What is SpareFare?
What is SpareFare? Well that’s a good question, and the answer might be your way to saving hundreds on a flight, hotel, or package holiday, or it could be your way of recouping most, if not all, of a flight, hotel, or holiday that you have to cancel. As part of a blog swap with SpareFare, I’m delighted to share their idea with you as I think its brilliant. And anything I can do to help save you money on travel or get you out of a hole, I’m all for it. Please note that this is part of a blog swap with SpareFare and not a paid promotion. I would encourage you to check out my blog on SpareFare’s own blog – How To Survive Long-Haul Flights – as it is a pretty nifty guide on mastering long-haul flights. Now, what is SpareFare?
Most of us have been there; you buy a flight to your dream location, you start to count down the days until the trip and then….you can’t go anymore. You think, “what can I do now? My booking isn’t refundable.” Each year, millions of people around the world lose money on their unused travel reservations, whether it’s airfares, hotel reservations, or holiday packages. Not many people know this, but you can actually transfer and sell your travel reservations. This allows sellers to recuperate some of the money spent on their unused travel. SpareFare.net is the company that makes the magic happen.
What is SpareFare? How does it work?
SpareFare is a secondary marketplace; think StubHub or Viagogo, but specifically in the travel industry and without the ticket touters. SpareFare’s platform connects people who have bought flights, holiday packages, or hotel rooms but can no longer use them, with people seeking discounted travel options.
SpareFare acts as an intermediary whose platform connects hundreds of people who are looking to sell their unused travel reservations with those who are looking for travel deals or lastminute travel options.
The platform features a bidding system, by which buyers can place a monetary bid on airfares, hotel reservations, or holiday packages that are convenient to them in terms of dates and locations.
The seller can then accept, decline, or counteroffer. Sellers can recover the money they’ve spent for their holiday, whilst the people buying can often save as much as 40%-50% of the current live price. A win-win situation for the buyer and the seller.
Selling a hotel reservation
When it comes to selling your hotel reservation, most hotels don’t charge for name changes, which means there will be more money for you to recover. This makes transferring hotel reservations that much more convenient. All you have to do is make a call to the hotel, inform them that you are changing the main guest name, and voila. Your reservation is now ready to be transferred to your buyer. Be sure to check the details with the hotel in relation to any fees associated with the name change beforehand – this will help you determine what your minimum sell price is.
Selling an airline ticket
Unlike hotels, airlines always charge for name changes. The fees vary from €40 to €150. If you’re looking to sell an airline ticket, you have to be sure that the specific airline through which you bought the ticket will allow for a name change. This name change makes it possible to transfer the ticket over to a buyer. Luckily, there are over sixty airlines which provide this service. A full list of airlines and their fees can be found on the SpareFare website.
Selling a package holiday
Whether you’re travelling to Italy, Greece, or Amsterdam, it can be very upsetting letting go of a package holiday. Especially considering the great sum of money you will lose if it is non-refundable. Luckily, again, with SpareFare you are able to get some of your money back by listing it on their secure platform. Please be aware that you must speak to your travel agent before you can list your package holiday on SpareFare. This way you can confirm whether or not you are able to change the name on the package and if they would charge you any transfer fees. If the travel agent is based within the EU, then they have to give you the option to change the name on the reservation, by law.
How is this different from the likes of Ebay?
SpareFare ensures that the exchanges are secure and offers protection from fraud (and time wasters). If you are buying, SpareFare will not pay the seller until after the end of the reservation. This ensures that the vendor won’t sell the same ticket to five people at the same time. If you are a seller, you don’t make the name change and pay the fee, unless the buyer has sent the money to SpareFare. This ensures that sellers are not left out of pocket for the name change fees by buyers who are not serious about going ahead with the purchase. With so much travel fraud nowadays, one can never be too cautious when buying travel reservations online. SpareFare strikes the right balance between the speed of the transaction and the security of the exchange. Also, no matter if you are buying or selling, you are helping a fellow traveller in need, so the good karma will surely come around to you at some point.
This article was written by Galena Stavreva, CEO of SpareFare.
After reading this I hope you found it useful. I’ve been checking out SpareFare every week as after a very expensive move to Canada I would more than appreciate a cheap flight or hotel deal. Coming from the “booking a holiday and then life gets in the way” perspective, it’s good to know that you can recoup some, if not all, of your losses. I’m delighted to have blog swapped with SpareFare and I do encourage you to check out their website, and of course my blog on How to Survive Long-Haul Flights. When done that, be sure to check out my latest article on Budapest.
