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Like Talking to a Brick Wall
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

PENNSYLVANIA -- We've made several trips with Gate 1 in the past, with consistently good experiences, but we're trying to postpone a trip to Sicily scheduled for April 2022 and there doesn't appear to be anyone home. We've always found them responsive in the past, but . . . multiple calls have gotten the following nonresponses: 1) "High call volumes, so fix it through our website" - but there's no way to do that, and the website says to call their phone number; 2) "We're busy, but we'll call you back in one hour and twenty-two minutes" - but they don't; 3) "We're busy, and your hold time will be two hours and twelve minutes"; 4) "Contact us by e-mail" - but other than an automated response, crickets. They appear to have fired all their staff and are set up solely to take in money and send out automated reminders.

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Horrible Experience!!!
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

MONTECATININI ITALY -- BUYER BEWARE!!! I don't know about the other people posting these reviews but a "Great Trip" is the farthest thing from the experience we had with Gate 1 Travel. We also knew that we were getting an amazing deal to fly to Italy for 8 days but it was the worst experience of our lives. Every aspect of our trip that was associated with Gate 1 Travel was absolutely awful.

This was supposed to be a dream vacation for my son, who has wanted to see Italy since he was 6 and is now almost 17. We purchased our trip in early March and traveled in mid Sept.. The flight was fine but upon arrival to Milan where we picked up our rental car we started realizing that Gate 1 had done a "Bait and Switch" for just about every aspect of the trip starting with the rental car and getting worse from there.

The rental car was supposed to be a "Fiat or similar" although we ended up with some brand I have never heard of, a wagon of sorts that rumbled and sounded like it was going to die on us every time we drove! The hotels were the worst hotels we had ever stayed and at, and I have stayed in hostels in 3rd world countries like Guatemala that look like the Hilton compared to the San Marco. Literally the worst hotel ever!

The minute I saw our room I was creeped out and went to the front desk to show them the pictures we had seen on Gate 1 and complained that our room was nothing like pictured, the hotel was nothing like pictured! They said sorry but they were full, not offering accommodations at their sister resort a block away or anything, even though I had booked my trip 6 months earlier!

I then went to our room and contacted Gate 1, letting them know how bad our room was. Their response was basically "sorry we book packages and there is nothing we can do for you"! That has been their response, if I get one, every time I have contacted them about this awful trip. We stayed 2 nights to try and make it better and make sure we were not overacting, asking for a few extra pillows to help make the bed a bit more comfortable. When we woke on the 2nd morning after barely sleeping because the bed was so uncomfortable and dirty, my son and I were completely covered in bug bites! We got up, showered and left the hotel to go stay elsewhere.

The entire trip associated with Gate 1 was literally the worst experience of mine and my son's life and I am not exaggerating. He had so badly wanted to see Italy and experience everything the country has to offer but thanks to Gate 1 and the worst experience ever, we will never return to Italy and I will never deal with this company again. If you are even considering booking with them, I would not!!!

I have traveled all over the world and you can definitely find better ways to travel on your own than through this awful company or you too could end up miserable in a foreign country with absolutely no help from the company who was super helpful when it was time to pay then is absent when you have questions or need help. Do not book with Gate 1 and feel free to contact me if you have questions as there is so much more that was bad and that the company failed to provide. Good luck.

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They just want the money
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

FORT WASHINGTON, PENNSYLVANIA -- First know that I have waited close to a year before writing this review to make sure it is written with a clear mind and not just out of emotion.

We had only travelled outside the country one other time to adopt and everything was handled by the agency so we did not know what it entailed and I relied on Gate 1 Travel for assistance. BIG MISTAKE!

It was early June when I first contacted them to make arrangements potentially for a trip later in August. My major concern was getting things prepared and getting visas on time. The lady I first spoke to put me on hold to check if this was possible. She came back on the phone and informed me it only takes a few weeks for a Visa, recommended they like to use Gen Visa, and we would be fine. She then asked If I would like to purchase additional insurance just in case something happened and we were not able to make the flight. I agreed to the insurance, paid the $600 cost to start and informed I could pay the rest to help keep things moving along.

I paid the additional money and then everything fell apart. When months later I spoke with another person I was told that they don't have anyone at the company they could checks Visa times with so the first lady flat out put me on hold and then lied to me.

