--- title: "Thursday Buzz: Booking With Bitcoin" id: "23617" type: "post" slug: "thursday-buzz-booking-with-bitcoin" published_at: "2014-06-12T15:46:48+00:00" modified_at: "2026-03-16T04:16:54+00:00" url: "https://associationsnow.com/2014/06/12/thursday-buzz-booking-with-bitcoin/" markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2014/06/12/thursday-buzz-booking-with-bitcoin.md" excerpt: "A major online travel firm takes a bold first step into the future of currency. Also: an open-ended networking strategy." taxonomy_category: - "Meetings / Events" taxonomy_post_tag: - "AssociationsNow" - "Bitcoin" - "booking" - "bus travel" - "Meetings" taxonomy_content_format: - "Article" taxonomy_role: - "C-Level" - "Executive Team" - "VP" taxonomy_persona: - "Association Professionals" --- [Home](https://associationsnow.com/) » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/) » Thursday Buzz: Booking With Bitcoin It’s too soon to tell whether Bitcoin will become a mainstream phenomenon—for one thing, it’s [still pretty complicated for most people](http://associationsnow.com/2014/06/explain-bitcoin-give-away-like-guy/) —but that hasn’t stopped one major travel booker from supporting it. On Wednesday, Expedia announced it would begin accepting the digital currency from customers, becoming the first travel agency to do so. “Bitcoin is becoming a viable currency,” Expedia’s vice president of global product, Michael Gulmann, told *CNET*. “This is no different from going into any market, understanding how we can do business, and offering the forms of payment customers want.” Gulmann isn’t the first major e-commerce site to jump on the Bitcoin trend—that honor [goes to Overstock.com (opens in a new tab)](http://blog.coinbase.com/post/72787431702/coinbase-and-overstock-com-announce-largest-bitcoin) —but Expedia’s ties to the world of travel could give the currency mainstream mojo. Would you book a flight or hotel room with Bitcoin? ### Ask the Right Questions > “[C]ontinue to ask open-ended questions” [#conferences (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/hashtag/conferences?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) > [#networking (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/hashtag/networking?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) > [http://t.co/HZ6rhKjTcg (opens in a new tab)](http://t.co/HZ6rhKjTcg) > via [@Inc (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/Inc?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) > [#eventprofs (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/hashtag/eventprofs?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) > > — Quinn Banford (@QuinnBanfordVDA) [June 11, 2014 (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/QuinnBanfordVDA/status/476788490399916032?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) **The problem with networking?** It’s not always easy to get the conversation moving with someone you don’t know that well. But it’s certainly not a conversation killer if you know how to handle the situation. *Inc.com* writer Eric V. Holtzclaw, highlighting a recent conversation he had with *Conference Crushing* author Tyler Wagner, [has a little advice on how to keep up the chatter (opens in a new tab)](http://www.inc.com/eric-v-holtzclaw/conference-networking-3-ways-to-up-your-game.html?cid=sf01001) . “A trick he discusses, and something I learned from one of the best salespeople I ever worked with, is to continue to ask the person you are talking to open-ended questions,” Holtzclaw writes. “The less you say, the more the other person will like you. I would watch this sales professional have a conversation with someone new, telling the person very little about himself, and the person’s parting words would be, ‘It was so nice to meet you. I had such a great conversation!’ He had just made a connection for life.” Long story short: Ask the right questions, and let them answer. *(ht @[QuinnBanfordVDA (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/QuinnBanfordVDA/) )* ### Other Links of Note **Here’s a bright idea** from Network for Good’s Caryn Stein: [Use colors to drive impulses (opens in a new tab)](http://www.nonprofitmarketingblog.com/site/the_psychology_of_color_and_what_it_means_for_fundraising) with your fundraising approach. **Dropbox gets lots of love for its products,** and a large reason for that is its passion-based approach to project management, [according to Fast Company (opens in a new tab)](http://www.fastcompany.com/3031699/agendas/the-guiding-principle-that-helps-dropbox-move-big-projects-forward) . **Hewlett-Packard has a plan** to shrink the data center, and *Bloomberg Businessweek* says it could be [the future of enterprise computing (opens in a new tab)](http://www.businessweek.com/printer/articles/206401-with-the-machine-hp-may-have-invented-a-new-kind-of-computer) . (iStock/Thinkstock) [Ernie Smith](https://associationsnow.com/author/ernie-smith/) Ernie Smith is a former senior editor for Associations Now. [More articles by this author](https://associationsnow.com/author/ernie-smith/) Tags: [#Bitcoin](https://associationsnow.com/tag/bitcoin/) [#booking](https://associationsnow.com/tag/booking/) [#bus travel](https://associationsnow.com/tag/bus-travel/) [#Meetings](https://associationsnow.com/tag/meetings/) **Stay Informed** [Subscribe to our free newsletter](https://associationsnow.com/newsletter/) , *Associations Now Daily News*, to find out what’s happening in the association world every business day. ## You Might Like - [PodcastAssociations Now Presents: Beyond the Contract: Building Stronger Destination PartnershipsSeptember 24, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/09/24/associations-now-presents-beyond-the-contract-building-stronger-destination-partnerships/) - [VideoMelvin Tennant, CAE, President & CEO of Meet Minneapolis, Welcomes You to Great Ideas 2026September 2, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/09/02/melvin-tennant-cae-president-ceo-of-meet-minneapolis-welcomes-you-to-great-ideas-2026/) - [VideoASAE TV Daily Recap: Final Day at the 2026 ASAE Annual Meeting & ExpositionAugust 24, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/08/24/asae-tv-daily-recap-final-day-at-the-2026-asae-annual-meeting-exposition/) - [VideoTerin Bates, MBA, CAE, CX-PRO, Shares Her Experience at the 2026 ASAE Annual Meeting & ExpositionAugust 18, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/08/18/terin-bates-mba-cae-cx-pro-shares-her-experience-at-the-2026-asae-annual-meeting-exposition/) ## Comments **Comments are for ASAE members.** [Learn more about comments on this site.](https://associationsnow.com/comments/) [Log in](https://associationsnow.com/login?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fassociationsnow.com%2F2014%2F06%2F12%2Fthursday-buzz-booking-with-bitcoin%2F%23comments) to your member account or [join ASAE](https://my.asaecenter.org/select-a-membership-type/) !