# StaySats changelog > StaySats changelog from October 12, 2026: hotels paid in crypto, bookings on request, 5 open datasets, payment rules and corrections. Dated, never backdated. - URL: https://staysats.com/changelog/ - Last updated: 2026-10-13 - Publisher: StaySats (https://staysats.com) Every change to what we sell, how payment and refunds work, and the data we publish, dated and listed newest first. Corrections have their own section. The log starts on October 12, 2026; nothing is backdated. **Quick answer — What has changed at StaySats?** **StaySats**, a hotel booking site paid only in crypto, keeps a dated log of its changes. It started on October 12, 2026, and has nine entries. They cover what we sell, how payment works, bookings made on request, our editorial policy and our five datasets. Corrections are listed in their own section. ## Changelog at a glance | Attribute | Value | | --- | --- | | First entry | October 12, 2026: what we sell and how payment works | | Latest entry | October 13, 2026: seller registry update | | Entries so far | 9: seven dated October 12, 2026, two dated October 13, 2026 | | Order | Newest first | | What goes here | What we sell, coins and networks, prices and fees, refund rules, places we can't sell, published data | | Acceptance index checks | Monthly; last check October 13, 2026 | | Seller registry checks | Quarterly; last check October 13, 2026 | | Corrections | Listed in their own section, with the date, the page or row, and the source; one so far | | Backdating | Never; a past entry is only corrected with a dated note | ## 2026-10-13: Seller registry update **Data update.** New and updated rows in the [crypto travel seller registry](https://staysats.com/crypto-travel-seller-registry/), each read on the seller's own pages on October 13, 2026. - **Added, hotels:** trip1 and IMPT. - **Added, hotels and flights:** Sleap, BitPay Travel (also car rentals and activities) and TravelSwap (also vacation rentals). - **Added, gift cards:** BitPay, which resells travel gift cards. TravelSwap and IMPT also sell gift cards. - **Updated, LockTrip:** its terms name Locktrip Ltd., in Bulgaria, and refund crypto payments in USDC. Its refund, fees, ID and blocked-country fields now have sources. - **Removed from LockTrip's coins:** "EUR transfer", which no page we read announces. - **Company sheet updated, [LockTrip](https://staysats.com/alternatives/locktrip/):** company, country, refund rules, fees and ID rules, from its terms, AML policy, FAQ and the Bulgarian Commercial Register. - **Pages updated:** the registry, the [comparison of crypto hotel sites](https://staysats.com/best-crypto-hotel-booking-sites/) and [Monero and Lightning](https://staysats.com/monero-and-lightning/). - Files: [JSON](https://staysats.com/data/crypto-travel-sellers.json) and [CSV](https://staysats.com/data/crypto-travel-sellers.csv), under CC BY 4.0. ## 2026-10-13: Hotel taxes by city, first edition **New data.** A dated table of the tourist taxes, levies and hotel taxes in the 14 cities of our city guides, Bali and Tokyo first. Each row gives the tax, the amount or rate, how it is charged, whether it is in the room price, and its source. Checked on October 13, 2026. - Page: [hotel taxes by city](https://staysats.com/hotel-taxes-by-city/). - Files: [JSON](https://staysats.com/data/hotel-taxes-by-city.json) and [CSV](https://staysats.com/data/hotel-taxes-by-city.csv), under CC BY 4.0. - Also on the page, not in the files: the accommodation tax of other Japanese cities and Japan's departure tax. - Next check: quarterly, and after an announced rate change. ## 2026-10-12: Editorial policy, press facts and how to cite our data **New pages.** How we write, source, check and correct our pages and datasets is now public. - **Editorial policy:** our sources, how a fact is checked and dated, and how often each dataset is checked. It also covers our conflict of interest, AI tools and corrections. [Editorial policy](https://staysats.com/editorial-policy/). - **Signature:** pages are signed by the StaySats research desk, TravelGoat LLC. Named reviewers will be listed when appointed. - **Press facts:** company facts, logo files and dated figures from our four datasets. [Press](https://staysats.com/press/). - **How to cite:** one citation line per dataset, on [open data](https://staysats.com/data/) and on the press page. ## 2026-10-12: Bookings are now made on request **Change to how we book.