I also later found out after losing over $4000 that the insurance I was given was a third party insurance that covers illness. Believe me, the day the plane left without us I was very sick to my stomach and dealing with dangerously high blood pressure from being out all that money. I later found out that they have a different insurance through their company which they quote as a Travel Protection Plan-Cancel For any Reason for only $69.00.

Also found out too late that you get a discount if you take the time to mail them a check rather than paying immediately by credit card. Once you pay in full you are locked in and CANNOT cancel or make any changes.

I do not know why the Visa place they recommended (Gen Visa) as having no problems with the timeframe took nine weeks to process visas when I hear it is usually significantly shorter. We were notified the week after the flight departed that the visas were ready and were stamped the day after the departure date.

My complaint with Gate 1 Travel is 1) Why did a service representative put me on hold then lie to me when they have no way to check on Visa times. I could have easily scheduled the trip at any time later as necessary if not lied to? 2) Why knowing my only concern, was I offered a worthless more expensive third party insurance when their Travel Protection Plan-Cancel For Any Reason was cheaper and covers what was my original main concern? 3) Why was I not informed that since I have such concerns I should NOT pay in full thus locking out any potential ability to change?

I could better handle having to absorbed a $600 starting cost, changed dates and still letting my adopted daughter see where she came from and learn about her culture. On advice from a Gate 1 representative I am now out over $4000 and it will probably be another decade before saving enough money to attempt this trip again for my daughter.

All this because Gate 1 seems to only be concerned about getting the money, lying and not actually caring for the customers. I also did not appreciate when they contacted me to say since I missed the flight they were giving up the rest of the trip reservations and was their anything else they could help me book for any other travel destinations. Talk about adding insult to injury.

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Problems With Air to Thailand via Beijing Because of Corona Virus and Pricing
StarStarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 2/51

PENNSYLVANIA -- With regret, This is the jist of what I'm writing to Dan Pipano, CEO of Gate1. This situation put me in a corner while Gate1 absolved itself of all responsibility for air, changes and costs. I purchased a Feb 15 2020 tour package to Thailand including flight arrangements from Gate1,The carrier was Air China and the flight due to depart Newark NJ with a layover in Beijing on the way to Bangkok.

In light of the coronavirus, travel arrangements have been shifted and unnecessary travel to China is either cancelled or not recommended. Indeed, according to Gate1 agents, Air China offered to provide waivers or refunds to its travelers. Upon requesting an alternative flight from Gate1 I was told only Emirates Air for $1300 RT at my personal expense was available.

In purchasing this ticket with them I assumed problems like this would be coordinated and organized since Gate1 is overall tour company in charge of all aspects of the trip. That's why I bought the air ticket through them rather than on own. This cost is prohibitive for me, making it impossible for me to get to Thailand. Since this is now unaffordable with no other alternatives, I requested postponing this trip to a calmer time when I could travel as planned. Since this is not a problem of my own making, and I have no equitable options right now, why should I suffer such expensive consequences? I was hoping for some fair alternatives or an option to postpone.

I don't know why - considering that the only other time I traveled with Gate1 we had a problem with cancelled flights and similarly confronted carelessness and no options - you, the customer are behind the 8 ball, left to your own devices. Gate1 - no problems for them and no help or satisfactory resolution in sight.

In the first instance I booked a trip to Namibia in 2018 with a good customer of theirs. Due to inclement weather in the States our flight schedule was suspended and we could not make our connecting flights. We encountered great difficulty in getting any help or attention from Gate 1. We were stranded in the US, trying to connect with their agents to get help, to make the trip happen, but our calls, and requests for response and direction were dismissed, or ignored.

Since we couldn't afford to cancel – although tempted since there was no help forthcoming - we reorganized flights by ourselves and continued calling Gate1. After a full day of calls from the airport, I finally managed to land on a few people who - only when I informed them we would be forced to cancel because of their inaction - finally organized safe connections for us in Johannesburg and Namibia, and a meet up with our group. All this took nearly 24 hours and was finalized only a number of hours before our flight to Johannesburg. An unnecessary fiasco of cavalier attitudes, indifference and lack of professionalism.

