Chain4Travel Hosts Game-Changing ‘Decode Travel’ Hackathon in Berlin

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Last week, the “Decode Travel” Hackathon hosted by Chain4Travel at Berlin’s w3.hub sparked the creation of innovative, rapid solutions for the travel industry using the Camino Network, a blockchain infrastructure dedicated to travel. The event attracted over 50 experts from the tech, travel, and Web3 sectors, who formed teams to address four unique challenges issued by prominent figures in the travel and Web3 industries. These challenges fostered groundbreaking ideas in travel technology, aiming to enhance future travel experiences.

The challenges, presented by HolidayCheck, Alpitour World, Universal Mallorca Travel, and digital identity solution provider Polygon ID, aimed to innovate key aspects of the travel industry. These ranged from verifying the authenticity of travel reviews, to compensating local guides and activities, engaging travelers in sustainability projects, and implementing Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI) solutions to streamline and personalize the booking and travel processes.

The solutions were all built on the Camino blockchain, established by Chain4Travel in collaboration with over 170 international travel companies and brands.

Elimination of Fraud: The HolidayCheck Challenge
Facing the issue of fraudulent reviews in the hospitality sector, HolidayCheck tasked participants with using the Camino Network and zero-knowledge proofs (ZK-proofs) to verify hotel stays for review submissions, thereby addressing a significant problem. The winning team developed a mobile app utilizing ZK-proofs to confirm the authenticity of hotel stays during review submission, ensuring user privacy. By scanning a QR code at check-in linked to the HolidayCheck app connected to the traveler’s wallet, the solution facilitated accurate reviews tied directly to actual stays.

Authentic Experiences with Local Impact: The Alpitour World Challenge
Alpitour World’s startup, Utravel, encouraged participants to create a digital payment method for local guides and providers, circumventing traditional banking and cash systems, which can be problematic due to inflation or lack of transparency. The winning team crafted a crypto-payment solution for the Utravel marketplace, initiating payments by scanning a QR code and using established messengers like Telegram connected to travelers’ wallets.

Conservation through Innovation: Universal’s Marine Restoration Sponsorship Challenge
Universal Mallorca Travel and Universal Beach Hotels challenged participants to involve guests in environmental conservation through a Marine Restoration program. The winning solution included a platform that combined gamification and rewards, allowing guests to engage in a marine restoration adventure by discovering hidden QR codes or NFC tags at the hotels, with donations to the program and NFT rewards enhancing customer loyalty.

Combining Privacy and Personalization: The Polygon ID Challenge
Polygon ID’s challenge focused on personalizing travel experiences without compromising privacy. The winning solution facilitated a streamlined hotel check-in process where travelers could scan a QR code at reception to share only necessary information from their wallet, improving the check-in experience and personalizing the stay with customized information and rates.

Future impact of innovation

“The creativity and dedication displayed by all participants have been truly inspiring,” said Pablo Castillo, CTO of Chain4Travel. “This hackathon’s output demonstrates impressively how fast innovation based on Web3 can have an immense impact on the bright future of travel tech and the travel industry. Web3 enables new service approaches and impressive savings for participating companies, especially first movers.” To all participants and partners, the success of Decode Travel has set a new benchmark for the travel industry’s innovation landscape. Further Decode Travel Hackathons will therefore follow internationally.

Partnering Companies Supporting Innovation
The event showcased the 360-degree web3 cybersecurity platform Remedy by tech partner Hexens and received additional support from numerous firms including Avra Tours, A3M, Alpitour World, BytePitch, CaminoScan, Companion D, Cortex, Dfns, GP Solutions, HolidayCheck, ISO-Group, IT-Kompass, Polygon ID, Sleap.io, Triend, Universal Mallorca Travel & Universal Beach Hotels, Utravel, VIR, and YourInsight.