** Bookings are now made on request: we confirm the final total with the hotel before you are charged. - **Price:** the price found live for your dates, in US dollars, for the whole stay. Taxes and fees are included when the hotel publishes them; the final total is confirmed with the hotel before you are charged. - **At checkout:** the exact total shown is held on your balance, not charged. - **Booking:** our team books the room with the hotel and confirms the final total. - **Higher total:** you accept it, or the full amount is released. Nothing extra is ever taken without your agreement. - **Not confirmed in time:** the full amount is released to your balance. - **Rate rules and local taxes paid at the hotel:** confirmed with your booking. Until then, treat the rate as non-refundable. - **Unchanged:** coins, refunds, the data we ask for, Spain paused and sanctions. Steps: [how it works](https://staysats.com/how-it-works/). ## 2026-10-12: What StaySats sells, and how payment works **Starting rules.** StaySats sells hotel bookings paid only in crypto, operated by TravelGoat LLC (United States). - **Coins:** BTC, USDT, USDC, ETH, SOL, LTC; USDT on Tron (TRC-20) or Ethereum (ERC-20), USDC on Ethereum (ERC-20). No Monero, no Lightning, no card. - **Balance:** top-up from $25, credited in US dollars after the network confirmations; unused balance never expires. - **Held, not charged:** the total of a stay is held at checkout and charged only when the hotel confirmation number is issued. Otherwise it is released at once. - **Price rule:** the total of the stay in US dollars, found live for your dates. How that total is confirmed is in the entry about bookings on request. - **Refunds:** the hotel can't host you, 100% back in USDT or USDC within 7 days of your request, or balance credit if you choose it. [Refunds](https://staysats.com/refunds/). - **Not available:** Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Russia, Belarus, Syria, Crimea and the Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine (sanctions). Hotels in Spain are paused until our SES.HOSPEDAJES registration is done. ## 2026-10-12: Hotel & Booking-Site Crypto Acceptance Index, first edition **New data.** The first edition covers 22 entries: booking sites, hotel groups and single hotels. Each row gives the crypto status, how it works, the conditions, the date of our check and the source. 21 rows were checked on October 13, 2026; Meliá is not checked yet, and Hyatt is not verified because its site showed a bot check. - Page: [hotel crypto acceptance index](https://staysats.com/hotel-crypto-acceptance-index/). - Files: /data/hotel-crypto-acceptance.json and .csv, under CC BY 4.0. - Next check: monthly, and sooner after an announcement. ## 2026-10-12: Crypto Travel Seller Registry, first edition **New data.** The first edition listed 15 sites that sell travel for crypto, 13 of them active. StaySats, the publisher, is shown apart and not counted. For each one, it gives the company, country, products, coins and networks, and the form of the refund of a crypto payment. It adds published fees, ID checks and blocked countries, with sources. Checked on October 12, 2026. - Page: [crypto travel seller registry](https://staysats.com/crypto-travel-seller-registry/). - Files: /data/crypto-travel-sellers.json and .csv, under CC BY 4.0. - Next check: quarterly. ## 2026-10-12: Crypto-friendly destinations data **New data.** It covers 100 destinations. For each one, it gives the places listed on BTC Map within 25 km of the city centre. It adds the local rule on paying in crypto on the spot, and hotel check-in ID rules where we found them. Counts dated October 12, 2026. - Page: [crypto-friendly destinations](https://staysats.com/crypto-friendly-destinations/). - Files: /data/crypto-friendly-destinations.json and .csv, under CC BY 4.0. ## 2026-10-12: Hotel Check-in Without a Credit Card, first edition **New data.** A dated table of what large hotel groups say about the deposit at check-in: card hold, debit card, cash, amount and release time. Each row links to the group's own page. Checked on October 12, 2026. - Page: [check-in without a credit card](https://staysats.com/check-in-without-credit-card/). - Format: CC BY 4.0, as [JSON](https://staysats.com/data/hotel-check-in-deposits.json) and [CSV](https://staysats.com/data/hotel-check-in-deposits.csv). ## Corrections **2026-10-13, [LockTrip company sheet](https://staysats.com/alternatives/locktrip/).