I determined never to travel with Gate1 again so didn't even bother to lodge a complaint. I'm pretty well traveled so have experienced all kinds of misadventures - flight delays, cancellations, etc. But in all cases, when traveling with a tour company, the company undertook responsibility, and provided professional assistance, attention and solved flight and land tour problems as a matter of standard business practice. (Even Smartours!)

I changed my mind - to my regret - booked, and here I am again. I understand the company's costs and contracts but cannot sustain this financial loss myself - especially since no rational, affordable and parallel options were offered. Take it or leave it. This is exacerbated by the health situation and that I suffer from asthma, am 73, and have underlying respiratory ailments. This trip has become too expensive, complicated and difficult. Not to mention that my trust level in the company's approach and treatment of customers has been severely compromised.

I hope they'll consider these extenuating circumstances and – especially in light of my previous experience with Gate1 - make a fair accommodation and allow the postponement of this trip until a safer and better time. I'd like to give this another try when I can afford it and they have the options to provide a good travel experience. That would be much appreciated!

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Very bad experience with Gate 1 Travel
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

MIAME, FLORIDA -- The Better Business Bureau webpage has 64 complaints listed against Gate 1.

Trying to deal with Gate 1 customer service is a nightmare. I just had the customer service supervisor, Brian Adams, hang up on me while I was still trying to explain that there is an explanation for the mix-up in their records.

Our problem is very similar to many of those BBB complaints. In our case, they are refusing to allow us to book a trip until we pay them for the airline flight problem that has already been resolved over a year ago.

Brian Adams told me that Gate 1's upper management will not allow us to book a trip through them until we pay them for a flight to Greece in Sept. 2018, that we did not take. We were forced to cancel the trip 7 months earlier in Feb. 2018.

It was not a problem with the trip cancellation insurance coverage. A car accident caused the family emergency, an emergency that was clearly a valid reason to cancel the trip.

Gate 1 withheld and would not return the money we paid for the flight to Greece in Feb. 2018. We tried to resolve the issue with phone calls and 32 text messages. We continued to try even though we were bounced around to several different people at Gate 1.

After Visa researched the incident. 32 texts, letters, and many phone messages, they concluded we did all we could do in good faith to resolve the issue and canceled the charge.

This was not the first problem with customer service; they canceled a trip to India in 2016 that we had already made arrangements for, less than a month before we were scheduled to leave because as they stated, not enough tickets were sold. Another trip was canceled less than 2 weeks before it was scheduled to leave to South America in late 2019 according to our friend.

We used Gate 1, five times, India, Africa, South America, Costa Rica, and Croatia.

Over the years we have spent tens of thousands of dollars with Gate 1. Now we cannot join our travel friends because of Gate 1's mixup with the insurance company that they collected the money from us to use.

Do you need to have a specific time slot for your trip? Expect that when you buy trip cancellation insurance through a travel company they will take care of the red tape? Expect courtesy and fair treatment if an unexpected event occurs? Expect a travel company to value you as a long time loyal customer? Expect they will follow the rules set up by accepting credit cards? That they will value you as a customer and treat you fairly?

There is enough to worry about when you travel out of the country without having to worry about being treated unfairly by the business you pay to make sure problems are minimized. We have done everything possible to work with this unreasonable business Gate 1 and failed.

Go the Better Business Bureau site, see if other travel companies have had any similar complaints. Read Yelps about Gate 1's business practices, i.e. the experiences with customer relations and business practices, not the guides or trip experiences, before you give them any money.

Good luck.

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Travel Review
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

FT. WASHINGTON -- Gate1 Review
8 March, 2019

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Herewith is a lengthy review of our (my wife and I) last September's Gate 1 travel package experience. This review has taken a long time to generate because of the dispute that ensued between Gate1 and my wife and I. First, let me say that my wife and I are both senior citizens and believe this to be a most important factor in our drive from Milano, Malpensa airport to Montecatini Terme, Italy.

It was the most dangerous and disatrous travel experience we've ever had in our half century plus traveling the world and living abroad. After the initial reservation for an 8 day, 7 night fly and drive travel package to Montecatini, Italy, we had questions regarding our scheduled travel, primarily driving in Italy and Italy's rental car company's requirements, viz., insurance, driver's age, comprehensive theft and damage coverage, etc.

