The manager of the San Carli apartments in San Agustín, south of Gran Canaria, announced this Tuesday that it can now collect reservations in Bitcoin through Opago Pay. For San Carli, an Opago Pay Lightning address has been created that allows reservations to be paid in advance or on arrival/departure, and transactions are displayed via the merchant dashboard and transaction reports.
Implementing the option of payments with bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is among Airbnb's priorities for 2024. Reservations with cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, have joined a variety of tokens to be included among payment methods. Since 2019, users of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies could pay their rentals on vacation rental platforms with their tokens through platforms such as Bitrefill. By then, the modality was available only for the United States, and for rentals of up to 28 days. The different payment methods is something that Airbnb is actively analyzing and hopes to arrive in the Canary Islands in 2024.
The cryptocurrency used must be converted to euros to be able to pay the rent, something a bit risky for both parties, since if something characterizes these digital assets it is their volatility. For example, on April 8, 2024, Bitcoin had a value of 65.931 euros and on the 17th of that same month it fell to 57.427 euros. Due to its volatility, it is advisable to establish a precise moment for the conversion to euros in front of a notary, since the price in the rental contract will always be expressed in euros. The rest of the document will be identical to a conventional lease contract: duration, the monthly price in euros, the deposit (which will have to be paid in cash and not in Bitcoin), etc.
Most, according to Eduardo G. Martínez, collaborator of Idealista News, points out that Spanish landlords tend to be small holders and are very unlikely to accept rent payment with Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies. "However, it is possible that large investors in the digital currency sector may be inclined to accept this payment method. In order to pay the rent with Bitcoin, this possibility must be reflected in the contract and that both parties (tenant and landlord) agree. In addition, both will have to have a virtual wallet in which the cryptocurrency established for payment can be stored. There are some electronic wallets that have a QR code that is scanned with the mobile phone and the transaction is carried out. No, you will have to know the address of the wallet and send a transfer," according to Martínez.
