Staynex Acquires Sleap.io in $15M Web3 Travel Deal

Jan de Vries · 2026-04-10

The travel tech world just got a major shakeup. Staynex, that AI-powered Web3 travel platform from Singapore, just announced it's fully acquiring Sleap.io, a Swiss hotel booking tech company. The price tag? A cool $15 million. Now, if Jeff Hoffman's name sounds familiar, it should. He's the Priceline and Booking Holdings founder, and he chairs Staynex. This isn't just some random purchase. It's a strategic move that blends two very different pieces of the puzzle. ### What This Deal Actually Means Think of it like this: Staynex brings its token-powered loyalty system and a strong foothold in Asia to the table. Sleap.io counters with a proprietary hotel booking engine, deep European market knowledge, and solid connections in the crypto world, like with Gate and Coinbase. They're not just merging companies; they're building a new kind of global travel platform from the ground up. The whole thing will operate under the Staynex brand. And the timing? It's crucial. This deal lands right before Staynex's big token generation event scheduled for April 2026 and their plans for exchange listings. ### The Vision Behind the Merger Michael Ros, the founder of Sleap.io, put it perfectly. He said, "When we founded Sleap in 2023, our mission was to reimagine hotel booking for the Web3 era. Joining Staynex is a strong validation of that vision." He's not just walking away, either. Ros is stepping into a senior leadership role as the CEO of Europe for the Staynex Group. His entire core team is making the move too, which means product development and key relationships stay intact. That's huge for continuity. So, what did Sleap.io actually do? Founded in Switzerland just last year, it was a Web3 hotel booking platform from day one. We're talking crypto payments, wallet logins, and tokenized rewards, all giving you access to over 1.5 million hotels worldwide. It was built on the Camino Network, fully embracing that Web3 infrastructure. ### Building a New Travel Ecosystem Staynex has been quietly building its own universe around the STAY token. It's all about social memberships and community-driven travel experiences. Hoffman's team has been focused on merging real travel credibility with crypto-native design. The goal? A single place where you can book a trip, earn rewards, and actually engage with a community of modern travelers. This acquisition gives them exactly what they need to pull it off. Yuen Ho Wong, Staynex's CEO and founder, explained it like this: "This gives Staynex exactly what the market wants right now: stronger traction, deeper infrastructure, and practical utility before our next big steps." He pointed out that Sleap built exceptional tech and earned real credibility in Europe. Bringing that in-house now makes the foundation of the STAY ecosystem much, much stronger. ### What Users Can Expect Next So, what does the combined platform offer you? Let's break it down: - **Award-winning booking tech** that's directly tied to real travel demand - **STAY token rewards** for your booking activity, making the token actually useful - **AI-driven trip discovery** to make planning and booking smoother - **Social membership features** focused on community and exclusive access - **Flexible payment options**, accepting both crypto and traditional money for global travel This move is about more than just getting bigger. It's a deliberate push for European expansion and instant market credibility through Sleap's existing tech and partnerships. It also gives Staynex a much stronger story to tell before their token launch—showing real product readiness and user adoption. In short, two niche players are becoming one serious contender. They're betting that the future of travel isn't just about finding a hotel room. It's about blending loyalty, community, and blockchain technology into a single, seamless experience. And with $15 million and some serious industry brains now on the case, they might just be right.