Webjet, an Australian travel agency, announced that it has built a blockchain Proof-of-Concept (PoC) solution with Microsoft, for online travel payments and hotel bookings. This first-of-a-kind solution has the potential to change the traditional way of processing and managing online payments in the travel industry.

Webjet has been responsible for managing thousands of hotel booking daily across its travel brands including ‘Lots of Hotels’ and ‘Sunhotels’. The blockchain PoC of Webjet and Microsoft has the potential to create a new industry standard, improving customer experiences and reducing the costs across the travel industry, the release stated.

“Working together with Microsoft, we discussed the challenges faced in our wholesale hotel environment and decided to explore blockchain as a solution to meet the needs of our business. Microsoft’s ongoing investments in building the industry’s most trusted cloud platform around the principles of security, privacy, and control, compliance and transparency, along with its deep heritage in guiding businesses, including Webjet, through periods of significant IT transformation made the decision to go on this journey with Microsoft a no-brainer,” John Guscic, Managing Director of Webjet said.

The blockchain PoC has built Smart Contracts that resolves issues created by data mismatches. By removing the risks of data inaccuracies, streamlining payment processes, boosting data security and resolving pain points in the payment process; the blockchain PoC has the proven potential to create shared, independent and trustworthy documents.

Webjet is rolling out the blockchain platform in three phases, where the first phase involves live PoC with Webjet’s ‘Lots of Hotels’ and ‘Sunhotels’ brands, trailing the platform. The second stage will see same brands trail features that are automated by blockchain. In the third phase, Lots of Hotels and Sunhotels will invite selected external parties to use the blockchain platform to demonstrate the benefits it delivers to the industry.

“Microsoft is uniquely positioned in this era of massive business and societal transformation. We’re the company that cares most deeply about the computing technologies for both people and the organizations they build. 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, CTO of Microsoft Azure said.