We all love being able to get a deal on flights or hotels when we are traveling. You have probably got your list of favorite comparison websites that you search for travel deals on, but have you heard of Snaptravel?
Snaptravel is not that new on the scene but rumor has it that you can find some excellent deals, and save money on both flights and hotels.
But, is that reality the case? Is Snaptravel legit and safe to use? We cover it all from how Snaptravel works to who owns it, how to use it, and more.
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What Is Snaptravel?
Snaptravel is renowned for providing some of the cheapest hotel and flight deals around. It started out in Canada and works like a travel agent which is how they get such good pricing compared to other booking sites.
Snaptravel used artificial intelligence (AI) to scour the internet and offer the best deals to its customers and sending it to them via Whatsapp, Messenger, and SMS messages too.
Currently, around 30 million people across the world use Snaptravel. You don’t have to be on the messaging service either, you can get great deals on their website too.
Who Owns Snaptravel?
Snaptravel was founded in 2016 by Henry Shi, an ex-Google engineer, and Hussein Fazal, the co-founder of AdParlor.
Today, Snaptravel is owned by SnapCommerce which was also founded by Hussein Fazel and
Henry Shi.
Snaptravel has a range of investors that pulled together millions of dollars. The investors include the likes of ACrew, iNovia, Lion Capital, Bee Partners, and SC30 Inc.
With credentials like this, it looks like Snaptravel is legit.
Is Snaptravel Legit?
Is Snaptravel legit? In a word, yes, it is a 100% legitimate company that has been giving users great prices on hotels and flights for 7 years.
When you add in that the CEO of Expedia also invested in Snaptravel, it confirms just how legit Snaptravel is.
You can book your flights and hotels from your phone and Snaptravel doesn’t even add any extra costs to your ticket. It is super user-friendly and has some of the best rates too!
There are a few negative comments about Snaptravel on review sites like Trustpilot and the Better Business Bureau, but overall it has solid ratings. We will look at reviews on Snaptravel in more detail in a later section.
Overall, Snaptravel is legit and safe to use. Let’s look at how to use it and the things to look out for.
How to Use Snaptravel
The Snaptravel website allows you to search for either flights or hotels and it uses AI to search the internet to find you great deals.
It works directly with hotels and airlines as well as comparison sites like Booking.com and Expedia.
Snaptravel Hotel Booking
To book a hotel, simply fill out the form on the hotel landing page. Put in your destination, which can be anywhere in the world, along with your travel dates and the number of people in the booking.
You then hit search and choose how you want the deals to be sent to you – SMS, Whatsapp, or Messenger.
It will then send you all the Snaptravel hotels available and great prices for them too. Choose your favorite hotel within your budget and confirm your booking.
Before you make the final payment and confirmation, check to see if a cancellation is refundable just in case your travel plans change.
Snaptravel Flight Booking
To book flights with Snaptravel, head to their dedicated site which you can find here. You can do your search online for flights without using SMS, Messenger, or Whatsapp.
It uses a search algorithm that shows you unpublished flights that only travel agents have access to.
Put in your destination, dates, and number of people traveling, and hit search. Then choose from the deals the trip that suits your travel needs best.
Once you have chosen your flight, add in your personal info such as your email, name, and date of birth. Then it is time to pay, after which your flights should be confirmed within 20 minutes and you will receive an email confirming this.
Advantages of Using Snaptravel
It Is Free To Use
Snaptravel is 100% free for the user as they do not charge anything extra on top. Snaptravel takes its commission from the airline or hotel instead of you.
It Is Easy To Use
Booking flights and hotels with Snaptravel is super easy via the App or the website. You get all the best deals in one place to choose from plus buying and confirming your booking is super simple.
You Get Some Of The Best Deals on Hotels and Flights
The deals you get with Snaptravel can be up to 50% cheaper compared to booking directly with hotels and airlines. You also get a lot of different options to compare rates with other sites and find the best deal for you.
When you make bookings through Snaptravel, you get the best rates on hotels and flights. You will get a lot of choices for hotels and airlines. Therefore, you can compare rates and make the best decision accordingly.
A Huge Range Of Snaptravel Hotel Deals and Flight Deals
When you use Snaptravel, you get a large range of options and are therefore highly likely to find exactly what you are looking for and in your budget too.
You can also search for certain room types and ticket classes to match so you don’t waste time with deals that don’t suit you.
24/7 Customer Support
With Snaptravel, you get customer support 24/7 so if something goes wrong, you always have someone to speak to.
Disadvantages of Using Snaptravel
You Can’t Book Everything Together
Unlike other sites like Kayak, you can not book your flight and hotel in one booking with Snaptravel, you have to book them separately.
Loyalty Points With Hotels Are 50/50
Not all Snaptravel bookings entitle you to loyalty points with hotels but it does work with airlines.
Things Do Go Wrong
Customer support isn’t always available in everyone’s experience and it can happen that you can only communicate with a bot.
Other issues include extra fees at hotels, no notifications about cancellations, and in some cases, hotel confirmations not going through.
These are all one-off issues, but it is worth having in the back of your mind. Reconfirm your booking directly with the hotel/airline, and make sure refunds are possible to avoid these issues.
What Others Are Saying About Snaptravel
Generally speaking, all the reviews you find online about Snaptravel are positive. There are some negative ones too, but nothing ever always goes to plan and issues do happen to all the similar travel sites.
One of the main complaints is that hotel prices change quickly and often, but this is the nature of the beast as millions of people are booking which changes the prices.
Here are some reviews from Trustpilotand Sitejabber for you to take a look at.
Alternatives to Snaptravel
There are plenty of alternatives to Snaptravel and you have probably used a lot of them. Here are the top ones
Kayak
Kayak allows you to book flights and hotels in one booking, or separately. You can also book other services like car hire and lots more.
Hotels.com
Hotels.com is a great place to book hotels either by phone or online. It has over 300,000 hotels across the world to choose from and some great deals too.
Skyscanner
Skyscanner is similar to Kayak and allows you to book flights, hotels, and car hire, and as a package. Around 100 million people use it every month and it works as a metasearch engine.
Trivago
Trivago is another metasearch engine that pulls deals from online booking websites. It does hotels only and is reliable. It searches across 5 million hotels and 300 websites so you get a lot of options.
Agoda
Agoda also provides a lot of great flight and hotel deals as well as travel activities and airport transfers. It searches across 2.5 million hotels and multiple airlines to get you the best deal possible.
Booking.Com
Booking.com is an excellent site to book hotels and apartments around the world. It is very trustworthy and the system works. They have also started offering flights but don’t quite have the range available compared to other sites yet.
SEE ALSO: AGODA VS BOOKING.COM
Is Snaptravel Worth It?
Overall, Snaptravel is pretty solid and it does a good job of finding you good deals but it does not come without its risks.
Most hotel bookings are not refundable, this makes life hard if the hotel doesn’t deliver and if you change your plans. Plus, reconfirming directly with the airline or hotel is a must, if just for peace of mind.
I have traveled a lot, and personally always book directly with the airline or hotel as the hassle of things going wrong is just not worth it. Changing things becomes a lot harder when you have a 3rd party in the middle to deal with.
