Jump to content
Travel Agent Reviews
Don't make the same mistake I did!
This is a review of:

Wright Travel Agency - Destination Wedding and Honeymoon Specialists

Detailed Ratings
Communication:
3.0
Performance:
1.0
Value:
1.0
gatortot

By gatortot, · 1,861 Views · 3 Comments

Pros: quick response time
Cons: unflexible; no invoices/receipts

Let me first mention that Wright Travel Agency owns and operates this website...so this bad review may be deleted.

 

I came to this website and diligently read reviews on travel agencies, not having a clue of the specifics I should be looking for.  I saw that Wright Travel Agency had amazing reviews, there was not a bad thing to be said about them.  I decided to email them, and Babs responded promptly.  We went from there, me telling her what I wanted in a resort and with the trip for my guests.  We decided to have our wedding at Azul Fives Resort. We secured a date and booked a room block so my guests could start booking their trips. 

 

As soon as we signed a contract with Babs, we were told our guests would be working with a different travel agent, that we had never previously worked with.  I kept an open mind and figured it would be completely fine. WRONG. My fiance's mother emailed and called a few times with no response. (Until I emailed asking that they contact her). Friends who had placed books were sent the wrong itiniaries.  Prices were added on without consent (hotel transfers) and were not even brought up to my guests until they asked what the charges were for.  Another thing - there are NO PROPER INVOICES OR RECEIPTS.  I am an accountant, which may be why this is important to me, but it screams unprofessionalism. I have worked with a few other travel agencies and there are always numbered invoices, receipts etc.   After talking with a few different travel agents, USUALLY round trip airport transfer is included in the all-inclusive price.  I believe that we weren't provided receipts or invoices because this would have given it away that they were essentially double charging.  We placed a room block for $100 per room, so when guests wanted to place a deposit, it should have been $50/person/room, 2 people to a room.  This is the norm at least with Funjet, but usually is also pretty uniform with other resorts/travel agencies from my understanding.  Not Wright Travel Agency!

 

The other huge problem I had was in regards to flights.  Before signing a contract I made my wishes clear - which was to have a direct flight out of my hometown.  I only requested this because I have taken direct flights to Mexico out of my hometown so I knew it was available.  I was told this would be no problem UNTIL it got closer and I was asking about flights for guests. I was then told flights can only be booked out of Chicago (I'm from Milwaukee).  Then, when someone even requested a quote on a price it was $800 round trip Chicago to Mexico, 12 hours of travel time each way.  I logged onto Priceline and Orbitz and was able to beat that price by $300.  Really? But hey, Wright Travel Agency let me know that I could always coordinate flights for 50 people on my own! As if I don't have a day job....

 

I tried to break my contract with Wright Travel Agency and basically lost my whole room block deposit, plus paid my guests out of pocket who won't be getting refunded.  There was no wiggle room in trying to change travel agents (this was due to the wholesaler Wright TA goes through). After this being such a huge nightmare I ended up canceling my destination wedding.  If this review helps at least one bride decide to book with a different travel agency, I'll consider it a WIN.  Don't make the same mistake I did!

3 Comments


I would like to respond on these issues:

 

1. Yes, we make it known throughout that I own Wright Travel as well as this site.

 

2. Flights times: We cannot control airline's flight schedules. We can assist in private charters but this is not very affordable for many people. We NEVER promised that we could get direct flights ONLY the flights that the airline's schedule. To blame us because there was not a direct flight available on the dates you wanted is misplacing your blame.

 

3. Loss of deposit: Regarding the room deposit, Wright Travel did not get 1 cent of this. This was money given to the wholesaler/resort. I even contacted the resort directly to tell them to work directly with the bride and please not to charge any penalties on our behalf. If you decided to cancel your wedding,

 

4. Regarding travel documents: We tried to explain that we cannot give travel documents UNTIL the package is paid IN FULL. The email has the invoice in them with the amount dues, deposits, etc. The clients wanted travel documents but we tried to explain multiple times that they are not provided until the package has been paid for. This is standard practice.

 

5. Flights prices: If you were able to find flights $300 less than what we offered (which was not the case) YOU should definitely book them direct. I know I would! We tell our clients to give us a chance to price match but if we cannot you should not pay $300 more to use us. That is just silly.

