Travel Republic

[CarolineW]

Hi Everyone

Just wondering if anyone else has come across this - My son and I are booked into an apartment (we hope!) at the Seastar apartments from end of July for 3 + 1/2 weeks. My dad and stepmum were also booked into the same place for the first 2 weeks.

My dad has now been contacted to say they've overbooked and there isnt a room for them!! So they have had to cancel and rebook else where!!

Ive spent most of the day trying to get Travel republic to confirm my room to which I just keep being told there's no news on my booking but it might change!! Not exactly reassuring! Has anyone else come across this? Travel republic are telling me lots of hotels are doing this!!

Should I cancel and go elsewhere or hope I have a room?!!

[Scunner]

Travel Republic get mixed reviews, not just bad ones like your experience but in fairness plenty of good ones. They pay very poor rates to the hotels and it is conceivable that the hotels might be getting bookings since at better rates either from other travel agents or through direct business - and are dumping the low paying Travel Republic ones. What is important is that Travel Republic must be responsible over this but they can't do much mid season - if they drop the hotel, they will have dozens of people who have booked these hotels and that would be a nightmare for them and their customers alike. I hope they would see the season through then drop the offending hotels for good.

[CarolineW]

Travel Republic have confirmed that I can have a full refund up to 4 days before I travel! Ive found something at the Harman for the same period for a little bit more, and I think Id rather have peace of mind at the moment!

Ive found it definitely depends who answers the phone as to the quality of information but that can be said for a lot of companies out there! Im sure they arent the only ones.

Ive asked them to get full confirmation in writing from their supplier that I have a room by tomorrow and if its not forthcoming then I'll book the Harman I think! The reviews of the Harman appear to be very good overall!

[marina]

We stayed at the Seastar apartments in May for two weeks, booked entirely (flights, transfers and accommodation) with Travel Republic.  It was the first time we've used them and I was a bit concerned before we left whether all would run smoothly.  However it did, no problems whatsoever and thoroughly enjoyed the Seastar.  

I did wonder though how they managed to make a profit on what we were paying for the accommodation so probably Scunner is right about TR paying the hotels poor rates.  I know Ahmed told us that just before we were leaving (20th May) they would be full then through the rest of the summer.  There are only 16 apartments anyway so quite a small place.  A lot of the people we spoke to were regular visitors there and 'newbies' like us who also said they'd be back again.  A good proportion of these people booked direct with the apartments so maybe they have decided it is more profitable to take their own bookings, they can charge what they want then.  

Having said all that, I think it's an awful position you've been put in, first of all your dad's cancellation and now you're not sure if you have a room or not!   If you've made a firm booking and have confirmation of it you shouldn't have to be in this position.  I know if it was me I'd be tempted to cancel and book the Harman (never stayed there but always looks a nice hotel) just to know I wasn't going to lose my holiday.  

I'd still be on TR's backs though to find out exactly what had happened.

Good luck!

[tonyb]

Really sorry to hear about this. To be fair to Ahmet,he ditched most of the British agents i.e TR, Sunshine, Hotels 4U etc because of the rates they hammered him down to. I think he now uses Reisen because alot of his repeat guests are Dutch & he probably gets a better rate for his rooms.But having said that,its disappointing, Hotels 4u did the same to us last June at another hotel in Calis, but we didn't find out until the transfer driver dropped us off & the hotel manager said we could not stay because the rooms had not been paid for, luckily a Yesil Dalyan rep got us rooms at the Tugay & we loved that much,we'll be back on June 19th.

[johntaylor49]

I have used Travkle republic before and they were great, I also used sunshine.co.uk and similar.

The issue does seem to be the awful rates that UK traveloperators pay the Hotels but in the main the Hotels themselves are probably to blame!

Try contacting them from the UK and booking, their web sites are often awful if not non-existent, contcat details sparse and I feel they think that e-mail is a yorkshire expression about letters! (God knows what the french one would be ) If you manage to get any comunication the rates you are often offered are way above what you can book with a TC for, something wrong there!

This would be my 3rd year at the Rebin Beach, (so I must like it!) but I have given up trying to book direct! Nobody ever answers emails and Im buggered if I am going to spend money calling Turkey with no guarantee of being able to make a booking!

Having said that the other problem is payment I guess to take the entire deposit somehow or would have no safety in no-shows!

Come on somneone who lives there all the time, set up a booking operation for Calis Hotels? TravelCompnay based there with all the right international safeguards???

JohnT

[Scunner]

I have to say Travel Republic caused me no concerns whatsoever during my recent adventure - they sold me a cheap deal and when I turned up the hotel was expecting me, what more can one ask  

On the topic of setting up a Calis hotel booking service, again it is all more hassle than it would be worth - hoteliers rejecting all the bookings you made over the previous 6 months because somebody else came along offering a quid a night more for their customers - trust me, the booking company's share of the £13.50 a night or whatever paultry rate it is wouldn't come near to needing to contact and possibly compensate all those who now don't have a hotel room booked anymore. Selling accommodation in the land of the moving goalposts, especially when rates have hit the floor is not a good idea. You can see even on CBF some of the problems people have had with Travel Republic and it is their reputation that suffers - but often it is the hotel that is the cause and their reputation is unaffected.

I would think there are 1,000,000 better ways for Brits living in Turkey to make £2 a day, such as searching bins for cardboard.

[johntaylor49]

hmmm dunb idea then

[Scunner]

No not dumb, just difficult!

[CarolineW]

Hi Everyone

Thanks for your comments! We did get the reassurances from travel republic so its fingers crossed now that the apartment will be there waiting for us when we arrive!!

Im counting down the days now!!

Caroline