The Gate1 agent we had, obviously to us, was likely working from home; she seemed new at her job and did or could not properly read and understand my emails hence giving erroneous information on the questions I asked. Finally, we were able to correspond with another agent. Little did we know that the damage had already been done by the first Gateway1 ‘HELP' agent which will eventually be explained as this reveiw continues.

Because we lived in Florida we paid considerably extra money, almost half the price of the tour package, to change our departure city from New York to Miami. Gate1 booked us on Lufthansa . We arrived in Frankfurt around 0800 the morning of 5 September, 2018. We found our transfer terminal for the flight to Milano and waited approximately 5 + hours. Our Milano flight was late arriving in Frankfurt, hence, late departing. We arrived in Milano, Malpensa airport around 1600 hrs (4pm). After some difficulty we finally located Budget Car Rental agency which was outside the main terminal. It was now near 1700 (5pm). The car rental representative took my information and then said: “I'm sorry but there is no reservation for you.” I replied: “What?” Please check again and he did and said the reservation had been cancelled months previously. My wife and I were dumbfounded. He said he was very short on rental cars but could find us one but first would need to get approval from Gate1 travel in Pennsylvania, USA. This took a long time and several phone calls by Budget to the US to reach the appropriate Gate 1 person with the authority to allow Budget to give us another car and to confirm Gate1 would pay for the car. Our Budget agent discovered that the car reservation cacellation was done solely by Gate1.
During the Budget Reps conversation with Gate1 representative I was standing at the Budget counter leaning forward to better hear the agent because of ambient noise despite him being on speaker. He told the Gate1 representative that he only had one car available similar to the one Gate1 had cancelled and that it would cost approximately 650 Euros for the 8 day rental. He explicitly said the price in Euros, NOT US dollars, a point that would later be disputed by Gate1. Finally, I heard the Gate1 agent say she would approve the new car rental for the quoted amount of 650.00 Euros. The Budget representative put me on the phone with the Gate 1 agent and confirmed to me Gate 1 would pay the 650 Euros but we would have to put the charge on our credit card and Gate1 would reimburse us at a later date. My wife and I were getting anxious about our long (31/2-4 hour) drive to Montecatini and time was rapidly passing; we knew darkness would soon arrive.

After more paper work and inspection of rental vehicle we got the Budget car, a Renault. It had a GPS and we asked the Budget attendent to show us how to program our destination into the car's GPS. He said he did not know how to do this. There was only one other agent and he too did not know how to program the GPS. He said, not to worry the drive to Montecatini would be easy, straight on the Autostrada for most of the distance. “Most of the distance” became our big problem.

We left the airport and immediatley hit heavy traffic as it was rush hour in Milano. We were on a feeder toll road but eventually made it to the Autostrada for Bologna & Firenze and the Sun was deep in the Western sky. There was heavy, heavy traffic. Since we were without GPS we were relying on road signs on the Autostrada but we saw only the major cities: Parma, Bologna, Firenze, etc.

Nighttime came. We had been driving less than two hours. We decided to stop at a truck stop for refreshments, bathroom and to ask directions. Unfortunately English was not spoken by the attendant but we understood her to mean we were going in the right direction for our destination. We continued and started to seen signs for Firenze. I thought we had gone too far on the autostrada. We turned around and admitted to ourselves we were lost. In fact we got lost several times on the Autostrada from Milano to our destinations. Sections of the Autostrada near Bologna to Firenze was still under repairs or construction. Two or three times we stopped at gas stations/truck stops for information. Twice more that night we exited the Autostrada trying to find our way to Montecatini Terme. It was pitch black and few to no lamp pole lights on most sections of the Autostrada. It was now approaching 2300 hours and we were totally exhausted (~ 36 hours without sleeping) having not slept on the flight from Miami to Frankfurt. For the second time we discovered we we almost to Firenze and again we truned the car around and headed North in the direction of Pistola - Bologna - Milano. We think we exited the Autostrada somewhere around Pistola and again stopped to ask directions to Montecatini Terme. Finally, around 2330 hours we arrived at the city limits of Montecatini Terme. We tried to follow directions and again stopped to ask for directions to our hotel in downtown Montecatini.

We drove round and round in the central part of town looking for our hotel.
We stopped twice more for directions and finally found our hotel at midnight.
The last person we asked was another hotel's desk clerk. He knew of our hotel and gave us proper directions.

