The Travel Agent Next Door

Negative experience: I recently had an appointment call with this company, and I left the conversation feeling disappointed and somewhat discouraged. While I understand that every organization has specific requirements and expectations, I felt that my enthusiasm, positive determination, and potential were overlooked due to my limited leisure travel experience. During our conversation, I felt that my lack of leisure travel experience and lack of research is not a right fit to their organization, and I was surprisingly directed to a different agency that focuses on ethnic bookings. This felt dismissive, and I couldn’t help but feel pushed away without being given a fair chance to prove myself or explore training opportunities. The emphasis on my perceived lack of industry knowledge made it seem as though I was being categorized in a negative light, rather than being seen for my broader skills and passion. What stood out the most was the impression I got that the company felt somewhat exclusive. Despite the message on their website suggesting that joining the business and learning the ropes is accessible in the help of thriving community, I felt as though the door was closed to me before I even had the opportunity to start. The whole experience felt far more exclusionary than I had expected. I want to be clear that I’m not criticizing the business, but I feel that this type of approach can unintentionally dismiss potential new travel advisor. It's important for businesses to be inclusive and recognize the value that individuals from diverse backgrounds can bring, especially when they have a strong passion for growth. I hope my feedback helps others understand the potential drawbacks of engaging with this business.

Negative experience: Lots of delays and disconnect when booking. Felt like after the deposit was made, things went silent.

Negative experience: Leeann has my personal email and sent me an invitation to a day trip in St Jacobs. I asked a few friends to go. Four of us wanted to go. I sent my own money to pay for the tickets. On that day it rained heavily and Leeann cancelled the trip a couple of days before. She has not re-scheduled the trip. She will not respond to my texts or phone calls. I'm out $260 for 4 tickets. My experience in doing business with her has been a rip off to put it lightly.

Fantastic experience: I approached Kirsten at my church and found out she was an agent. Was a match made in heaven, excuse the pun, as I told her what I always wanted to do, which was travel in the Rockie Mountaineer. She had done the trip herself, and it went gang buster's from there. I had THE best experience of my life in this trip. No expense sparred as I wanted to have it all, and she gave it to me. Left Toronto on The Canadian Via 1 for Jasper. Beautiful through Ontario, flat through the Prairies, except for those humungous grain cathedrals lol, and then into Alberta and the mountains. Jasper was a mixed blessing , sad to see the area scorched, but thrilled to already see green pushing up through the blackened soil. Animals back and the people were just wonderful and treated me with the utmost respect and vice versa. The Mountaineer cannot be explained as it must be experienced as photos do absolutely no justice to reality. Ended up in paradise on Salt Springs Island. Oh...my...Lord. I had been jettisoned into a magical world of rainforest and hippies. Very laid back atmosphere and attitude. Live off what the land hath provided. And the best of all was whale watching...13 Orcas and 4 (that I saw) humpbacks. One Orca came up to the back of the boat and along side.... enormous creatures. Thank you T.A.N.D. and Kirsten Oakes for the most amazing trip if a lifetime. My new favorite travel agent as I won't go to anyone else ever. Andy Heyland

Fantastic experience: Just back from a wonderful vacation in Grenada for our 40th wedding anniversary. We booked through Travel Next Door agent Susan Reid. She was absolutely amazing to detail with and her attention to detail was off the charts. Thanks, Susan, for making our trip worry free! You're the best.

Negative experience: Our Mexico trip was a gong show from start to finish. From false hopes given by our travel agent on to getting no heads up about our delayed flight AFTER we checked out of our resort and are now stranded. Travel agencies are supposed to eliminate headache for the customer, not provide a migraine. Never again using this company.

Fantastic experience: Marcia was super helpful and courteous booking a trip with my boyfriend, much appreciated! :)

Negative experience: Lost experience don't book

Fantastic experience: We have never worked with a travel agent and when we decided to book our honeymoon my husband reached out to Anita who was extremally helpful and so friendly to work with. She sent us a bunch of resorts and side notes of what to expect and what is included and it was so very helpful. We gave her the items we were looking for and she made sure to find us the perfect location. I would highly recommend working with Anita. She made our honeymoon wish come true and it was the best vacation :)

Negative experience: If there is less than one star rating, I would have used it. To travellers, I do not recommend this travel agency. I am supposed to be on a group trip to Israel and extension trip to Jordan, but we all know that the situation there is bad. So the travel agency had to cancel the trip as per Canadian government travel advisory. It was not my/our choice. Fast forward, I am losing about US$1,000 for this cancellation that was not my choice. It’s their agencies counterpart in Israel and Jordan who do not want to refund the full amount and TTAND just let it happen that way. I/we, as client feel neglected, Travel agencies are big companies and should have a room for losses depends on the situation. But instead, a normal person like me has to lose my hard earned money. Seriously? They don’t care about their clients, they only care about making profits. THIS IS LESSON LEARNED AND I WILL NEVER USE THIS TRAVEL AGENCY AGAIN WHICH WAS SUPPOSED TO BE MY PLAN.

