Last Updated: February 22, 2024
So, Traveluro is offering you a much cheaper rate than booking directly with the hotel, but is it actually legit?
How are they able to offer lower prices than hotels? Can you get scammed? Should you book through them or avoid them at all costs?
If you are wondering about these questions, then you’ve landed on the right post.
By the end of this article, you will know EXACTLY if Traveluro is a legitimate and reliable platform or a scam.
Let’s get started.
Is Traveluro Legit?
Traveluro is a legitimate online travel agency. However, booking through Traveluro is not very reliable as it carries a higher risk of issues than booking directly with the hotels.
Even though problems can happen even with direct bookings with the hotel, the odds are significantly lower than booking through Traveluro.
Why is Traveluro not very reliable and carries greater risks of issues?
In short, it is due to the involvement of a third party (Traveluro).
Let me explain!
In case you do not know, Traveluro essentially acts as a middleman between you and the hotels.
As an intermediary, Traveluro collects your payment and is responsible for your booking, not the hotel you booked with since your contract is not directly with them, it is with Traveluro.
Therefore, you should not expect any direct assistance from your hotel.
In case of any issues between you and your hotel, you will have to involve Traveluro, and then they will reach out to the hotel on your behalf to resolve the matter.
But here is the real problem:
Traveluro’s customer support is poor.
When you are booked through Traveluro and need any help, you will most likely be stuck in a lot of back and forth between your hotel and Traveluro before your issue is resolved.
And it is also possible that your issue might not be resolved either, especially if it is urgent due to the lack of customer service on Traveluro.
Likewise, making changes or cancellations to your hotel bookings can be a hassle when you are booked through Traveluro.
You will have to rely on Traveluro’s poor customer service to make changes or cancellations for you and there is a good chance that your request might be turned down.
To put it simply, having a middleman (Traveluro) can complicate any mishaps because hotels will tell you to coordinate any issues through Traveluro rather than offering you direct assistance.
And Traveluro may then turn around and push things back to the hotel, leaving you stuck in the middle.
On the other hand, when you book directly with the hotel then making cancellations, amendments, or resolving any other issues can be handled more conveniently since there are no third parties involved.
In addition to that, it is much easier for hotels to manage customers who book directly rather than those who booked through online travel agencies like Traveluro, Booking.com, Priceline, Travelocity, etc.
One example of it is that the hotel you are booked with may not receive your booking confirmation from Traveluro, resulting in no reservation or overbooking for the same room.
There have been numerous cases where a guest has been stranded in a strange city without any room availability in the hotel, despite making an advance booking with them through Traveluro.
Alternatively, if the hotel is overcrowded, it is quite possible that they might “bump” those who have paid the least through an online travel agency like Traveluro and lie to you, saying that your reservation was never made.
Regardless of the reason, if you contact Traveluro for help in such a situation, there is a high probability that you won’t get any assistance from them since their customer support is unreliable.
In contrast, you won’t have to face such issues when you are booked directly with the hotel since there are no third parties involved (Traveluro).
In a nutshell:
Traveluro works out just fine until something goes wrong.
The major advantage of booking anything through Travelruo is that they generally offer cheaper prices than booking directly with the hotel.
But if something goes wrong, you may have a hard time cancelling, changing, or resolving any other issues when you’re booked through Traveluro.
With that being said, let’s conclude: Is Traveluro legit?
Although booking through Traveluro carries a higher risk of issues than booking directly, but as far as its legitimacy is concerned, it is definitely a legit platform.
So, Should You Book Directly or Through Traveluro?
If the price difference is the same or slightly cheaper then you should never book through Traveluro.
However, if the price difference between booking directly with the hotel and through Traveluro is significant then it mostly comes down to personal comfort.
Personally, I recommend you to AVOID booking hotels through Traveluro because it is pretty new in the market, doesn’t have a long history, and they are not very transparent about its business.
In fact, Traveluro doesn’t have an “ABOUT US” page on its website.
Instead, I recommend booking hotels through well-known online travel agencies such as Agoda, Booking.com, Expedia, GoSplitty, Priceline, Super Travel, and Trip.com but only under these conditions:
- The price difference is significant between booking directly and through them.
- Booking an average hotel, not a very expensive luxury hotel.
- Not making reservations for a large number of days at once.
In addition to these conditions, you must do your due diligence about the hotel before booking.
Don’t know how?
Read these posts to find out:
- 6 Tips To Book Safely on Agoda
- 8 Tips To Book Safely on Booking.com
- 4 Tips To Book Safely on Expedia
- 7 Tips To Book Safely on GoSplitty
- 7 Tips To Book Safely on Priceline
- 8 Tips To Book Safely on Trip.com
Now let’s address another important question you might be wondering and that is:
Why Booking Through Traveluro Is Cheaper Than Booking Directly?