This SNAFU essentially caused one lost day and night of our Italy stay.
The problem with Gate 1 worsened upon our return to our home in Florida. I contacted Gate1 and about our refund for the car rental they had promised that we had not yet received. Gate 1then stated it needed the car rental return document and the receipt from Budget showing the amount we paid. I had already emailed them a photo of this while we were in Switzerland but they said they didn't have it. Go figure.

I sent the required document and then conversed with Gate1 about our money. The final amount debited to my US bank credit card was $750.00 US (650.00 Euros). Gate1 told us they would only reimburse us $650.00 US as that is what the Budget agent had told Gate1's representative. I rebutted this saying that I was standing six inches away from the Budget agent's face when he told Gate1 representative the price in Euros, not US dollars and then the Gate 1 agent confirmed the 650.00 Euro rental price to me as well when I was put on the phone with her by the Budget agent. Over a span of a couple of weeks Gate1 repeatedly denied that the amount given them was in Euros, rather it was US dollars. Gate1 gave us the ultimatum that it would only pay $650.00 (Dollars US) not a penny more. We were exhausted after our trip and fighting with people at gate 1 for weeks, starting in Malpensa, Milano. To stop the insanity we finally accepted their offer and swallowed the $100.00 loss.

In conclusion, my wife and I would never, ever recommend to anyone Gate1 Travel and this especially goes doubly so for seniors. To reiterate, we believe that Gate1 put us in harms' because of the delayed flight departure from Frankfurt to Milano and most importantly by cancelling our Milano car reservation. This resulted-in and required us to drive in heavy rush hour traffic at dusk but mostly at night from Malpensa Airport, Milano to Montecatini Terme. We were in a foregin country with different traffic rules, regulations and laws, narrow lanes on the autostrata with sections under construction that had few signs and no lighting. We were ~ 36 hours without sleep on this dangerous trek. As a medical doctor I am telling all seniors who may want to consider the offer of a car with your travel package tour that may require a lengthy drive and to drive at night to reach their destination hotel to think deeply about the factors you must consider before purchasing the travel offer and/or being put in a risky/dangerous situation as happened to us. Our trip from Malpensa, Milano to Montecatini was suppose to be be driven totally during daytime. We had no idea something like this would occur. Gate 1 after learning our circumstances and knowing full well we were senior travelers could have taken appropriate steps to keep us out of harms' way. We suppose Gate 1 thought the car rental and drive from Milano to Montecatini would be a way to sight-see. It wasn't because most of the distance was by autostrada and not much to see even in the day time. Why would we or anyone need to use a rental car at NIGHT for a four hour plus drive on an autostrada or interstate? Where was the benefit? Budget has a car rental office in Lucca, a town near Montecatini. Gate 1 could have gotten us a room at a Malpensa airport hotel, like they did for our trip home, or let us find a hotel and they pay for it. We could have collected the car the next morning or gone by train or bus to Montecatini that evening and night and stayed in our room at the Amabasciatori Palace. Gate 1 actions and lack thereof not only put us in jeopardy but cost us more money and a full day lost off of our trip. For us, I repeat, never again with Gate 1. Reviews say Gate 1 is a ‘Cheap Travel Agency'.That has surely changed especially if you select another departure and return airport.

I believe all persons thinking air + car + hotel travel should think deeply but especially so if you are a senior. I believe you should also think deeply about Gate1 and how they reponded to their error of deliting our car reservation and putting us in an untenable situation. It was a terrible experience and could have been tragic.
We suggest you think about the following when you consider traveling, especially with an automobile added to your travel package and its outside the USA:

Your Age (in europe you can be a driver above a certain age)
Your Energy levels (do you rapidly tire with driving, etc.)
Your medical conditions, history: bladder & bowel problems, incontinence,
vision problems, such as cataracts, hearing problems,
(do you require frequent rest stops or restroom calls?)
Your ability to speak or use a translation device for the language of the
country you are traveling in.
Vehicle and personal insurance coverages
Functional GPS in rental car. Set destination at rental agency and be
familiar with GPS and it's idiosyncrasies.
Will your car rental require twilight or night time driving? Where?
The estimated and realistic driving time to reach your final destination.
Have a cell phone that works for the area in which you are traveling.
To have add-on medical insurance with air ambulance benefits.
Carry on your person a printed document of your medical history and if
possible use a computer translation website to translate your medical
history into the language(s) of the country or countries you will be visiting.
You can store all of this on a USB thumb drive but I would also carry a
hard copy, printed in the language of the country you will be visiting just in
case the only help is a passing stranger who doesn't speak English or
lacks a smart phone or a computer.
Plan your scheduled driving route and identify the towns on your route
with hospitals, especially those having emergency facilities and if they
have units that can properly address any medical conditions you may
have or that may worsen into an Emergency. (I did not see any signs on
the Autostrada and roads in Italy showing locations of hospitals or
medical centers).
Which hospitals on your route are rated as trauma centers?
Price the gasoline in the country or countries you will be driving in and
compare it to the cost of trains, buses, flights, parking and guided tours.

