Ecosystem of Hotels on Cardano

[IMPACT] Please describe your proposed solution.

Background

Government and travel-related solutions (travel websites, tour operators, booking engines, hotel property management systems, review systems, CRM, loyalty systems) are spending enormous efforts to capture traveller information and at different stages of the journey.

This information is used by the systems to give the traveller the best experience but also for compliance with authorities.

The traveler has to share the same information multiple times which is time-consuming, he/she does not have any control over their personal data and how it is being saved and treated.

Service providers such as hotels need to integrate this content from various sources and invest heavily in integration systems and CRMs. This creates an additional risk for service providers from not “owning” the customer experience and not being able to assure the privacy and security of their customer data.

The solution

Our vision is to create a Traveller Identity that can be used across the hospitality ecosystem. The attached image shows the various traveller journeys possible when booking hotel rooms. It is a simplified version as there could be many more cross-connection.

Our group is filing a series of proposals that would result in the most comprehensive decentralised hospitality booking ecosystem on the market. See below a checklist of the planned Traveler ID integrations and our progress:

• Integrate RateTiger hotel website booking engine (Funded in F8)
• Grow number of hotels using Traveler ID <> RateTiger integration (this proposal, F9)
• Integrate other hotel website booking engines (Proposed in F9)
• Integrate Online Travel Agency (Proposed in F9)
• Integrate Property Management System (Planned for F10)

This collaboration will be the showcase that integrating traveller ID is possible across the multiple booking opportunities for the traveller. It will then incentivise discussions with the industry actors about blockchain implementation and will position Cardano as a leader in the field.

In Fund 8 we proposed and got funded to showcase that we can connect travellers ID with hotel booking engine website. The project is progressing very well and we expect to finalize it by the schedule suggested if not before. 

This proposal focuses on extending the impact of our F8 proposal by convincing 10 of Rate Tiger’s new and existing hotel clients to adopt the Traveler ID plug-in.

Our objective with multiple proposals is to showcase and build the infrastructure to be able to connect Traveller ID to all the various booking sources and up to the hotel PMS - property management system.

Our focus in this proposal

Our work in this proposal is split into two parts:

1. Marketing and Sales

Compile and qualify a list of hotel targets and follow structured marketing and sales plan to convert at least 10 targets into active customers. 

1. Implementation

Implement the Rate Tiger Traveler ID plug-in with every converted customer and provide onboarding support.In the promotional activities for these new customers, we propose to incentivise the first 50 travellers per Hotel to adopt the Traveler ID solution with a $20USD in ADA payment. This has the added benefit of also helping to drive new customers for the hotels and new users for Cardano.

We can make some estimates about the MVP and pilot based on our knowledge of the market:

Our MVP will focus on a narrow and needed solution for travellers and hotels: integration of decentralised ID interactions into an more hotels process, enabling one-click form filling and efficient booking completion. 

The solution has the potential to achieve a completely new form of handling for traveler information within the hospitality industry.

• Travelers control and manage their identity to fulfil transactions such as booking, check-in and payment. Never re-enter the same details twice, always know what data you are sharing with whom, and benefit from tailored services.
• Hotels offers a seamless and privacy-preserving customer experience while reducing technology and transaction costs by establishing the efficiency of information management.

As per the workflow proposed in our F8 proposal, the Rate Tiger integration offers the following flow: 

The approximate workflow is as follows:

1. User reaches the moment of booking on the online booking engine.
2. User scans a QR code on booking engine to trigger SSI interaction
3. User receives and accepts consent request in ProofSpace App to share verifiable identity, demographic and payment information with the booking engine.
4. Booking engine receives and processes booking request.
5. User receives booking confirmation as verifiable credential (VC).
6. Hotel receives order details from booking engine.
7. User shares booking confirmation VC and ADA wallet address (and a guide how to open an address if he/she does not have one) with smart contract to trigger ADA20 payment to their designated address.
8. User can share booking confirmation VC with hotel on arrival to complete check-in.

Future stages:

1. Increase the number of onward interactions that are possible for the user inside the hotel.
2. Increase the number of participating hotels, travel agencies and third-party systems.

Business model

Once the model is established and more hotels will start adapting the solution, hotels will pay a licence fee (monthly or annual) which is a common model for technology services in the hospitality industry.

How we will do this:

The integration with Rate Tiger booking engine will be production-ready by end-July, with a test integration ready sooner.  

The solution is enabled by the combination of technologies from Atala PRISM, ProofSpace and eRevMax.

