It's not a matter of more work but rather it wears differently. I have it in my family room and I love it. Yes it gets dirty (patina) but that just adds to the charm. In the six years that it's been down we had it steam cleaned once and thank goodness it didn't come perfectly clean. To me it's like living in a European Villa. Just make sure you get really good stone and hire the best installer that you can find. It's all in the prep work if you want a quality installation.

Travertine is holey, and traps dirt. Or a dropped egg in the kitchen. Not sure if dirty floors is "European'' or not, but I suspect not. Some of the holes are filled, but the fill will pop out over time. It is soft, and will scratch when your shoe traps that pebble and your kid walks through the whole house dragging his feet. It is a carbonate based stone and will etch (partially dissolve) when you drop a tomato spill a coke. It is porous, and will stain when you drop that tomato or spill that coke or have driveway sealer on your shoe. Sealer can prevent some staining. It doesn't prevent anything else.

Porcelain is one of the hardest substances for flooring that exists. It experiences none of those issues. A successful mimic of natural stone is a great choice for a lived in home. It can be a lifetime flooring.

IMO travertine is not a stone I would use in a rustic setting and yes travertine is more work than porcelain as it needs to be sealed often to keep it looking good and laso from having liquids get into the stone . If you want a rustic feel why not slate .

Rescaled should read resealed. Damn auto spell

Travertine is beautiful, but porcelain tile is much easier to maintain. You also have a stone-look porcelain tile if this is the compromise you would consider to go with.

Porcelain is easy to maintain. If you are going for that, you need to find a porcelain tile that imitates travertine well. Travertine looks pretty rustic (that is the reason we didn't pick it for a project). If you think maintenance is an issue for you, then check porcelain. Just make sure you see the tile in the store. A lot of them feel like plastic

Travertine is semi-porous and can stain. There are some great stone-look porcelain tiles on the market now. Porcelain is easier to clean and maintain, but may not be that much less expensive than travertine.

Travertine tile is porous and is a more difficult set. Some folks will set it like porcelain or ceramic tile, which is not the proper way to do it. The correct way to avoid any slippage especially with 1/16" grout lines is to apply a thin layer of thinset on the floor, followed by a somewhat dry mortar bed, then the travertine is back buttered with thinset and set on on the mortar bed. The height is then adjusted with a rubber mallet. This set is called a sandwich and it is costly but really the only way to do it properly. With so many travertine look alike porcelain tiles I tend to steer clients away natural stone due to the maintenance, softness, porosity and installation cost.

That was supposed to be lippage, not "slippage"

Yes, it is more to maintain. Norm makes good points regarding installation. Additionally, if the travertine is honed and filled, make sure the fill is minimal as it can break down at the fill areas and leave pock marks. Of course, quality and regular sealing are necessary. That said, porcelain will never be natural stone regardless of the attempts to mimic natural stone. Natural stone is a timeless and beautiful choice (used for centuries) but does require more maintenance.