Trip.com Review

Trip.com is the international-facing brand of Trip.com Group (formerly Ctrip), China's largest online travel agency. The platform has expanded aggressively beyond its Chinese roots and now serves travelers worldwide, with particular strength in the Asia-Pacific region. It offers hotels, flights, train tickets, car rentals, tours, and attraction tickets through a single platform. The platform lists over 1.2 million properties globally, with its deepest inventory in China, Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asia, and Australia. For travelers visiting these regions, Trip.com often surfaces deals and properties that do not appear on Western-focused platforms. The last-minute deal engine is particularly strong, with discounts of 15-40% on hotels for same-day or next-day check-in. Trip.com's interface is modern and functional, though it occasionally feels like it is translating from a Chinese-first design language. The Trip Coins loyalty program provides straightforward cashback value, and the platform's 24/7 multilingual support covers over 20 languages. While it does not yet match Booking.com or Expedia in global inventory, Trip.com is a serious alternative for Asia-Pacific travel and an increasingly competitive option for other regions.

Trip.com's hotel search is fast and returns results with a clean layout. Filters cover the standard options including price range, star rating, guest rating, property type, and amenities. The platform also offers a "Local Expert Picks" section for some destinations that highlights properties recommended based on local knowledge, which is a nice touch for first-time visitors. The map search is functional and displays pricing clearly, though it lacks some of the smooth interactivity found on Booking.com or Google Hotels. Search results include useful context like "X people are looking at this hotel right now" and "Last booked Y minutes ago," which create urgency but may also feel manipulative to some users. Where Trip.com's search stands out is in its handling of Chinese and broader Asian hotel inventory. The platform often lists properties, especially smaller boutique hotels and local guesthouses, that do not appear on Western platforms. For travelers exploring secondary cities in China, Vietnam, or Indonesia, this expanded inventory can reveal options that would otherwise be invisible.

Trip.com's hotel pricing is competitive, particularly for last-minute bookings and in the Asia-Pacific region. The platform's "Flash Sale" section offers time-limited deals with genuine discounts, and the "Member Only" prices available to logged-in users typically save an additional 5-10% on select properties. The last-minute deal engine is one of Trip.com's strongest pricing features. Hotels with unsold inventory for the current or next day are offered at steep discounts, sometimes 30-40% below the standard rate. These deals are most abundant in popular Asian cities where the platform has deep supplier relationships and real-time inventory feeds. One concern is price consistency during the checkout process. Some users have reported that the price displayed on the search results page differs from the final price at checkout after taxes and fees are added. While this is not unique to Trip.com, the platform could improve transparency by displaying total prices more consistently throughout the booking flow.

Trip.com offers a comprehensive travel ecosystem that goes beyond hotel booking. The platform includes flight booking, train ticket purchases (including Chinese high-speed rail), car rentals, airport transfers, tour packages, and attraction tickets. This makes it a particularly strong all-in-one platform for travel within Asia. The mobile app is feature-rich and includes trip planning tools, booking management, and a built-in translation feature that helps travelers navigate language barriers. The app also provides local information like weather forecasts, currency exchange rates, and visa requirements for your destination. These practical tools add genuine value beyond the core booking functionality. Trip.com's train booking feature deserves special mention. The platform is one of the few international travel sites that allows foreigners to book Chinese high-speed rail tickets online, which is a significant convenience for travelers planning trips within China. This feature alone makes the platform invaluable for certain travel itineraries.

The Trip Coins loyalty program is simple and transparent. You earn Trip Coins on every booking, with the rate varying by product type and your membership tier. Trip Coins can be redeemed for discounts on future bookings at a fixed conversion rate, making it easy to calculate the value you are earning. The membership tiers (Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond) are based on booking frequency and spending within a calendar year. Higher tiers unlock better earn rates, priority customer support, free room upgrades at participating properties, and late checkout privileges. The tier thresholds are achievable for moderate travelers, with Gold status requiring approximately 4-6 bookings per year. The program is straightforward but not particularly generous compared to Booking.com Genius or the Expedia One Key system. The main advantage is simplicity, as there are no complex point calculations or restrictive redemption windows. Trip Coins have a clear cash value and can be applied to any eligible booking without blackout dates.

Trip.com offers 24/7 customer support in over 20 languages, which is impressive given the platform's global ambitions. Phone support is available for urgent issues, while in-app chat handles routine requests. The multilingual capability is particularly strong for Asian languages, including Mandarin, Japanese, Korean, and Thai. Support quality for English-speaking customers is adequate but inconsistent. Simple requests like cancellations and booking modifications are handled promptly. However, complex issues involving refunds, disputes with properties, or billing discrepancies can take multiple contacts to resolve. Some users report being asked to wait 7-14 business days for refund processing, which is longer than industry averages. The in-app chat feature includes an AI assistant that handles basic queries and can resolve many common issues without human intervention. When escalation to a human agent is needed, the handoff is usually smooth, though wait times vary. For travelers with urgent issues at check-in time, the phone support line is the most reliable channel for quick resolution.