How Travelspinner Works

THE BASICS

Unlike most travel websites, Travelspinner doesn't try to sell you holidays, hotels or destinations. What we do is connect you to exactly the right people to organise your trip.

That’s it.

You don't need to log in, or create a profile, or remember yet another password. And we're completely free to use. Just tell us where you want to go and what sort of holiday you want. Our system will instantly match you to the three most suitable companies on the Travelspinner database, and send them your request. Their replies will go straight to your email inbox, via our server. Then you deal with them direct.

We’ll never pass your email address on to any third parties.

Imagine that you want to go on, say, a biking tour of Jordan. You could type 'bike tour Jordan' into a search engine, and then trawl through the results, pick a few specialists who you hope are reputable, and contact them individually. Or you could simply use Travelspinner to contact the three most suitable companies in one hit - with the confidence that only the best specialists in their field will receive your message.

In fact, don't think of us as a website at all. Instead, think of us as an 'intelligent email' service.

HOW WE MATCH YOU

We match you to travel specialists by using five different criteria -

  1. 1. Holiday type
  2. 2. Destination
  3. 3. Who's Travelling
  4. 4. Age
  5. 5. Budget

Changing any one of those five criteria (replacing, say, ‘Greek Islands’ with ‘Corfu’ or ‘Family’ with ‘Single Traveller’) will likely result in different travel specialists receiving your message. We also sprinkle a little ‘magic dust’ over companies that we know go the extra mile for their customers.

Finally we ask you to write a bit about what you are looking for in your holiday. This detail makes all the difference because it helps tour operators design the most suitable holiday for you – probably including a few good ideas you hadn’t thought of.

WHY USE TRAVELSPINNER?

We’re a level playing field. On Travelspinner, a tiny company with fantastic expertise but zero money to spend on publicity can outrank a larger company with a substantial marketing budget. Our system judges specialists on their expertise and quality of service, not on their size.

We don’t charge commission, so we’re not trying to sell you anything. It makes no difference to us which company you book your holiday with – just that you get the holiday you are looking for.

Companies can’t pay to be on Travelspinner. We don’t charge monthly fees, or even have contracts with them. The only reason companies are on our system is because we think they do a good job.

If we think a particular company should be on Travelspinner, we simply enter their areas of expertise and the regions they cover into our system and give them ratings based on our judgement as travel writers.
We make sure that companies on our system have the appropriate credentials, such as ATOL bonding, and where possible are members of reputable trade associations, such as ABTA (the Association of British Travel Agents), AITO (the Association of Independent Tour Operators) and Travel Trust.

WHAT IS A TOUR OPERATOR?

Travelspinner connects you directly to tour operators, rather than travel agents. What’s the difference?

In short, a tour operator actually organises holidays directly. They're the people who sign contracts with airlines, hotels and in-country ground-handlers (who organise your transfers and activities). A good tour operator will have up-to-date, first-hand knowledge of the destinations they cover, and personal relationships with hoteliers and people on the ground.

Travel agents usually sell holidays for several different tour operators, often working from brochures, and make their money from commission.

When you use Travelspinner, only the most appropriate tour operators and travel companies will receive your message. Each one is reviewed here.