You have probably seen it before. Advertisements on the internet from hotel booking websites claiming to save you up to 40% or more on hotels. I came across one recently called TravelPony that caught my eye because of the explanation below their tagline, “Up to 60% off. Every day. Just tell your friends.” Brilliant idea. I decided to dig a little deeper.
TravelPony – How It Works
TravelPony relies on social sharing but offers an opt-out option.
The concept is pretty simple: TravelPony offers lower prices on hotels with a small catch. They ask that you share your purchase on social media (Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook). Don’t want to post your travel plans on social media? Not to worry, there’s actually an opt out option for those who choose not to share their travel plans on social media for whatever reason. There’s one other catch: you need to sign up to their site in order to see hotels and prices. For a better explanation of how TravelPony works, there is a great introduction video on their homepage.
Other things you need to know about TravelPony
- At the time of writing (September 2013) there were only in 22 US cities and 4 European cities. They appear to have the top US destinations well covered (New York, Las Vegas, Orlando, etc) but still have some gaps to fill. For me personally, it would be great to see Seattle and some top Canadian cities added.
- Unlike Hotwire and Priceline, you do not have to pay before you find out the name of your hotel. Although you are required to sign in, all hotel names and prices are shown in advance of booking.
- Also unlike Hotwire and Priceline, your hotel reservation can be cancelled and refunded.
TravelPony vs. Expedia
As a budget conscious traveller, I do not mind posting an update to Facebook or a tweet on Twitter to save a few dollars. For me, it really comes down to whether or not I can actually save money or not. The best way to determine this was to do a side-by-side comparison of prices. I looked at hotels for an upcoming trips to San Francisco and Las Vegas. Here are the results:
- San Francisco: For my travel dates to San Francisco, I compared 14 hotels. TravelPony was cheaper 11 times out of 14. In some cases, the savings were as much as $100 per night and the average savings were 11.2% over Expedia.
- Las Vegas: I compared 11 hotels in Las Vegas and was very pleasantly surprised. Here, I found that TravelPony beat Expedia 9 times out of 11. The saving were huge — up to 38% cheaper. The average savings was 18.2%.
Conclusion: TravelPony is unquestionably less expensive than Expedia for the vast majority of hotels that I looked at. Most of the time, the savings ranged from 10% to 25% which is fantastic. However, I was even able to find savings of 30% or more on several hotels. Hands down, TravelPony beats Expedia.
TravelPony vs. Hotwire
Comparing TravelPony to Hotwire was a bit difficult due to the fact that Hotwire does not publish the name of the hotel until after you make the purchase. When comparing Hotwire to TravelPony, my approach was to try to make a direct hotel-to-hotel comparison by identifying the Hotwire hotel from the Hotwire hotel lists. In cases where a direct comparison was not possible, I compared Hotwire’s least expensive hotel in a Hotwire zone to TravelPony’s least expensive hotel of the same star rating in the same area.
Here is a summary of the results of TravelPony vs. Hotwire:
- San Francisco: Of the hotels that I looked at, prices were slightly more expensive than Hotwire by an average of 12%.
- Las Vegas: TravelPony came very close to Hotwire for Las Vegas hotels, but Hotwire did beat TravelPony by around 4% for the hotels and dates that I looked at.
There are a few things to note when comparing TravelPony to Hotwire:
- Hotwire does not reveal the hotel name until after you buy, and reservations are non-refundable. This should be taken into consideration. Each person’s risk propensity is different, but as a general rule, a Hotwire savings of less than 10% is not worth the risk.
- Hotwire fees are higher than TravelPony. Here is a great example. I saw a hotel for $104 per night on TravelPony and the same hotel for $93 on Hotwire. However, after taxes and fees, the price on Hotwire was $115 compared to $117 on TravelPony. What originally appeared to be an 11% savings on Hotwire was actually only $2 per night cheaper. Given the risks of Hotwire (not knowing your hotel name, non-refundable), it simply would not make sense to book on Hotwire. Don’t be fooled by Hotwire’s sticker price.
Conclusion: I think its good to compare Hotwire to TravelPony when booking a hotel. Keep in mind that Hotwire hotels cannot be cancelled and you do not know the name of the hotel in advance. Plus Hotwire charges extra fees per night that TravelPony does not. As a general rule, I would say that unless you are seeing significant savings on Hotwire (e.g., 15% or more), Hotwire is not worth the risk. Book on TravelPony instead.
TravelPony Summary
The concept of TravelPony is pretty cool. Sign up to see their rates, then share on social media when you book. In return, save a bunch of money on hotels. In my comparison against Expedia, TravelPony is the clear winner. TravelPony also offers a huge advantage over Hotwire because you do not need to pay to find your hotel name, and reservations can be cancelled for a refund. Although not yet available in every city, I am a huge fan. I was pleasantly surprised and will be using it for future hotel bookings.
Why not check out TravelPony for yourself? It’s quick to join and the savings can be significant.