Travel Republic – any experience?

[Sandj]

Has anyone used travel Republic for a hotel only booking. They are about a thousand cheaper than anyone else but I’ve not booked with them before. Any feedback appreciated.

[nike85]

They are on my ‘do not use’ list.

Can share my one experience with them…

Used them only once, to book and pre-pay two rooms for a short stay at a Spanish hotel. Upon arrival hotel had only received a one-room booking. Fortunately the hotel was not fully booked so we were all still able to be accommodated, and the hotel Team were pro-active enough to chase Travel Republic for payment on our behalf, so stress was minimum but I wouldn’t use them again. We were lucky how it played out but at no thanks to Travel Republic.

[Sandj]

Thank you for your reply, this is the sort of thing I’m worried about!

[slidey]

Tried using them once years ago when there was a room which was far cheaper than anywhere else, the booking was cancelled the next day as the rate wasnt available.

[NorthernLass]

We used them about 8 years ago to book flights plus a villa in Lanzarote – everything went 100% to plan and we had no complaints. Sounds as though they may have gone downhill!

[PeteM]

Have used them before for hotel bookings with no issues.

[freckles]

Used a couple of times for hotel booking in Turkey- no issues for me

[Cranzle]

nike85 wrote:

They are on my ‘do not use’ list.

Can share my one experience with them…

Used them only once, to book and pre-pay two rooms for a short stay at a Spanish hotel. Upon arrival hotel had only received a one-room booking. Fortunately the hotel was not fully booked so we were all still able to be accommodated, and the hotel Team were pro-active enough to chase Travel Republic for payment on our behalf, so stress was minimum but I wouldn’t use them again. We were lucky how it played out but at no thanks to Travel Republic.

I’ve had similar issues when booking through Hotels.com, twice.

[Sandj]

Thanks for the further replies, I think I’ll try and get my usual agent to match their price.

[Erico1875]

Used them lots. Normally via TCB for 6%

[NigelHamilton]

A travel agent should be able to get the same or better deal than Travel Republic (just autocorrected to Travel Trouble, perhaps a sign!) They have very thin margins but are just pricing off B2B sites with a small mark up.

[squawk7700]

I normally use Booking.com (or book direct) but have used Travel Republic many times previously in Lanzarote – for some reason they seem to get significantly better prices for self-catered apartment type accommodation I can find elsewhere.

[HSV]

Used them a few times and not had any issues. Last year they got us a very good price at the Venetian in Vegas.

[sm]

Used them for a turkey hotel booking last summer and they were £1k less than booking direct – I thought there must be a catch. But there really wasn’t. From what I gather your name may not be passed to hotel until you have paid full balance.
I was worried about turning up at the hotel and them not finding my reservation, so I contacted TR directly weeks before travel date and they confirmed my reservation with the hotel. (The hotel would not communicate with me directly initially)
I’d definitely use them again!

[mitch1976]

My rule of thumb is to look at who the company is owned by. Travel Republic is owned by the Emirates Group, same as the Emirates the airline and other UK businesses like Travelbag, dnata and Netflights.com ect.. Ive used them before and had no issues. I assume their prices can be so much cheaper due to their size and global buying power.

[NigelHamilton]

Actually it’s simpler than size. There’s a public price, and then multiple suppliers who offer B2B prices, which are hugely less for expensive hotels (while this is unusually good, I’m paying 1/3 of the public price for my 20th wedding anniversary, and that’s not a travel agent rate, just a B2B one) or popular events such as the Euros. Travel agents price off those prices, adding a margin on. With booking/hotels etc, that margin can get pretty high on higher end stuff(anything above £150), hence why there are deals/discounts/avios offers etc but also room for someone selling with lower margins.

[Gee]

Hi used them two years ago for raffles the palm , booking was fine discount was amazing saved over £1500 looking at using them again we also us BA if you can navigate there website lol

[jackking2016]

Yes 100% they are legitimate and very professional.

We booked 5 nights at the Hard Rock Hotel Amsterdam with them in 2023 and the hotel had my reservation details within a couple of days when I checked.

Also booked 7 nights at the Hard Rock Hotel because they were the best part of £1000 cheaper. We had an incredible week at the hotel and again absolutely no issues.

I have contacted travel republic a few times and they have always been easy to contact and happy to sort amendments out.

Do not listen to the negative comments, they are legitimate. Save the money!

[RK228]

Could be a coincidence, but when there are several posters with similar style usernames whose first ever posts on this forum are to sing the praises of a company (e.g., @mitch1976, @jackking2016), I’d urge caution.

[JamieK]

I know it’s my first post but I felt obliged to register just to reply to the thread!
I’ve used Travel Republic many times and never had an issue (that said I’ve never had a problem that they’ve had to resolve!).
Sometimes much cheaper than other agents and often with zero cancellation fees until the week before travel. I’ve cancelled and rebooked to save £100’s when the price has dropped.

[hugo r]

They are owned by emirates … no issues with travel republic, they use Bed banks to book the accomdation.

What I often do is book accommodation only .. pay the 15pp deposit wait a few days and then check with the hotel to see whether they have the booking .. once reconfirmed I ask if they will match or better the rate.. past experience they match and give an incentive like a room upgrade or something like that or I’ve been lucky and they have offered a slight cheaper price than the agency and don’t forget the agencies mark up the nett prices .. then I’ll cancel the travel republic booking and loss the 15pp deposit

[Cranzle]

Some very helpful info on this thread.

Are there any other websites or tips that are recommended for strong hotel deals?

[Aston100]

Another +1 for TR.
At the start of Covid they were very good with refunds unlike many better known companies.

[hugo r]

There are others which have good prices however there not backed by big companies (such as emirates with travelrepublic) so if things go wrong then it’s difficult to get money back etc .., travelup for example offer great prices for flight only especially on there preferred carriers such as BA etc (and as IT/so fares are used when booking BA you get more avios pointe) .. however all is fine if there isn’t a problem however when there is an issue it’s a very difficult company to get things sorted with and there ceo is a joke..l

Destination2 often have good prices for accom in dxb and Maldives however there not as cheap as travelrepublc and destination2 have higher deposits.

Travelrepublic take Amex, a lot of the agencies especially the smaller ones don’t (destination2 doesn’t)

[Sandj]

Thanks for all the replies, very helpful.