 

6. Regarding transfers: 95% of our clients book their transfers with us. We like to price components separately because sometimes, if you have a group of 6 people traveling at the same time, it is cheaper AND much shorter trip to book a private transfer instead of the normal shared transfer. We try to get our clients not only the best price BUT the best experience but unfortunately this client thought it was so strange not to have the transfer bundled in that she could not understand the reasoning that sometimes shared transfers are NOT the best option for people. We have done groups with Funjet as well as other big suppliers and you can ALWAYS book with or without transfers.

 

7. Group bookings: unlike individual bookings, where a booking number is given to each room, their is one booking number given to the entire group. The entire group is treated like 1 booking. We give a manifest that has all the rooms, dates, names, categories etc. When the group is finalized EVERY room is sent their travel documents that have confirmations of their dates, room categories, special request, transfers and insurance (if the opt in). We book hundreds of groups a year and have never had a complaint about documentation.

 

8. Cancelling your wedding: I am sorry you had to do this and am not sure why. The resort had not problem working directly with your group and I was told that any money that you paid would be applied accordingly. When I spoke to your fiance, I asked him to please reach out if you had any problems with this transfer as we wanted to make this transition as smooth as we could and this is the first time I am hearing about the cancellation.

Link to comment

I also wanted to add regarding the flight prices. You were not comparing apples to apples. You cannot compare the price of a flight with a 18 hour layover with a flight without one.

 

This was the case where you found flights cheaper but the layover was much longer. You usually have to make some sort of sacrifice with finding the cheapest flight vs. finding the shortest flight.

Link to comment

As I read this review, I often wondered if we were in the same conversation. Your version of the events is misleading and far from truthful.

 

Let's start with where you claim you were handed off to another agent. Kelly is the reservation liaison to the supplier and partners with me. It is a more efficient system but we work as a team so you were never just handed off as you were still able to contact me.

 

When guests make a reservation, they are sent an email confirmation with all pertinent information including name, dates of stay, room type, rates, insurance and transfers. It is all spelled out in the simplest way possible. As guests haven't yet paid in full, we do not send travel documents. I am pretty sure that is how ALL agencies work. You did not feel it looked professional because it did not contain our logo. Noted.

 

"After talking with a few different travel agents, USUALLY round trip airport transfer is included in the all-inclusive price". I'm not sure why "usually" is in caps as it isn't a definitive answer and doesn't support any claim. It is true that often times, package rates are given that include transfers but these are rarely included in the hotel's all inclusive rate as the transfers are typically provided by an outside company and NOT the resort. We always include it on the confirmation (the line where it says "round trip transfers") and guests can simply let us know if they are not needed. Your contract very clearly stated the nightly rates and then the transfer rate was listed so not sure where this idea of us double charging comes from but it is definitely a very creative claim.

 

"Before signing a contract I made my wishes clear - which was to have a direct flight out of my hometown." I really wish I could predict what the airlines flight schedules would be. Unfortunately, when you signed in January, flights for end of March were not yet available and would not be available for 3-4 months. Not sure how we are to blame for the lack of non-stop flights everyday of the week out of Milwaukee but I will be sure to pass your complaints on to the airlines.

 

You and I both know that I never told you that we can ONLY book flights out of Chicago. I asked you if guests would be open to flying out of Chicago as they offer non-stop flights that are much cheaper. I just had a 35 room wedding to Azul Beach and a handful of guests had me price out Chicago so I knew it was an option depending on where they lived. This is exactly what Kelly sent your mother-in-law (note it is out of MKE and the 2nd is a non-stop return flight!). Please also note that the stated travel time of 13:59 is the TOTAL travel time for BOTH ways.

Here are 2 options I found; the first has 1 stop and the second is nonstop on the return.