• Atala PRISM is being integrated into the ProofSpace no code decentralized ID platform as part of a Fund 7 proposal entitled No-Code SSI SaaS for mass adoption (see https://cardano.ideascale.com/c/idea/385204), completing in June. ProofSpace is already live with Hyperledger Indy credentials, meaning that we can production deployments prior to the production launch of Atala PRISM by IOG.
• The ProofSpace platform can be used to define the credentials, service profiles and service interactions (collectively “the workflow”) for travel services and travellers.
• The ProofSpace platform has existing integrations with ID verification and KYC providers for a higher level of identity assurance.
• Integration with the travel services and industry platforms can be achieved using eRevMax extensive integration infrastructure, including Rate Tiger booking engine.

The combination of these technologies and the project team’s existing large hospitality network and customer base gives this proposal a high chance of success and scale.

Impact of this proposal

The impact will be proving the integration of reusable decentralised ID within a hotel booking process and the technology cycle from traveller ID creation to booking confirmation.

b.1. Impact For Travelers

In the big picture, a traveler identity will be structured as a multi-layer credential to allow for the fulfillment of a range of possible transactions. Travelers can use the ProofSpace App, enabled with Atala PRISM credentials, to manage their credentials and complete interactions with third-party services.

• Official identity - passport and/or national ID information.
• Health - allergies, disability and access requirements, smoking preferences, COVID-19 vaccination/test status.
• Demographics - age, sex, gender pronoun preferences, marriage status, children, occupation.
• Travel preferences - seat location, floor preference, trip type (vacation, business), nutritional.

Travellers will actively provide their consent for the data sharing and complete the transaction with a single button on their phone.

Each time they reuse their multi-layer decentralised ID, they save time, claim greater control of their privacy and expand their personalised Traveller Identity Ecosystem - a network of services that aggregate around them and their preferences.

b.2. Impact For Hotels

Hotels can offer an improved booking experience to their customers, a unique value proposition to privacy-minded travelers and a way to attract new customers to their website. 

In the future, we can relate and connect hotels to other services in the Cardano ecosystem such as wallets or travel NFTs and enable ada payments for participating hotels. 

Some possible interactions for hotels include enabling the traveller to:

• Make a booking
• Earn loyalty points
• Set personalized hotel preferences 
• Document confirmation process made easy (e.g. passport) 

Through these interactions several internal goals can be achieved by the hotel

• Identity verification and KYC
• Document verification
• Payment verification
• Data privacy and consent management
• Customer identity access management (online or offline)
• SSI OAuth
• Fraud prevention
• Regulatory compliance transaction monitoring

Each time the traveller uses their reusable traveller ID, the hotel provides them a better customer experience while creating a direct connection with the traveller for their future travel needs.

b.3. Impact For the Cardano community

Reusable ID for international travel represents a current market opportunity of $1bn, expected to expand to $4.82b by 2026 (Liminal 2022, https://liminal.co/reports/market-opportunity-for-reusable-identity/). This proposal unlocks the potential for Atala PRISM credentials to become the dominant credential format used in the travel sector, and will immediately start driving new users and transactions to Cardano through ADA incentive and use of PRISM credentials. 

Business model:

A small commission from each booking will be paid for the service, which is a common model for technology services in the hospitality industry.

[IMPACT] Please describe how your proposed solution will address the Challenge that you have submitted it in.

From the challenge:

What dapps, products and integrations can be implemented to bring impactful use cases to Cardano ecosystem that help drive more adoption?

From the challenge: Cardano needs a thriving ecosystem of different Dapps, products and integrations for the community to use that increasingly become the better alternatives over current centralized providers. The more interesting and useful the products and integrations are that can be built in the ecosystem the more reasons people have to interact with the Cardano blockchain that can help further drive more adoption, feedback, growth and even

The suggested proposal will deliver a PoC of a multiple hotels are using digital ID in their booking process. It is a specific use case that is typical for the hospitality industry and that could be replicated into a potential $4.8b market (Liminal 2022). The team has the experience and network to scale such a solution and integrate it with B2B relevant systems. If successful, this use case would drive significant usage of PRISM credentials in the hospitality industry. The lessons and insights gathered through this proposal would offer a set of principles for how SSI can be effectively introduced to this vertical.

A major part of the proposal is about giving people a set of portable “Traveller ID” credentials which they can carry around with them and use to complete travel related transactions and requirements.

From the challenge: Ecosystem maturity requirements - Why is this product or integration suitable for execution right now? 