Fantastic experience: Joanne is awesome! Please look to her for your next travel booking!

Negative experience: Entertainment on a dime is doing travel packages and using this as their address. Their packages are a total scam. Interesting how they went from helping parents to ripping off parents.

Negative experience: MICAELA BRAMBLE IS A SCAM ARTIST! DO NOT USE THIS AGENCY OR MICAELA BRAMBLE, WAS LIED AND MISLED BY HER, SHE HAS POOR SKILL IN THIS FIELD AND IN ANY TYPE OF SERVICE. CUSTOMER BEWARE THIS IS NOT A LEGIT PLACE, DO NOT USE MICAELA BRAMBLE FOR ANY SERVICES!!

Negative experience: Judy Ziriada made my first and what will be my only booking for the Amalfi Coast. Not consulted on itinerary, badly planned and favourite words were “everything is non-refundable”. Two hotels booked full of mould that made me extremely sick. Whole attitude seemed friendly but as I discovered was a hasty botched booking. Twice in Rome, arrival and departure but so poorly planned that I did not have the chance to tour Rome. I could go on with this nightmare booking. Beware of booking with this lady.

Negative experience: People ask a lot of the time - why use a Travel Agent? The answer in most cases is that an agent provides you with a sense of security and frankly the freedom of knowing that someone has your back if something goes wrong. Well apparently that isn't the case with this agency. I was part of a larger booking for a destination wedding. From the start there were small issues, which on its own I can forgive. But towards the end as things got really bad at the resort, they took no ownership for anything. Initial communication with Melanie, the agent we were dealing with, took almost 11 days before I got a reply. I asked if she was away, and she was not. At one point someone in our group asked her a question and her reply was for him to "google it" instead. We had to ask for flight details multiple times, and didnt get final booking for confirmation numbers until very close to the flight. The icing on the cake here, was the multitude of problems that happened at the resort. Again, this was for a wedding, and a good agent would have worked to move locations, venues, or work to get some sort of compensation back considering the amount we all paid for this, and all of the problems that happened (Side note - never stay at Royalton Blue Waters in Jamaica). Nope. Nada. Nothing. We were on our own. Despite following up, and expressing our displeasure and complaints, still nothing. So if you are looking for a travel agent - read the reviews, and go with someone who actually cares and has your back.

Negative experience: I would not recommend spending any time or money with these with this company. My sister spent a lot of money for her wedding for a destination, and they sent us to the blue water Royalton in Jamaica they told us that half the resort was gonna be closed and did not give us any opportunity to change the resorts so we went to the Blue Royalton water and it was horrible before I get started on the hotel. Let me tell our representative Melanie. She told us that she was going to take our final payments on a Thursday. She actually took our payment earlier in the week and did not send any confirmation letter stating that the payment went through. And when we got our tickets for the plane seven people their tickets that’s 7 many. So when we ride to the hotel around around 11:30 AM 30 people in our group and did not get their rooms until 6 PM. We were aware that the half the restaurants were going to be closed or that they were going to be closing for nine days after we left, so we didn’t have any hot water Or in the showers. And then when we brought it up to Melanie, she’s at how she sent us an email stating warned us about this. And let me say if she did tell us that we wouldn’t have gone to that hotel in the first place. I’m just saying guys save your money, and go somewhere else these people do not care

Negative experience: Absolutely, horrible experience. We booked a group trip of 13 people in the last week of December. Sunwing had a major problem but the unfortunate part was our agent, Shannon, had absolutely no concern about our plight. We almost spent $40000 as a group but once the sale was done, we were not worth any more consideration. Our flight left after more than 24 hours and so we lost more than one day from our trip. We were sold insurance by her but we were told to deal with them directly. The insurance company( which is also a big scam) asked for a written cause of delay from the airline. When I asked her for her help, her answer was that Sunwing Airlines does not take any calls. Unfortunately, she does not remember that when she was selling us the trip, she had no problem reaching out to Sunwing. Think twice before dealing with these guys.

