Travel arrangement woes...

[amygirl1169]

So my TA gives us a rate for our resort, (Dreams La Romana) and says that the supplier will only guarantee the rate for the next 4 days - so guests interested in booking with our group at this rate, must put down their deposit ($150) by Monday.

Ok, not a huge deal... except that a) our TA who is supposed to do the collecting is in Vegas for a wedding and the balance of the payment for the full cost of the trip is due by the end of August.

 

So I've set up an evite to let everyone know the situation and quite a few people are saying that it's too quick to have to put down a desposit and August is too early to pay the full trip cost.

 

Is this the normal procedure for booking groups? I feel like it's a pressure tactic, but really, if the supplier gave us a little bit more time, more people would be likely to book with us!

 

Am I just naive to the world of booking travel??

 

I am starting to super stress out and can't wait for this to all be settled!

[DanielleNDerek]

Maybe its some sort of special deal your getting. I know our final balances were due till about 2 months before we left. our deposit was due with in a few weeks when we picked the resort. and the airfare was all due upfront. I think it really depends on the package your TA gets you.

 

Maybe you should ask another TA. There's a TA on here that does trips fron Canada I would talk to here.

[~Keira~]

There was another thread where another bride was going through a similar thing. We booked our wedding more then a year in advance to appease anxious family memebers. Our TA gave us a year price garuntee for 20 spots and then after the year if those weren't filled then 10 spots would be dropped and the price would change for additional guest. I thought that this was more then fair and I think that what you're going through is more then unfair.

 

My advise, if it's possible to switch who you're working then do so. Try to find a TA that specialises in destination weddings. I'm sure you could even find a vendor on this forum that would be able to help.

 

Most importantly, if you feel preasured then don't do it. It's not fair to you or your guests.

 

Good luck!

[sunstarsmoon]

Some suppliers only give 7 days others 30 days for deposit, but with your wedding being April 2010, final payment should not be due until a few months before departure. All the traveling I have done I have never heard of full payment being due that soon.

 

I agree with the other girls phone another agency and get another opinion. Especially for the final payment date

[amygirl1169]

Thanks ladies! I've emailed one of the BDW TA's for advice.

 

To make things a little more complicated, my current TA is a friend...eeek...

[Sloan]

We had the same situation last summer. It was a bit hairy trying to co-ordinate 10 people to put down deposits in I think we had 2 days or something silly. We just had our family (the one's we knew were absolutely going) throw down deposits to get the good group rate. I think that was the most stressfull part of my wedding planning. Hah. Good luck with your booking!

[LIW]

I think you should talk to your TA/friend.

 

I'm really don't know how group bookings work, but I don't think your TA is being reasonable.

 

FH and I booked our wedding a year ago for this October. We put down deposits for 10 people in order to secure our group rate. We only had week to get deposits in, so I can see why there is such short notice, however, guests have up until August (2 months before departure) to pay their final balances.

 

While you're TA is a friend, is the deadlines that she is giving you are too hard to make, you should contact a few other TA's for quotes and see what they are offering.

 

Hopefully, everything will work out for you.

[A2Bride]

I agree, you should talk to your TA about it...especially if they are a friend. The deposit date definitely makes sense, however the final payment that quickly does not. I don't know very many people that would be able to get it together that quickly...especially if they were not planning for it.

 

Good luck! I am sure it will all work out in the end.