Adults $676.86 each Total Travel Time 13 hrs. 59 mins. q4_minus.gif mt.gif q4_flightoutbound.jpg ualogo.gif United Airlines flight 5415 Monday March 28, 2016 Published Total Outbound Duration 5 hrs. 25 mins. flydrive.gif aironly.gif Operated by SKYWEST DBA UNITED EXPRESS 7:25 AM Depart Milwaukee, Wi 8:08 AM Arrive Chicago, Il/ O'hare 0 stops 0 hr. 43 mins. Connection 0 hr. 52 mins. 2 Seats, Coach, U Class, No Meals, Non-smoking, Canadair Regional Jet ualogo.gif United Airlines flight 1198 Monday March 28, 2016 Published 9:00 AM Depart Chicago, Il/ O'hare 12:50 PM Arrive Cancun/ Riviera Maya, Mexico 0 stops 3 hrs. 50 mins. 2 Seats, Coach, U Class, Food for Purchase, Non-smoking, Boeing 737-800 mt.gif q4_flightinbound.jpg ualogo.gif United Airlines flight 1011 Saturday April 2, 2016 Published Total Inbound Duration 8 hrs. 34 mins. flydrive.gif aironly.gif 7:00 AM Depart Cancun/ Riviera Maya, Mexico 9:29 AM Arrive Houston, Tx/ George Bush 0 stops 2 hrs. 29 mins. Connection 3 hrs. 31 mins. 2 Seats, Coach, H Class, Food and Beverages for Purchase, Non-smoking, Boeing 737-800 ualogo.gif United Airlines flight 4105 Saturday April 2, 2016 Published Operated by EXPRESSJET AIRLINES DBA UNITED EXPRESS 1:00 PM Depart Houston, Tx/ George Bush 3:34 PM Arrive Milwaukee, Wi 0 stops 2 hrs. 34 mins. 2 Seats, Coach, H Class, Food and Beverages for Purchase, Non-smoking, Embraer Embraer Jet

Adults $778.76 each Total Travel Time10 hrs. 34 mins. q4_minus.gif mt.gif q4_flightoutbound.jpg dllogo.gif Delta Air Lines flight 2539 Monday March 28, 2016 Published Total Outbound Duration 6 hrs. 50 mins. 7:15 AM Depart Milwaukee, Wi 10:22 AM Arrive Atlanta, Ga 0 stops 2 hrs. 7 mins. Connection 1 hr. 53 mins. 2 Seats, Coach, X Class, No Meals, Wi-Fi, Amenities subject to change, Mcdonnell Douglas Md - 90# dllogo.gif Delta Air Lines flight 535 Monday March 28, 2016 Published 12:15 PM Depart Atlanta, Ga 2:05 PM Arrive Cancun/ Riviera Maya, Mexico 0 stops 2 hrs. 50 mins. 2 Seats, Coach, T Class, No Meals, Television, In-seat power source, Wi-Fi, Amenities subject to change, Boeing 737-900 mt.gif q4_flightinbound.jpg dllogo.gif Delta Air Lines flight 700 Saturday April 2, 2016 Published Total Inbound Duration 3 hrs. 44 mins. 10:50 AM Depart Cancun/ Riviera Maya, Mexico 2:34 PM Arrive Milwaukee, Wi 0 stops 3 hrs. 44 mins. 2 Seats, Coach, M Class, Food for Purchase, Wi-Fi, Amenities subject to change, Airbus Industries 320

 

Your MIL's response? She said you told her that flights would be $400 and asked if flying out of Chicago would be less expensive. Not sure if things were lost in translation when speaking with your future mother-in-law or you exaggerated/confused the facts to better support your claim that we told you we can "only book flights from Chicago" and the "flights are 12 hrs each way" and also "$800pp". Additionally, I never told you to coordinate flights for 50 people. I said if people want to book Southwest, they can do so on their own. People book their own flights all the time, there is no reason you would need to coordinate this and I never suggested you do so.

 

You never expressed wanting to cancel your wedding to us, but it would seem that you underestimated the cost of flights for guests and it is much easier to blame us to get out of your contract. Per your contract, if you wanted to cancel completely, you would have had a $750 penalty imposed by the hotel (not by us). Your guests would've been able to get their deposits back but not the cost of insurance. We used our contacts to allow you to book directly with the resort and still be able to use your initial deposit as this is what you said you wanted to do. You simply cannot blame us for flight costs that we are unable to predict or control.

Link to comment

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...