Negative experience: If I could give this 0 stars I would. We worked with Gillian Freedman and I'm convinced she's a scam artist. Awful travel agent. She poorly advised my family to buy travel tickets which ended up costing them thousands and thousands of dollars which was totally unnecessary and when they got stuck in the states she disappeared and we never heard from her again after many attempts of trying to contact her. She's a scam and a terrible terrible person to work with. Please think twice before working with these guys.

Fantastic experience: Una página web muy interesante

Fantastic experience: Jody works hard to deliver results for amazing vacation planning!

Positive experience: Dawna got us a great deal for Puerto Escondido as we had to transfer and she worked it out for us.

Fantastic experience: Vironica thoughtfully provided my wife and I with a number of options for a summer getaway we are planning for this summer. Not only did Vironica work within our budget but she provided us with many different scenarios to consider for all of our requested destinations! I highly recommend Veronica if you are looking for someone to help plan your next getaway!

Fantastic experience: Dealing with Angie Brevetti was an unbelievable experience…. We dragged on our decision on whether to go or not because of Covid, she was absolutely no pressure with a gentle follow up, that folllow up because I never felt it as forced gave me time to think and based off her recommendation we went to the Barcelo Maya Riviera… and it was simply the best all inclusive I’ve been on (and I been been on at least 20 over the years), not only that but Angie was able to arrange a driver to and from the airport (at an extra fee of course, but it saved us hours on a bus stopping at a million places). She even had a bottle of champagne delivered with some chocolates which were very kind as it was Valentine’s Day…. Moving forward Angie will be the only agent I use and I’d recommend her with the highest regards (and I’m a bit fussy). From the food, the room, the hospitality, the beach, she was honest and upfront and I appreciate that… Great job Angie, thank you so much for making our trip one we will never forget!

Positive experience: The server. was friendly. The atmosphere was good. The food ordered was delicious. I have been to the restaurant several times with visitors because Stefan’s offers nice ambiance.

Fantastic experience: If you are looking for that perfect vacation I highly recommend Trish Bootsma. She knows her stuff and will find you the right destination for the right price!

Fantastic experience: HUGE thank you to the agent Adrienne Sarabando for helping me with my trip to Mexico. The service was beyond great. I got quick responses via email, clear instructions/ directions, and so much options to choose from. I had an overall great experience. Me and my wife had the time of our lives during our trip. I will definitely be using this service in the future. Thanks again!!

Negative experience: Wouldnt take walkin from street had to call to make appointment. They dont answer the phone. Only has message services. But they did try and call back 4 hours later. Was to late had already completed my booking for my flight elsewere

Negative experience: I absolutely regret booking a trip with this company! After 5 months of rebooking they still have over $3000 of my money - little to no communication, no answers whatsoever. So disappointed with people..

Negative experience: I would never use the travel agent next door especially roy purgavie. Due to him not dealing with my travel credit properly from a canceled flight I have lost out on 1300 hundred dollars. Don’t use this service especially Roy Purgavie. While I was under the impression there was an expiry date he informed me on multiple occasions there wasn’t and if that changed there would be lots of time to deal with it. The when I wanted to use them he told me they expired. Air Canada informed me that they would never had said that. The. Instead of owning up to his mistake blamed me.

Fantastic experience: Jennifer Sim helped my husband and I book the honeymoon of our dreams! Booking a vacation during a pandemic is not easy, but Jennifer was attentive, responsive and considerate to our needs every step of the way. She worked alongside us to create an itinerary that combined our love for exploration with elements of rest and relaxation. While away Jennifer was available to respond to our emails and was able to remedy any issues that arose or answer any questions that we had. Jennifer is a true professional who cares deeply about her clients and works effortlessly to take care of them every step of the way. Jennifer is our family’s go to travel agent and I highly recommend her. Thanks for making our honeymoon unforgettable Jennifer!

Fantastic experience: Best personal travel agent I have every had the pleasure to work with. They listen to what you want and make it happen. No surprises and always great advise.

Fantastic experience: Great service. I book through Dianne everytime. It cost me nothing for her services and she's current on restrictions.

Negative experience: worst travel agency in Canada!

Negative experience: Never got an answer from them after a lots af phone calls and messages. I wonder if they're still in business

Negative experience: Worst experience, will never use nor recommend this company. I didn't even get a trip out of the experience; however lost a deposit due to Covid restrictions - people warned me that the agent asking for a deposit to begin was odd before any destination was chosen. Lesson learned.

