DestinationWeddings.com * Post all experiences, info and questions here! *

[Jess]

I'd price out them compared to one on the forum...the ones on the forum will have better prices most likely. I've heard some bad stories on destinationweddings, so just be careful

[Scarletina]

Definitely do some reading on the boards about this company. There doesn't seem to be much grey - you either love them or hate them. If you want to hear my experience PM me - I am happy to share.

[ali0284]

Did you go ahead and use them? How is everything working out so far?

 

My trip is already booked!! And wedding date already confirmed They also take the $50 off the price of your trip

[queena427]

Hi. Just saw this thread. I'm using DW.com right now. My TA is responsive and really nice but I ended up finding my own resort. The prices they get for the resorts they have many dealings with, they can get good prices. But for this resort that I found on my own, her prices aren't good at all. The prices were about $50 higher. I asked her why and she said her prices include transportation. I pointed out to her that this hotel includes transportation with the lower price I found. In addition, I inquired about booking group vs. individual. She did explain the pros and cons of both ways but did not even try to pursue getting me incentives, free rooms, etc. for booking over 20 rooms. I had to tell her I want the price breakdown for booking individual vs. group. In any case, now I have my dad looking into it for me because he is a travel agent. I didn't go with him initially because I thought DW.com reps really were more than travel agents but they're not. I thought they were real wedding planners as well. We'll see what my dad comes up with vs. what my DW.com rep comes up with. If her prices are more, I'm going with my dad. He also provides a wedding website, registry, etc. as well. I thought DW.com might not work out but for $50, I took the chance. We'll see what happens.

[blckrevpower]

i'm not sure about destination weddings.com i thought they were planners, but they aren't so we didn't go with them. if you do a search here, i'm sure you can find some info

[finzup]

the TA's at DW dot com do not work for DW dot com.. they outsource!

It doesn't tell you this anywhere on the website.

 

I ended up with a TA from Liberty Travel. If I wanted that, I would've went to Liberty Travel myself! (the only way I knew this was because by accident she answered the phone that way.) The DW people did confirm that they do outsource and that "she should not have answered the phone that way". Not really the point though, is it? They tout that they "exclusively" do destination weddings, and then they outsource to someone local to your area that certainly does not "exclusively" deal with destination weddings...

 

Also, my TA lied to me about pricing, refused to price match, etc. In the end I dropped them and got my $50 back (wasn't easy, but I did).

 

Personally, I'd stay away from them. Find a local TA or use one that has been recommended on this site - one that doesn't "lock you in" with a stupid $50 deposit.

[Boston Bride 2009]

I think I have had the same experience as most. My TA owns her own business and takes leads from Destination weddings. I think that is part of the inconsistency.

 

Our TA is very nice and I like her as a person but I don't think she has done the best job. She forgets to email people quotes, their invoices, lost a persons phone number and didn't call her. I've had to ask her several times to do things. She has not tried to find us the best prices...I've found them all. I like doing research so that doesn't bother me but some people I'm sure would be annoyed. I also found out that the hotel is selling the rooms at 40% off right now and asked if we could get the discount and she has been very helpful in making this happen but I had to approach her. She is on the west coast and I am in Boston so I actually find the time difference helpful. I just hate to hear from my guests that they were upset with things and it's been 4 or 5 people. I'm sure in the end things will be great it's just a little bumpy getting there.

[amynjoe]

We have used them as well, and are getting prompt responses. Unfortunately, our resort takes time to respond to emails, so that is the major issue. Not necessarily the fault of the TA

[hockeymom97]

Quote:

Originally Posted by finzup the TA's at DW dot com do not work for DW dot com.. they outsource! It doesn't tell you this anywhere on the website. I ended up with a TA from Liberty Travel. If I wanted that, I would've went to Liberty Travel myself! (the only way I knew this was because by accident she answered the phone that way.) The DW people did confirm that they do outsource and that "she should not have answered the phone that way". Not really the point though, is it? They tout that they "exclusively" do destination weddings, and then they outsource to someone local to your area that certainly does not "exclusively" deal with destination weddings...

I think this is why the reviews are so hit or miss - it completely depends on which TA you get assigned to. I am currently using them, however I didn't know about the outsourcing in the beginning. I guess I got lucky and I have had NO issues with my TA at all - I have been working with Brittany, and I love her! She is pretty much available all the time - she'll answer emails from me on the weekends even though I know she's up at her lake house and should be relaxing with her family. She has answered all my emails or returned my phone calls within 24 hours (most of the time much sooner) and has provided a lot of information about some resorts that I would have been unable to find on my own. She's also super patient with me and all of my gazillion questions - and she even set me up on a conference call to learn more about the resort, and just for listening, I was able to get a $250 spa credit And to top it off, when the pricing at our resort dropped, she was able to get the credit for me, no questions asked, so we saved almost $400 on our booking so far.

That being said, had I found BDW before I found dw.com, I may have chosen a TA from this forum - it seems like they may be a little more "in the loop" as far as DW's go. But I definitely would say my experience with dw.com has been very positive and I have NO complaints so far. I wonder if when you sign up with dw.com if you can request a particular TA?

[hockeymom97]

I am using them as well, with no problems at all so far - my comments are the thread below:

 

http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t43260

 

I wonder if maybe the mods can combine these two threads?