To be honest, we were not upset when Booking.com and Airbnb suspended their operations in Russia – many accommodation booking services, both at home and abroad, are still operating. And believe me, although not everyone is ready to become a full-fledged replacement for the reserved services, they will not disappoint you. Yes, we know what we’re talking about because we’ve personally tested them. We share the results!
“Island”
What can be booked? Hotels, hostels, apartments, villas, camping areas
Where? in Russia and all over the world
The service promises that it can be used to book more than 1.7 million accommodation options at “reasonable prices” in 220 countries (69 thousand of which are in Russia). And then there are hidden prices – discounts agreed with hotels and available in the application, but you should not constantly rely on them. For example, for 7 nights with breakfast in Ostrovka, St. It was offered to book a five-star Corinthia in St. Petersburg for 113,580 rubles – the same price is presented on the hotel’s official website and in the service application. But it turned out to be more profitable to find accommodation for the same number of nights in Dubai directly on the hotel website: a Deluxe double room with breakfast for 7 nights at the JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Dubai in Ostrovka is available for 46,416 rubles and presented on the website for 45,787 rubles.
Each accommodation option in Ostrovka is rated on a 10-point scale – this rating is based on user reviews, but there is another rating system – according to one of the largest travel sites TripAdvisor. Options can be sorted both on the site and in the app – there are settings for meals, star rating, nightly price, location and other categories, and you can see offers both on the list and on the map. The reservation process itself in Ostrovka is no different from similar services: on the accommodation option page, you can choose the type of room and control all the parameters.
But what you may not like in Ostrovok is the lack of direct communication with the accommodation option – you can solve problems with a hotel, hostel or apartment only through the service support service, which may not always be prompt. What is the reason for the decision not to provide direct communication is unknown, but users in most cases are not satisfied: in the official community of the VKontakte service you can find a lot of negative feedback about the work of the support service.
Conclusion: Ostrovok is more suitable than its competitors to replace Booking. Firstly, due to affordable prices (in the worst case, they will not differ from the data on official sites), and secondly, due to the user-friendly interface and transparent feedback system. However, it may be worth it to prepare for the fact that in unforeseen situations you will have to wait for a response from the support service, and the time to resolve issues can be calculated in days and weeks.
“Tinkoff Travel”
What can be booked? Hotels, hostels, apartments, villas, campsites, plane and train tickets, tours, cars
Where? in Russia and all over the world
Actually, Tinkoff Travel works as an aggregator of several services at once: Ostrovka for hotel reservation, Travelata for tour reservation, OneTwoTrip! RentalCars for train ticket booking and EconomyBookings for car booking (services are currently temporarily closed in Russia). If you have a Tinkoff card, then using the service will be more convenient than, for example, Ostrovkom – returning up to 10% bonus or miles to bank customers. It is especially convenient when it is possible to book everything at once, otherwise the service differs little from competitors. However, Tinkoff Travel does not have a separate application, by the way, all services are available in the bank’s application.
Conclusion: As a separate booking service, Tinkoff Travel does not work, but it can be of great help with the entire organization of the trip, from tickets to car rentals. And even if you are a regular Ostrovka user, do not delete the site from accounts – and in this case you will be able to save.
“Yandex Trip”
What can be booked? Hotels, hostels, motels, plane, train or bus tickets
Where? in Russia and all over the world
Yandex Travel offers a choice of more than three million hotels, resorts, tourist camps, hostels and apartments and works not only with hotels, but also with well-known aggregators (there are data from both official sites and Ostrovka). Users have access to standard filters, from rating to stardom, as well as placement options on the map. But Yandex Travel loses in prices: an executive room with breakfast included and a sea view for 7 days in the five-star Pullman hotel in Sochi is offered to be booked here for 342,300 rubles, and in Ostrovka the same parameters are sold for 317,193 rubles . On the official website, the number is available for 317,100 rubles. In addition, it is better not to focus on reviews on the platform – unlike the same Ostrovka, for example, anyone can leave them, not just the one who booked. That is why Yandex is periodically reprimanded for inflated ratings, but they can always be checked in other sources.
By the way, for those who use the Yandex ecosystem, the service offers Plus points for reservations – they can then be spent on taxis, food, subscriptions and other services.
Conclusion: Yandex Travel is distinguished by convenient functionality and a large number of services, although there are also profitable options here, they can lose in price to competitors. If you’re willing to take the time to find them, go for it.
OneTwoTrip
What can be booked? Hotels, hostels, apartments, villas, campsites, plane, train or bus tickets, cars, excursions
Where? in Russia and all over the world
The Russian enterprise has already existed for 11 years – initially the site specialized in the selection of airline tickets, but now it is a service for the full organization of travel. The filtering here is classic (there’s even the category “Out of Stock”), but the ordering of options sometimes raises questions – search results show either questionable hotels or ratings with a high rating but few reviews. No less questions about pricing: The St. Regis Moscow Nikolskaya for 7 days with breakfast on OneTwoTrip will cost 406 thousand rubles, although it can be booked on the official website of the hotel for 329 thousand. But the site has a handy infographic based on guest reviews: each category (there’s even “Checkroom” and “Breakfast Cost”) is evaluated on a 10-point scale. By the way, at the time of booking the service also offers to take out insurance immediately.
Conclusion: OneTwoTrip is easy to use, but does not provide the same confidence as other accommodation booking services. Mainly because of the system of evaluating objects – their number can be in the thousands, but there are no real text reviews.
TuTu.ru
What can be booked? Hotels, hostels, apartments, plane, train, train or bus tickets, author tours
Where? in Russia and all over the world
The ability to book hotels on the site has appeared recently and still clearly needs improvement: for example, there are only four filters available for users (accommodation type, food, star rating, and price per night), plus no maps. In terms of prices, TuTu may be lower than its competitors, but unlike some, it still turns out to be profitable: for example, a classic room with breakfast for 7 nights can be booked in the Mövenpick Grand Al Bustan Dubai in Dubai here against 46 515 rubles on the hotel’s official website 38,931 rubles. True, Ostrovok sells the same parameters even cheaper – for 33,088 rubles. But in “TuTu” you can not only book a hotel, but also buy tickets for an airplane, train, electric train or bus, as well as organize a business trip or go on an “adventure” with the author’s service tours.
Conclusion: “TuTu” is suitable for decorating almost everything needed for a good holiday, but it is unlikely for avid travelers. The absence of a large number of filters and not optimal pricing allows you to choose in favor of the service’s competitors, but there are no questions about the site when it comes to registration.
Source: People Talk
