Over the last several years, the travel market has reshaped itself in Russia. With foreign hotel booking platforms departing, domestic aggregators for lodging are stepping up to win travelers’ trust by offering discount schemes and loyalty programs.
Research by the information and analytics agency TelecomDaily examined offers from eleven local platforms. As an example, experts calculated the real value for a typical family of two adults and a child under 14 who booked housing through an online aggregator for the first time during the New Year holidays. To ensure clarity, two scenarios were compared: a four-night stay in a Sochi hotel with paid breakfast and a thirteen-night stay in a Phuket hotel in Thailand, also with breakfast included.
Where to look for the best deal
For a four-night New Year stay in Sochi, Tvil is noted for its refunds. The service offers the possibility to recover up to half of the spend as a cashback, usable for another booking within twelve months, with bonuses covering up to ten percent of the order value in some cases.
Similarly, MTS Travel presents a cashback around 23.5 percent of the booking total under the same conditions. New users also receive a ruble-based discount in addition to the cashback, with the rebate set at fifteen percent and valid for use across the MTS ecosystem. Ozon Travel returns about twenty percent as a cash refund. Ostrovok.ru offers ten percent off through the loyalty program plus five percent with a promotional code.
The Thai island of Phuket, a perennial favorite among Russian travelers, emerges as a top destination when booking abroad. The strongest offer for Phuket is found with MTS Travel, which provides a twenty-three percent reduction on the final bill. This benefit consists of a ten percent ruble discount plus cashback for new users. Bonuses available when booking through Ostrovok.ru and OneTwoTrip are slightly smaller but still attractive for families who budget carefully.
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At first glance, the direct ruble discount appears highly appealing for the consumer. Yet it is crucial to understand the fine print of this loan-like benefit and read the full terms, much like a bank loan. For instance, some services offer a ten percent discount on the first booking but with a cap as low as one thousand rubles.
Cashback can also be a strong saving strategy under favorable terms. Analysts advise paying attention to the timing of when points can be spent. This allows travelers to choose the booking option that best aligns with their future travel plans.
There is also value in leveraging the ecosystems of large platform operators, which, through a broad range of services, enable cashback to be used for goods and services without tying it strictly to future reservations.
The highest cashback rate without ruble discounts is offered by Ozon Travel. Yandex provides substantial opportunities to redeem points across services such as Taxi, Drive, Lavka, and more.
With MTS Travel, users can redeem points for purchases in MTS network stores, pay for mobile services, home Internet, television, online cinema subscriptions, and event tickets. Points earned from bookings can typically reduce the total, and many services include a subscription benefit, with the first month often free for selected services.