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We travel as a way to spend time as a family. We travel to see the world and know that there is more to life than our tiny slice of it. We love long trips, like our three weeks in Hawaii, short, local getaways like our night in Dutchess County, or annual trips to our favorite winter spot, Southwest Florida. No matter near or far, short or long, each trip is special to our family. As cheesy as it sounds, the memories we create on these trips will last a lifetime.
Get Paid to Travel, with TRVL
To travel more, we are always looking for the best ways to stretch our budget. We do collect points, always jump on sales and like to book with websites we know are giving us the best prices.
Needless to say, we don’t mind doing the leg work in planning a trip. Although it might be nice to be paid as I pretty much am my own personal travel agent.
I am a self-booker. I research everything, compare prices and like most people, use the internet to book my travel. But, in the last 10 years, we have become inundated with places to purchase travel. Discount sites left, right and center. Travel sites that could just as easily be selling couches, as airfare. Sometimes I get frustrated having to sift through SO MUCH, TOO MUCH Information to get to what I need!
And for purchasing what will essentially become highlights of my kids’ childhoods, these websites are so impersonal!
Anyone agree?
In an ideal world, I would love a site that is easy to use and totally transparent. No sponsored content, no hidden properties, no rush to book, and no additional booking fees. And of course I want it to all be free!
I know what you are thinking, this doesn’t sound like any travel website you have used!
Does it?
Until now.
What is TRVL.COM?
Enter TRVL, the hotel booking site that is going to change the way you book travel.
Now I know what you are thinking. Another, I know another, travel booking site offering “great prices”. But hang with me, because trust me, this one is different.
At the crux of the TRVL platform is the idea that YOU as the travel planner, booking your own travel, should be the recipient of the commission on your booking.
Yes, I said commission.
I’m going to let you in on a little secret, when you book through third party sites, THEY receive the agent commission fee, the same way a travel agent would get paid on a booking – one who might be doing all the work for you. AND THOSE SITES AREN’T DOING ANYTHING BESIDES MAKING IT CONFUSING FOR YOU TO BOOK!
TRVL wants to put that commission money back in your pocket!
After all, you are doing all the work – shouldn’t you be paid for your travel planning time?
TRVL offers commission back on each booking, to be redeemed after the travel is complete. And that’s it. All is laid out up front.
Now if you are like me, you might still be skeptical. I mean is this just a run around way of offering a discount or are you really truly getting the best price and experience?
Well let’s dig in and see.
Booking a hotel with TRVL.COM
I figured a good place to start would be to look into booking a property that is rarely discounted – a midtown New York City hotel room, during prime holiday season!
Since hubby and I are thinking of staying in the city (we live a 50-minute train ride outside of NYC) after a holiday party, I figured I would look for a room for the night of December 11, 2018. I concentrated on midtown Manhattan, something near the party. I found a luxury hotel in a great location, that I have walked by dozens of times – The Hotel Giraffe by Library Hotel Collection.
This is a high-end property located right in midtown Manhattan. Again, I am looking to book in December, which is at the height of the holiday (read: expensive) season.
So first I went on our favorite hotel booking sites. I checked for a 2-person room at the Hotel Giraffe for the night of Tuesday, December 11. For each site, I was sure to click through to the end, to the actual booking page to see the FINAL cost. That’s really important because sometimes a landing screen will give you a pre-tax, pre-fee, price.
Each quote compares a “Classic Suite, 1 King Bed with Sofa Bed.” Here is what I found:
Travelocity – $593.13
Orbitz – $593.13
Booking.com – $593.13
Hotels.com – $593.13
Expedia – $593.13
Clearly these sights are all offering the same price, down to the penny, which I thought was an interesting experiment unto itself!
Next, I looked at TRVL. You might not be surprised to find the cost of the Classic Suite, you guessed it – $593.13. BUT you also receive $43.71 BACK after your stay, making this booking $549.42.
It’s that simple. After completing the stay, you will receive $43.71 in cash.
But wait, there is more… Hey, I watched a lot of infomercials as a kid.
Still do.
If you sign up through this referral link, you will receive a BONUS $20 commission back on your first booking (I will earn a commission as well).
It is totally free to sign up for TRVL (so why not?) and with TRVL you get access to over 2 million hotels and homestays, making TRVL really the perfect hotel booking site for wherever you are heading. You know, to create those special family memories. The ones you will share and post photos from, and sit around the dinner table talking about for years to come.
Check out more about the special industry rates on TRVL:
I had never even heard of TRVL before reading this! I’m passing this article along to my husband. He finds and schedules all of our hotels for our various trips, and he loves to find good deals.
yes! I am totally behind this site for booking!
This is a cool way to save! I’m going to see if it’s also available in Canada. Sometimes what’s available in the US isn’t rolled out (yet) here. But wow.. that would be a game changer!
What a great site for travelers to check out!
This is really cool. I am an authorized Disney and Universal vacation planner only. So I’m always looking to save when it’s outside that realm. I am going to use this site for sure!
Wow! I’ve never heard of this and it looks like such an amazing way to plan travels. I can’t wait to check it out!
I’ll def have to check this out for my next trip!
It’s like Ebates for travel. It’s genius. I will try it for our next holiday. I never knew this existed.
yes, I do know that Ibotta and ebates you can book through third parties. def worth checking out for the automatic $20 bonus!
This sounds really cool! I would love to get a commission for what I’m already doing. Thanks for sharing about this!
Hadn’t heard of travel before. Who doesn’t want to get money back from booking travel? Sounds like a win-win!
I know of lots of great budget travel deal sites, but hadn’t yet heard of TRVL. Will have to give it a go with my upcoming trips in 2019!
Oh man, this sounds like the perfect site. I would love to be paid to travel.
I’m totally signing up for this! I’m my own personal travel agent too and searching for a hotel can be the hardest part sometimes. I too am traveling to NYC at Christmas…..hmmmm, this could be perfect!
theres really no reason not to!
I’m a self-booker just like you and always looking for the best deal on the hotels I have my eye on. Have been using Trvl for a few months now and I’ve been able to save quite a bit of money. I also like the fact that Trvl shows plenty of photos about the properties listed. Thanks for sharing!
This sounds awesome! I’ve never heard of this before but sounds like the perfect idea! Thanks for your detailed review!
Sounds like a great way to book travel! On a related note, it is crazy how much hotels in Manhattan are in December!
ummm i know! This is on a tuesday night! Its crazy!
That’s a really cool idea for a booking website! I’d never heard of TRVL before so I need to check it out. Thanks for sharing!
I definitely plan on using this site when booking our next hotel and your link too (helps out everyone)!
Wow! This is a game changer and makes total sense! Thanks so much fro sharing. Definitely going to check this out.
And thanks for linking up to #fearlessfamtrav
A great idea. I always use Quidco so could definitely get onboard with using TRVL (I’d never heard of it before your post). I wonder, is there a UK version? #fearlessfamtrav
Ooh I’m going to look into this straight away #fearlessfamtrav