MONTREAL - Looking for a $541 flight to Delhi? An $872 five-night stay at a luxury resort in Spain? A $4,100 11-day Caribbean cruise?
好色tvs looking for deals on flights, hotels and vacation packages can purchase bookings second-hand 鈥 including those above 鈥 as long as they鈥檙e careful and none too choosy.
A handful of platforms now specialize in pairing sellers who have to call off non-refundable trips with buyers eager for a bargain and willing to reserve last-minute.
鈥淚 like to call it a virtual garage sale for travel,鈥 said Katy Nastro, a spokeswoman for flight savings app Going.
For sellers, the sites offer a chance to recoup much of the cost of a trip they can no longer take, whether due to work, illness, emergency or bereavement. For buyers, they open the door to cheaper travel and accommodations, bringing higher-end options within reach or simply making a getaway affordable in the first place.
The savings for purchasers typically sit between 20 and 30 per cent, but can range much higher, especially for reservations just a few days away.
The platforms, which include Transfer Travel, SpareFare, Plans Change and Roomer, typically charge sellers commissions of between 10 and 30 per cent.
鈥淚t completely depends on the listing but, as an average, the value that our sellers recoup is around 1,000 pounds ($1,867),鈥 said Maisie Blewitt, head of commercial at U.K.-based Transfer Travel.
鈥淚t would have ordinarily gone to waste.鈥
At Transfer Travel, a service team verifies the details of a new seller鈥檚 account.
After selecting a booking, the buyer then communicates via a chat function with the seller, who is responsible for changing the name on the reservation and furnishing proof of the switch.
The seller is paid only after the ticket transfer is complete, with the money withheld for up to five days.
鈥淥n the chat, we will see the documents that have the new buyer鈥檚 name,鈥 Blewitt said, though she acknowledged it can be 鈥渁 bit of a scary process for some.鈥
The 10-person company has some 99,000 users in the United Kingdom and the U.S., she said. In Canada, customer volumes jumped 45 per cent last year.
鈥淭here鈥檚 so much pressure on people to save money,鈥 Blewitt said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a nice alternative to buying travel in a traditional way.鈥
There鈥檚 also a limit to its appeal.
The potential downsides for buyers include sparse and seemingly random booking options, zero loyalty points 鈥 they aren鈥檛 honoured or accumulated via third-party booking sites 鈥 and the fact that most large airlines in North America prohibit ticket transfers.
Those seeking precise dates or destinations may well be out of luck. Bookings for more than two people are rare. And some of the flight discounts are 鈥渘ot that great鈥 鈥 particularly given their last-minute nature 鈥 said Nastro.
鈥淚t鈥檚 used enough that it鈥檚 gaining traction, but I wouldn鈥檛 say it鈥檚 as widely used as, say, an online travel agency.鈥
Travellers with flexibility 鈥 young people, retirees, digital nomads 鈥 comprise the core of the eBay-esque marketplace鈥檚 customers.
鈥淭his is more for somebody that鈥檚 single, can drop everything and be able to maybe work remotely or is just looking for a quick getaway,鈥 said Nastro.
The demographic dubbed DINKs 鈥 double income, no kids 鈥 are among the more recent adopters, said Blewitt.
In North America, air travel presents some of the biggest hurdles.
鈥淔lights are always a bit of a sticky one, especially based in America and Canada,鈥 she said. That partly explains why 48 per cent of Transfer Travel鈥檚 bookings are for accommodations, rather than plane tickets. Cruises make up another 22 per cent.
Users should do their own research too, including on a given short-term rental鈥檚 reputation or whether a carrier permits ticket transfers.
For example, SpareFare, where buyers can bid on already-bought plane tickets, maintains a list of airlines that allow name changes. Air Canada and WestJet are on it. The problem is, they generally do not allow name changes.
鈥淎ir Canada allows name corrections, as in for typos in names, not a name change,鈥 said Air Canada spokeswoman Angela Mah in an email. 聽
Some hotel chains are also leery of the practice, said Barry Choi, who runs the Money We Have personal finance and travel website.
Guests may need to show identification bearing the name on the initial reservation to check in, he said.
Security and fraud are concerns with any second-hand ticket purchases, including in the travel market.
Experts recommend confirming that the site verifies listings and holds funds in escrow, and to be wary of less regulated forums such as Facebook Marketplace.
Scams are 鈥渘ot super common鈥 on travel resale sites, Blewitt said, though she鈥檚 seen them before.
Prepaid reservations amount to just one travel hack among many 鈥 standby lists for flights and cruises, packing light and clever use of loyalty points constitute a few others 鈥 presenting a small portal to escape at sometimes cut-rate prices.
鈥淭he average holiday for four people is in the thousands now,鈥 said Blewitt. 鈥淚t鈥檚 crazy money, really.
鈥淲e think travel should be accessible,鈥 she said.
This report by 好色tvwas first published Jan. 15, 2026.
