Today’s guest post is from the CEO of SpareFare, Galena Stavreva. I am so thankful she created this marketplace to help travelers who cannot use their booked reservations!
Have you ever purchased a non-refundable flight or a hotel room, only to realize that you couldn’t take the trip and ended up losing all your money? Thanks to SpareFare, you can sell your flights, hotels and holidays and recoup some of that money!
Holidays are something that we all look forward to, especially if it has been a while since you have had a break, and it is often a chance to spend some quality time with someone we care about. The last thing that we are going to want is to find that for some reason, that holiday is a no go. Not only do you feel disappointed because you have missed out on that time away, but you will also be upset because you have lost money too.
Unfortunately you are not alone, millions of people have found that they have lost money on unused travel bookings, mostly for non-refundable flights or hotel reservations. What they do not realize is that there are things that they can do to sell these reservations, safely and easily.
How to get a refund for your non-refundable travel reservations
SpareFare.net has come up with a solution. An online platform, SpareFare brings together people who have bought flights, hotel rooms or even complete holiday packages, but have found that they cannot use them, with those that are looking for a chance to take advantage of discounted travel.
By utilizing the service, those who originally bought the holiday can recoup money, while the people buying can often save as much as 50-60% of what they would originally have paid. Not only are these discounts significant, but as it is a trusted platform, both buyers and sellers are protected from fraud and with SpareFare acting as an intermediary, things progress much easier too.
So, these are the basics, but how does the reselling actually work?
Selling an airline ticket
In order to transfer a fight, you need to make sure that your airline is going to allow you to change the name that is linked to the flight. More often than not this is fine, and some companies will allow you to change the name within your airline account with ease. There will be a fee that will be applied in order to change the name, however, this can vary by airline. If you find that policy states that the airline will not allow for any ticket names to be changed, then it is worthwhile calling them to see if you can discuss this matter further. You can see a full list of all airlines which allow name changes here.
Selling a package holiday
When it comes to selling a holiday package, which contains flights, transfers, hotels and any other extras associated to your holiday, you will need to speak to your travel agent. This will either be a part of their terms and conditions, or, if you cannot see it in there, you could always speak to someone to find out whether or not it is possible and if there will be any fees to pay. It is worthwhile remembering that 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.
Selling a hotel room
One of the easiest things to sell when it comes to a holiday is the hotel room. You will usually just have to call up the hotel and tell them that you need to change the main guest name within the reservation. There aren’t usually any fees charged for this, however, you should always check with your hotel, just to be sure. If you have booked through Booking.com or Expedia, you can change the guest’s name through your online account.
The process as a whole
The great thing about using SpareFare is that it offers protection to both the buyer and the seller. Not only do they make sure that the process is safe, but they also help to ensure that the price is fair too.
The process of selling or buying through SpareFare is:
- The buyer will offer a price that they are willing to pay.
- The seller then decides whether or not they want to accept or decline the offer. The bidding process will take into account the current price of holidays and flights, in order to make sure that a true discount is applied and that an over inflated price is not charged.
- The seller will be responsible for changing the name on the booking, only once the buyer has sent over the money.
- The buyer confirms that everything has been received and is correct.
- The seller will then receive their money once the time of the travel reservation comes. This is to ensure that they do not change the names back on the booking and try to cheat the buyer.
It might be disappointing to think that you are not going to get to go on holiday you have booked, however, with a little help from SpareFare, you can make sure that some of the money is recouped.
Emily again! What a useful marketplace, right? I know I’m eyeing several of the travel vouchers that are highly discounted since they offer more flexibility with travel dates and destinations. I hope you get to take advantage of SpareFare either as a seller or a buyer!
Don’t forget to check out my full page of travel resources for more great tips on budget travel and my Amazon favorites to keep you fit and healthy while traveling!
Have you ever lost money on a non-refundable travel reservation? Let me know your thoughts below. Until next time, thanks for reading!
Emily
The Planking Traveler 
I’ll keep in mind, thank you
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I had no idea a site like this existed. Thank you for sharing.
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