We are excited to announce that for the 2022 season we will be accepting Bitcoin as a form of payment. Not only do we believe this will be a positive step for you, the customer, but it is a dramatically beneficial financial element to every small business that chooses to go down this path.
Present, it costs us on average close to 3% for every transaction that is made with a credit card. I say 3% because sometimes it is a bit higher, say on room bookings and sometimes a touch lower if done at our Square POS in the pub. In either event, it is a large number for a small business and a number that must eventually be passed on to you, the customer, as one of our basic ‘Cost of Business’ elements.
So, how will this work? Well, the simplest mechanism will be those of you that choose to pay us in the pub using your Square CashApp. Square has continued pushing out updates to both our POS (point of sale equipment) and to the consumer CashApp. If you don’t already have the app, I encourage you to download it and attempt to use it. Let us know how that goes. Remember, we are all on the cusp of a new financial world and there are going to be growing pains along the way.
Second, if you have your own BTC wallet, and wish to pay in a peer to peer manner, at the time of invoice, either in the pub, or for rooms, we will generate a BTC invoice that you can simply scan with your phone our BTC wallet address and remit payment. Again, compared to simply handing us a CC, these things will be a touch more tedious in 2022, but probably seamless by 2024. Change is always slower than we expect, but as the song says, change is a coming.
We have 4-5 months to work out these details so that we are ready for the season. However, for those of you that will begin booking rooms for the summer, please let us know in your booking request if you would like to pay via BTC. At present time, the system we use for processing room reservations will continue to take a one night deposit in USD at the time of booking. We hope to identify a way to avoid this for you, but in either event, you may choose to pay the balance of your booking with BTC, just let us know at the time of booking and we will create the appropriate invoice.
As this is a new and emerging financial market, we would love to hear your thoughts, especially if you are on the side of paying for goods and service in this manner.
More details will follow, so check back soon. We will be starting up the newsletter again next month and will be introducing this topic along with more details of what the 2022 season will look like. We are currently expecting the discount rate for paying in Bitcoin to be approximately 5%, but are still finalizing those details. We also envision this discount to apply to purchases in the Pub as well.
Wishing you all a happy Thanksgiving with your family and friends.
Glenn & Ellen