The hospitality industry is a massive one and inspires each and every one of us. Blockchain technology could be a major part of creating a new type of booking experience. However, not all the Cardano technology infrastructure is ready. This is why we choose a modular approach where we are first mak POC of the integration with the booking engine and not aiming to get 10 hotels to use the solution and coordinated by two expert companies Proofspace and eRevMax. It will enable us to start working on this important industry, creating use cases, and traction, and provide more technology solutions as they come available. This is the first step of many to bringing blockchain technology to this important industry.

[IMPACT] What are the main risks that could prevent you from delivering the project successfully and please explain how you will mitigate each risk?

• Travel industry resistance from major players that might perceive it as a challenge. eRevMax has the technology infrastructure and personal relationships to initiate collaboration and co-design with key stakeholders.

• Security and assurance of traveller data is a top priority but also a challenge. eRevMax has a lot of experience in mitigating this area.

• Level of engagement from Hotel partners in the implementation process. The implementation will be run with a Hotel that is an existing close partner of eRevMax, and their efforts on the implementation will be partially covered in the budget for this proposal.

[FEASIBILITY] Please provide a detailed plan, including timeline and key milestones for delivering your proposal.

Tasks

1. Marketing and Sales
2. Compile and qualify a list of leads of c.100 hotel leads.
3. Develop marketing and sales plan for those leads.
4. Launch marketing and sales plan to start converting leads.
5. Implementation
6. Implement traveler ADA incentive flow.
7. Implement the Rate Tiger Traveler ID plug-in for each converted lead.
8. Provide onboarding support to each converted lead.

Deliverables & Milestones

Aug/Sept

• Receive funds
• A compilation of a list of qualified leads

Oct

• Develop marketing and sales plan for those leads
• Implement the ADA incentive flow for travelers

Nov

• Launch marketing and sales plan
• A total of 2 hotels were converted and onboarded

Dec

• Total of 4 hotels converted and onboarded 

Jan

• Total of 6 hotels converted and onboarded

Feb

• Total of 10 hotels converted and onboarded

Other proposals in this and past funds:

ProofSpace is involved in a number of F8 and F9 projects and manages the workload as follows:

• We invest significant time and effort at the proposal stage to clearly understand the tech and workflow requirements of the collaboration.
• In most cases, the workflows can be created using existing ProofSpace no-code tools, and we support our partners with training in order to set up and test these workflows. The no-code tools are ready, proven and enable us to work with large numbers of projects simultaneously.
• If additional development is required for a given use case, whether for a feature or an integration, this effort is included in the proposal budget. We project manage the team’s time accordingly and, if necessary, hire (part or full time) the additional talent required to deliver the proposal.
• By the time F9 is underway, our F7 and the majority of our F8 proposals will be delivered, which means we will have capacity to focus on delivery of F9 proposals.
• Catalyst reporting and ADA payment management creates an additional pressure on our capacity, which we plan for in our monthly rhythm of business and are systematising.

• eRevMax: 

eRevMax is a technology integration company for the hospitality industry for the last 20 years and the work in this proposal and other related proposals is in line with it standard activities 

• Connectality: 

Here is a link explaining workload management. 

For this proposal, Yoram and Connectivity will mainly serve as project admin lead & coordinator

[FEASIBILITY] Please provide a detailed budget breakdown.

Below is a detailed budget per task

A rate of $100/ hour is applied.

$10,000 of the budget will be assigned as promotion to onboard uses 500 x $20USD in ADA

[FEASIBILITY] Please provide details of the people who will work on the project.

eRevMax technology team, mostly based in India, including Cotland and Java developers (related to Atala Prism software)

eRevMax is a leading travel B2B integration technology company, founded over 20 years ago and was a leading innovator in many of the industry state of the art solutions such as rate shopping tools and channel managers. The company had over 1000 technology integrations (i.e. travel websites, booking engines, property management systems) and is being used by hotels across the globe.

For more info visit https://www.eRevMax.com or view the following link

https://www.erevmax.com/resources-download/RateTiger-CRS-BI-Flyer.pdf

• Udai Solanki, travel industry technology expert, Founder eRevMax.com 20 years ago, served as CTO and since last two years as CEO https://www.linkedin.com/in/solanki

ProofSpace is a multi-network identity platform, wrapped with no-code tools for building and scaling decentralized ID workflows and ecosystems. Our goal is to eliminate the barriers to adopting Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI) and proliferate the range and volume of use cases on production. Our vision is to power global digital inclusion and cross-chain commerce with interoperable verifiable credentials, and in so doing expand use of blockchain as a medium of trust. We are live with Hyperledger Indy, on testnet with Atala PRISM and reviewing SSI protocols on Polkadot, Ethereum and Solana. LinkedIn | Twitter | YouTube | Knowledge Base

The key members of the ProofSpace team supporting this proposal include:

