For long-haul travellers holidaying in Cape Town, the foreign exchange odds are almost always firmly in their favour. Whether you’re paying with Pounds, Dollars or Euros, once you’ve cashed into South African Rands Cape Town ranks as one of the most affordable cities on earth.
And now local luxury hotel group Tintswalo Lodges is adding the blockchain to the list of ways to bag a deal on your next Cape escape, allowing travellers to pay for their stay using cryptocurrency.
Tintswalo runs six boutique luxury lodges and hotels across southern Africa, including a pair of remarkable coastal escapes in Cape Town. The star of the show is Tintswalo Atlantic, perched on a private coastal concession within the Table Mountain National Park. If you fancy a night with the waves crashing at your feet, and unforgettable sunset views from the pool deck, look no further.
A 30-minute drive away, Tintswalo at Boulders is a more laid-back escape; a villa-style experience above the famous Boulders beach. Here you’ll be woken by the braying of African penguins, and spend your days dipping into the warm(ish) waters of False Bay, before returning to the rooftop pool and sheltered balconies of the villa.
Both lodges are remarkable in their own right, and can now be booked with the crytocurrency Tether.
Tether (USDT) is a so-called ‘stablecoin’ that, unlike traditional cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin or Ethereum, are pegged to the value of a real-world fiat currency. Tether is pegged to the US Dollar, minimising volatility and, in theory, making Tether a more stable and less risky cryptocurrency investment. And, as of late-2023, you can now cash in your Tether for a stay at any of Tintswalo's six properties in South Africa and Zambia.
‘We like to think of this step as revolutionizing the world of luxury hospitality,' says Lisa Goosen, CEO of Tintswalo Lodges. ‘We are open to new technologies and see this as a continuation of the personalized services Tintswalo is proud to offer our guests.’
Tintswalo has enabled the cryptocurrency solution through payment provider Ezee Solutions Group and Pundi X, and aims to reduce transaction costs for both the guest and Tintswalo. Because of the dollar-pegging transactions are made without any risk of price volatility, and payments are typically instant and final, with no need for costly currency conversion.
It's no surprise why Boulders is rated #4 on the Time Out list of the Best Beaches in Cape Town.