** We wrote that we found no company or country and no rule for refunding a crypto payment. Its terms, updated September 24, 2026, name Locktrip Ltd., in Sofia, Bulgaria, and refund crypto payments in USDC. The sheet now gives that rule and its FAQ rule (original payment method, fee of up to 2%). Sources: its terms, AML policy and FAQ, and the Bulgarian Commercial Register. **2026-10-13, [Istanbul hotels](https://staysats.com/hotels/istanbul/), page description.** We wrote "Tax 1% in 2026". The accommodation tax was 2% until a decision published on May 1, 2026, and is 1% until December 31, 2026. The description now says "Tax 1% to end-2026". Source: the Revenue Administration's note on Presidential Decision 11263. When we correct a fact on a page or in a dataset row, we list it here, newest first, with: - the date of the correction; - the page or the dataset row; - what we said before, and what is right; - the source that shows it. A correction never moves the date of the original entry. To report an error, write to support@staysats.com with the page, the row and a source. The process is on our [editorial policy](https://staysats.com/editorial-policy/). ## What comes next, once it is measured? These figures do not exist yet, so the site shows none of them. Each will get its own dated entry here when it is published: - **Median time to hotel confirmation**, once real bookings have been measured, with the number of bookings behind it. - **Price statistics per city**, such as the median price of a night. They will come once our own searches have measured them, with the month and the date. - **Spain:** the reopening of Spanish hotels, once our registration with SES.HOSPEDAJES is done. Until then, prices are live in the search, and no delay is promised. ## Changelog: FAQ ### When does this changelog start? On October 12, 2026. The first entry sets out what StaySats sells and how payment works on that date. It covers hotel bookings paid in BTC, USDT, USDC, ETH, SOL, LTC, a $25 minimum top-up and the held-not-charged rule. Nothing before that date is logged or backdated. ### Why is there no confirmation time on the site yet? Because it has not been measured. Bookings are made on request, and each one depends on the hotel's answer. A median needs real bookings. We will publish it here only once it is measured, with its date and the number of bookings behind it. Until then, we promise no delay. ### What changed for bookings on October 12, 2026? Bookings are now made on request. The price is found live for your dates. After checkout, our team books the room with the hotel and confirms the final total before you are charged. A higher total needs your agreement, and if we cannot confirm in time, the full amount is released. ### How will I know when Spanish hotels open? A dated entry will appear in this changelog, and the [where we can't sell hotels](https://staysats.com/where-we-cant-sell-hotels/) page will be updated the same day. Until then, Barcelona, Madrid and Palma show "Not available yet". ### Do you change past entries? Only to correct an error, and then with a dated note under the entry and a line in the Corrections section. We never move a date to make a change look older. Data rows keep the date of their last real check. ### How often is the acceptance index updated? Every month, and sooner after a public announcement by a hotel group or booking site. Each update that changes a status gets an entry here; the files in [open data](https://staysats.com/data/) carry the date of each row. ### Will you add new coins or networks? Any new coin or network will be listed here with its date, and on the [pay with crypto](https://staysats.com/pay/) page. Today we accept BTC, USDT, USDC, ETH, SOL, LTC, with USDT on TRC-20 or ERC-20. Monero and Lightning are not accepted. ## Sources 1. [Real Decreto 933/2021, de 26 de octubre](https://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-2021-17461) — Boletín Oficial del Estado (2026-10-12) 2. [BTC Map](https://btcmap.org/) — BTC Map (2026-10-12) --- StaySats: StaySats is a hotel booking site paid only in crypto: BTC, USDT, USDC, ETH, SOL, LTC, with USDT on TRC-20 or ERC-20. You top up a balance from $25, and a booking is held, not charged, until the hotel's confirmation number is issued.