
I am not up to speed on any of this
But the winds of change have come to crypto currencies

I think the "winds of change" are Trump promoting it, and like the Trump phone and Truth Social etc - how relevant that is to general phone market or the general social media market is questionable. Similarly, perhaps a Trump backed stable coin might become interesting to some people like some of his previous crypto investments, but I think at best it's one more round of hype after most people moved on to AI hype.

The problem is, say with one of the most trusted companies - coinbase - consumers pay to deposit cash 2.5%. They don't even have bitcoin yet, or any crypto. Then there's 1.8% (ish) to buy Bitcoin. So my $100 deposit got me $96.13 in bitcoin. Cool. Now on the sellers side, you can get that $96 in crypto, but there's transaction fees and conversion fees to USD and withdrawal fees. In the middle of all this my bitcoin may go up or down substantially.

Or, I can pay ~3% total with a payment processor.

I remember back when NFTs were big we tried to make an NFT for the heck of it, and by the time we had deposited $100, moved it to the correct walled, and tried to make a NFT I think we paid something like $50 in Etherium Gas fees, transfer fees etc.

This is not cheaper than paying Visa.

 

[pedro47]

How many major retailers or restaurants will accept bitcoins as of payment in 2025?

 

[Ken555]

PayPal to let U.S. businesses accept payment in more than 100 cryptocurrencies

The fintech giant will charge a transaction rate of 0.99% for the first year and then up it to 1.5%.

fortune.com

 

[pedro47]

Sounds liked bitcoins maybe the new currency in the future.