Remember when eBay first entered the mainstream and basically took over? Well, there’s now a travel based version, that lets you buy people’s unwanted flights, holidays, and hotel rooms at a discount.
The idea is simple: quite often travel plans are disrupted by forces outside of our control, whether that’s a break-up, illness, a family tragedy, or just a major fall out with your former BFF.
https://instagram.com/p/BkcnHoyAqnL/?hl=en&taken-by=transfertravel
While most airlines and hotels don’t offer refunds, many will transfer the name of the booking - and that’s the basis of Transfer Travel.

Instead of simply taking the hit and losing hundreds of pounds, travellers can post their unusable bookings up for sale on the website, usually at a discount - meaning there’s some serious deals up for grabs.
https://instagram.com/p/Bkzux1hgY7P/?hl=en&taken-by=transfertravel
It all seems legit too - sellers fill out profiles, with photos and the reason for being unable to travel, while Transfer Travel verifies that all bookings are genuine. In addition, the responsibility for the cost and administration of any name changes falls on the seller, AND no money is taken until the booking transfer has been confirmed by the travel provider.
Kind of genius, no? Transfer Travel is the brainchild of Simon Powell, who was left with an unwanted luxury holiday to Dubai after splitting with his partner.
https://instagram.com/p/BkzkE-bgnsY/?hl=en&taken-by=transfertravel
“Virgin charged me a no-show fee but the rest went into my account as credit, but with my booking direct with the hotel there was nothing they could do,” he told The Telegraph. “It was actually the receptionist at the hotel that gave me the idea.
“She said ‘can you bring someone else or can you find someone else to take the booking off you and we can change the name of the booking?’ and I could charge them what I paid for the room and make some money back.”
And that’s the idea - that it’s a win-win situation. You get a cheap(er) deal, and the sellers recoup the majority of the money they would otherwise have lost. Obvs Transfer Travel also profit - they take 15% of the sale price - but bizniss is bizniss, innit.
Nice one, Simon.

'By Lizzie Cox'