Revolut launches Stays travel booking feature

Revolut’s new travel booking feature, Stays.
Revolution
LONDON — European fintech giant Revolut is getting into the travel industry.
The London-based company on Tuesday launched a new feature called Stays, which allows users to book hotels and other accommodation through its app.
Customers can receive up to 10% cashback on bookings made through Revolut, the company said.
The move represents a challenge for travel industry giants like Booking Holdings, Expedia and TripAdvisor. It is also the company’s first product to be launched outside of finance.
“As the world begins to cautiously open up, we know that everyone is desperate to get away from it all whenever they can, whether in Margate or Mallorca,” said Marsel Nikaj, head of the savings and lifestyle at Revolut.
“We designed Stays to make it easy for people to find and book their perfect stay in their ideal destination. After 18 months of endless restrictions and lockdowns, we want to give people more and take their money further.”
Revolut started life in 2015 as a digital-only banking and payments platform for spending abroad without paying expensive exchange fees. The company has since expanded its offering by rolling out new features for stock and cryptocurrency trading.
The company is one of many popular “neobanks” that have emerged in Europe and other parts of the world, mainly appealing to younger customers with a smooth user experience and colorful bank cards.
Rivals include Monzo and Starling in the UK, N26 in Germany and Chime in the US
Last week, Revolut was valued at $33 billion in a monster funding round, making it the UK’s top fintech start-up and the second-biggest fintech in Europe. The company has 16 million users worldwide.
Revolut aims to become what is called a “super app”, which offers multiple services through a single interface. The trend has gained traction in Asia, popularized by companies like Grab and GoTo in Southeast Asia and Alibaba and Tencent in China.
Revolut’s Stays feature is first launching in the UK on Tuesday before rolling out to Europe and the US in the coming months. It will only offer accommodation for now, but plans to include flights, car rentals and other travel options later.
It comes as some European countries tighten restrictions on public life due to fears of a resurgence in Covid cases. In stark contrast, England on Monday lifted nearly all of its remaining coronavirus restrictions.