Australian Travel Agency Tests Blockchain Bookings

A hotel bookings company based in Australia has developed a blockchain proof-of-concept in partnership with Microsoft.

Using the tech giant’s Microsoft Azure platform as a basis, Webjet created what it described as a platform “to create shared, independent and trustworthy documents”.

The company is live testing its blockchain solution across several of the Web-based services it operates, with an eye to expand over the next year. According to the Australian Financial Review, the trials began six months ago.

The launch is notable given that Webjet began accepting bitcoin as a payment option in early 2015. Webjet is a public company which trades on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), a firm that has been experimenting with blockchain applications of its own. Other companies in the travel accommodations space, including Airbnb, have also moved to explore the tech.

For now, company execs say, the focus is on growing the scope of the pilot. John Guscic, managing director for Webjet, said in a statement:

“We realized facilitating bookings in the travel industry could become an additional business we could enter in the future, and the same technology could also help solve problems outside the travel industry.”

Representatives from Microsoft indicated that the core elements of the Webjet project could be applied elsewhere.

“By working with Webjet to use our digital platform, together we have created an innovative blockchain solution in Australia that has the potential to not only transform the travel industry but many other industries as well,” Mark Russinovich, Azure chief technology officer, said of the project.

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