Fantastic experience: My travel agent next door was very helpful and friendly. She worked very hard to find a great destination and prices ☺️

Fantastic experience: An opportunity for anyone considering a travel business or independent sales agent.

Fantastic experience: You can tell instantly that Vironica cares for the experience that her clients with have throughout the whole process, and especially on their trip. Her sincerity and desire to get you what you want, within the budget you'd like, while making sure that you don't miss out on anything, is evident. I would not hesitate in recommending her to arrange your next amazing holiday!

Negative experience: This travel agency was not very helpful when their travel agent withheld money owed to myself for tickets to a theatre play. I paid my friends their money back when it was cancelled. I had to wait 7 weeks for my refund! LeeAnn did not return phone calls LeeAnn did not reply to my emails until I included my friends to let them know I did try to get an answer from her. I finally called Travel Agent Next Door whose umbrella she works under. The agent was called by the agency and asked to contact me. I only received a more disturbing phone call from LeeAnn who told me I had no right to call her agency? Called the agency again and I spoke with Natalie I was to receive a phone call from their supervisor which never happened. Guess the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Oh yes when I bought tickets from the theatres or concerts direct I received my tickets right away. Never did see the tickets from LeeAnn so I wonder if she even bought them?? This I say because I asked for the seat numbers and again no response. My recommendation; stay as far away from this company as possible and buy your tickets directly from the theatre. You will get your tickets and confirmation immediately

Fantastic experience: I had the pleasure of speaking with Vironica recently and I was very impressed by her approach and breadth of knowledge. She takes the time to get to know each client on a more personalized level, helping her map out the perfect get away. Her experience and familiarity with the locals she recommends means you’re getting first hand information which takes the surprise and headache out of planning a family or business trip. Great customer service! I highly recommend calling Vironica for a worry-free vacation.

Fantastic experience: I was very nervous and excited about booking my first vacation, which I was taking on my own. Vironica Pagel made me feel very relaxed and comfortable with the whole process and equipped me with all the information I needed to have a fantastic first trip. She put together a tour package that turned out to be exactly what I wanted (plus a few things I didn't even know that I did). Everything was so smooth; once she had booked everything for me, all I had to do was show up. It was also reassuring to know that if anything had gone wrong, Vironica would be there for me to make it right.

Fantastic experience: Wonderful service and support

Fantastic experience: I had an opportunity to sit down with Vironica and discuss some travel plans and the industry. I was very impressed with her knowledge and commitment to her clients. She is able to find deals that you just don't find on your own. I would highly recommend Vironica at The Travel Agent Next Door for any and all your travel needs.

Fantastic experience: I have a new travel agent. Vironica Pagel is dedicated, smart and extremely knowledgeable. So pleased to be able to give her my business.

Fantastic experience: Most amazing travel agent I ever dealt with was from this corporation. Thorough, professional and extremely educational, not to mention amazing price overall for our travel destination / package.

Fantastic experience: I noticed a few adverse reviews about this company, and I am surprised. The Travel Agent Next Door, is a host company that host Travel Agents. I suspected the negative reviews must be associated with an individual agency hosted under this umbrella, and therefore ranking this company lowly, is unfair. Moving on, I have to say this is one of the best host companies - who has amazing and extremely supportive in-house support staff. Always a breathe of fresh air to work among professionals.

Fantastic experience: Heather Handsaeme helped us book our destination wedding to The Hard Rock Resort and Casino in Punta Cana. I met Heather at the Bridal show In Toronto. I picked Travel agent Next Door because I had an instant connection with Heather. She provided and answered all our questions and even had great reviews to say about the venue we picked out for our ceremony and reception; Huracan Cafè, Punta Cana. Heather took the quotes we had from other tour operators and she managed to not only match our lowest price but lower the price from there. She communicated with me and my family and guests, answered any questions I had immediately or within 24h. She went above and beyond! I’d reccommend Heather to anyone I know. All our guests were pleased with her services.

Negative experience: If I can provide customers like myself a recommendation it is to never book with this agency. In the beginning when you are deliberating on where to go, how much it will cost and how flexible your options are this company will be present and contact you frequently HOWEVER as soon as you book, forget about all of that. Many of us found ourselves put in unfair, tough situations and many of us lost money for a variety of reasons when compared to simply booking the same all-inclusive vacation ourselves. I think it is worth a savings of $300-$400cdn to go on-line independently and book a trip. I will never ever recommend “The Travel Agent Next Door” after my very recent experience to Puerto Vallarta.