There are two possible ways how Traveluro is able to provide cheaper rates than booking directly with the hotel:
- By negotiating bigger discounts with the hotels and then passing some of its commission on to the customer in the form of lower prices.
- By using the Merchant Model.
Using the merchant model, Traveluro purchases hotel bookings in advance and in bulk to get discounts and then resells them to you and me over time at a higher price, passing on some of its commissions to us.
Confused? Consider this example:
Traveluro uses its purchasing power to buy rooms in bulk and in advance at a discount rate from the hotel.
For instance, Traveluro books a block of 50 rooms from a hotel for $100 per night while the current market rate sits at around $150 per night.
Over time, Traveluro resells those rooms at a higher rate ($130) but cheaper than the current market rate by the hotel ($150).
Example:
- Traveluro gradually resells those 50 rooms for $130 per night, profiting $30 if one customer books a room through them.
- The customer is still able to purchase below the current market by the hotel ($150), saving you $20.
By selling those rooms at a higher price than they purchased them for, Traveluro made a profit but also presented savings to us over the current market rate.
Thus, Traveluro is able to offer you cheaper rates than booking directly.
Conclusion
As far as the legitimacy of Traveluro is concerned, it is definitely legit.
However, if something goes wrong or you need to make changes or cancellations then things get complicated to resolve when you are booked through Traveluro.
But Traveluro usually offers cheaper rates than booking directly with the hotel.
So, does this mean you should book through Traveluro?
No, I do not recommend booking through Traveluro because its customer service is unreliable, the company is relatively new, and they are not transparent about its business.
Because of these reasons, I recommend booking hotels through well-known brands such as Agoda, Expedia, Booking.com, etc. but only under these conditions:
- The price difference is significant between booking directly and through them.
- Booking an average hotel, not a very expensive luxury hotel.
- Not making reservations for a large number of days at once.
In addition to these conditions, you must do your due diligence about the hotel before booking.
Got any questions or want to share your personal experience with Traveluro?
Please feel free to ask your questions or share your experience in the comments below.
Help! I have just booked through Traveleuro and sadly found all this after. I’m trying to stop the payment. Can’t. Also trying to contact them. +ant. Can anyone give me a legit phone number or any advice?
SCAM!!!! 100%
I made reservations through Traveluro 5/1/23. I called Hotel to check on my reservations on 5/22/23 and they do not have them. I called Traveluro and they asked to give them another 24 hours and then they will email me. THIS IS NOT GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE AT ALL
Traveluro is ridiculous, very unprofessional as well!
I booked through them, obviously not a good idea, paid when I booked, we got to the hotel, everything was fine. We leave after the weekend and I see a charge from the hotel. I call to ask what it was for, they tell me they charged my card for the room due to the travel agency’s card being declined! I have never heard of that before!
Took me forever to get through on the phone, they email back with no resolution until I finally got on the phone with someone and had to be more rude than I like to be to people .
I spoke with the hotel they are working with me and mentioned this travel website isn’t very reliable..
I had a different issue – booked through Traveluro at a discounted rate, but the reservation showed as ‘pending’. Then later I was notified by Traveluro the reservation was cancelled because they could not complete it with the hotel.
To their credit they issued a refund…which was pending on my credit card so I’ll of course monitor that and just dispute the charge if the credit doesn’t resolve.
They also offered me $22 off my next booking with them, but I’m not likely to use them given this experience and your analysis of risk/hassle potential/customer service which I agree with probably not worth the $20/night I may have saved.
Traveluro is a total scam and nightmare!!! Save your money!!!
I have no idea why traveluro managed my trip, but I had to cancel, found out then that I had to talk to them about a refund. I´ve sent 3 emails and called twice, I think this is a scam, I only hope I haven´t lost my money. I won´t give up.
Did you get your refund? I’m on the same situation.
I tried Traveluro for the first time and had a horrific experience! I had an unexpected surgery come up, and called Traveluro in plenty of time to either cancel or make a date change; (called on a Thursday when the reservation was the following Saturday). The guy I communicated with said he would call the hotel to get permission to do a cancellation. As of the day of the reservation, no call had been made, and he never offered to try a date change! I called the hotel directly and they informed me that they could not make a cancellation due to the company I chose, but they would happily make a date change; however, Traveluro would be required to give those possible dates and make the change with the hotel. I sent possible dates via email to the gentleman I was communicating with at Traveluro, and still nothing had been accomplished the day of the reservation. I ended up using the reservation in pain still recuperating! You are absolutely correct in saying their customer service is unreliable!!! Yes, stay with known companies-stay away from Traveluro!
Great article. Thank you!
You’re Welcome, Harry 🙂