• Nick Mason - CEO. Experienced social entrepreneur and venture analyst with a proven track record of social venture funding and of starting and growing ventures in Europe and Africa. Background as Consultant venture analyst at Toniic, Head of Portfolio and Operations at BeyondMe, UK Director for Sierra Leone based education charity and Trustee for Street Child. Co-Founded ProofSpace (formerly ZAKA in 2019).
• Viktor Radchenko - CTO and Mobile. 20-year R&D track record. Skilled in project and product management, solution architecture, science consulting, blockchain, mobile, web, game, and embedded development. 6 publications in peer-reviewed journals. 
• Ruslan Shevchenko, PhD - Solution Architect and BE. Skilled architect and scientific researcher with 30-years’ experience across blockchain, telecom, advertising and financial services. Researcher in the Institute of Software Systems and Founder of several successful ventures including NBI (an Internet Provider), GradSoft (a software development firm) and UA Scala user group. 10 publications in peer-reviewed journals, co-authored book entitled “Methods of Algebraic Programming” and is an active columnist for the Ukrainian developers' community portal.
• Alexey Hodkov - Frontend/Backend. Talented web backend and frontend solution architect and developer with 17-years’ experience. Team leader, tech mentor and CTO in complex projects for various companies like Yandex LLC and Megogo.
• Viacheslav Zhelobkov - Senior Mobile Dev. Software developer with 20 years experience in wide variety of IT areas including embedded, mobile, web, backend, etc. in roles from solo founder to Solution Architect and CTO.
• Olesya Kershaw - Business and Customer Success Analyst. A professional musician, experienced concert pianist and teacher who made a career change into digital technologies. She uses her analytical, relationship building and research skills in her work as a business and customer success analyst, while continuously developing her technical skills.

- Connectality - Yoram Ben Zvi, an industry expert with 20 years of experience in the travel technology and leisure industry as an entrepreneur as well as COO at eRevMax. As part of his role, Yoram was responsible also for sales & marketing for hotels and partnerships with hospitality technology companies (OTAs, booking engines, review systems and more)

https://www.linkedin.com/in/yoram-ben-zvi-446836/. Yoram is also an active catalyst community member as CA, successful proposal, and active in Cardano4Climate community

[FEASIBILITY] If you are funded, will you return to Catalyst in a later round for further funding? Please explain why / why not.

Our goal is to develop a solution with a clear business model that is adapted to the hospitality industry. In our multiple proposals, we are building the framework and infrastructure for the hospitality industry connectivity to DID on Cardano. In the future, we might apply again for funding especially to scale and introduce more technology solutions by Cardano into the hospitality industry. For example ADA payments, smart contacts with travel agents, rewards systems, and more. All important use cases for Cardano adoption.

[FEASIBILITY] Are you or any member of your team working on any other proposals in this Fund9?

[FEASIBILITY] Are you or your team working on any other proposals from previous Funds?

[AUDITABILITY] Please describe what you will measure to track your project's progress, and how will you measure these?

Measurement of the project progress will directly align with the Deliverables & Milestones identified above.

The following milestones will be shared with the Catalyst community through community channels and/or monthly reports:

• Publish finalized booking workflow
• Confirm onboarded hotel partners
• Confirm any further onboarded hotel partners
• Integrations and setup underway
• Publish a video of the functioning workflow with dummy data
• Push to production
• First customers go through full workflow successfully (can include stakeholder attestations and feedback)

The community will also be aware of the hotels that implemented the solution so it will be possible to follow the implementation and progress.

[AUDITABILITY] What does success for this project look like?

The key success factor will be having more hotels using Cardano technology. The travel industry is a major one and this proposal gives Cardano a big step forward in claiming use cases and transaction market share. The success of this proposal will be to showcase the technology and initiate a discussion with other travel technology players about what is possible with blockchain technology.

Success in this proposal will be measured by the number of integrated hotels and the number of travelers who have used the Traveler ID plug-in. Long-term proposal success will be measured by the growth of those figures month-on-month.

For this proposal:

1. Number of of integrated hotels
2. Good: 10 or more
3. Great: 15 or more
4. Outstanding: 20 or more
5. Number of Traveler ID bookings
6. Good: 500 bookings
7. Great: 750 bookings
8. Outstanding: 1000 bookings

[AUDITABILITY] Please provide information on whether this proposal is a continuation of a previously funded project in Catalyst or an entirely new one.

ProofSpace is integrating Atala PRISM credentials into its platform through its F7 proposal (see https://cardano.ideascale.com/c/idea/385204). 

Fund 8: TravelerID, https://cardano.ideascale.com/c/idea/399697