Please understand that I am not giving medical advice rather I am just
saying think, investigate and plan before you act or depart on your
travels.

In retrospect were we to revisit Italy, a country I once lived-in many years ago and love, I do not think at our ages (wife and I), that we would elect to rent a car again. What I once did all those years ago, driving a car all around europe, camping on roadsides and byways in a pup-tent was for a bygone era. Italy (Europe) is simply too changed, crowded and too risky these days. I would not even do this in the United States. I believe using a combination of independent and guided tours in one's destination country, city or town is best and the safest choice. As you are likely aware guided tours usually cost more but in the long run offer much greater and safer advantages especially for senior citizen or those with disabilities.

I wish you and yours safe and enjoyable travels.

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Air Fare Issue
StarStarStarStarStarBy -
Rating: 5/51

FORT WASHINGTON, PENNSYLVANIA -- We have taken five trips with Gate 1 and have been very happy with the value and quality that it offers on their trips. This past July we booked a bucket list trip to Japan with their small group's division for this coming April. We have always felt better about buying our air through them because that way they are responsible end to end. However, this being a very long trip we requested Premium Economy from American Airlines and provided them with the flights we wanted to go on. The cost shown on Google flights for that itinerary with American showed its cost at around $5,055 for two at the time we saw it. Gate 1 quoted us $5,830 total for the same itinerary.

However, wanting Gate 1 to do the booking for us, we accepted, and they booked the flights. They said they had to charge our credit card immediately to secure these flights and they did. We asked Gate 1 to do our seat selection, but they could not do an acceptable job and it took a couple of days for us to be able to go in and select our seats since Gate 1 had not finalized the payment to American. Much to our surprise after we selected our seats American Airlines showed us the invoice for this itinerary with them on Supreme Economy and it was for $5,055, substantially less than the charge from Gate1 ($750 less). The only thing we could figure the difference being for was the transfers from airport to hotel and back in Japan, which are costly.

So, we called Gate 1 and asked what the cost of that transport would be if we were to purchase it from them without the air fare; the answer was $375 for both, which still left a substantial difference of $400 in more costs. So what is included in that additional $400 you are charging us? We referred the matter to Gate 1 over one week ago and had the issue escalated to a supervisor. We included documentation and copy of the invoice in our email. Well, today we heard back from Gate 1 and that supervisor and the answer was: it is what it is, too bad, so sad.

In a nutshell, we were told that what American charged us is not what Gate 1 pays for that fare and that it included charges to Gate 1, such as fuel charges, etc. which our invoice from American showed as being part of their lower price. We asked for an itemization of those charges to compare what we were paying for and were told no in no uncertain way, “we told you about the cost and you accepted it” and that was it. If anything, Gate 1 as an aggregator and travel agent should get better prices than individuals like us can.

We can accept that Gate 1 needs to charge for ground transport, but not at more than twice the rate they quoted us as an independent purchase. And that is the reason we are writing this message, to make sure that buyers beware and be very careful when purchasing air from Gate 1. Do your homework before booking your air! This is not the type of response and/or service we expected from Gate 1.

Company Response 01/29/2019:

We are sorry to hear of the difficulties you are experiencing with your current booking. Please try reaching out to our Reservation service staff and speak with the first available agent or reach out to us using our online "Contact Us" form.

Company Response 05/23/2019:

We are sorry to hear of the difficulties you are experiencing with your current booking. Please try reaching out to our Reservation service staff and speak with the first available agent or reach out to us using our online "Contact Us" form.

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STAY AWAY
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

I have taken two trips with Gate One and have had flight issues both times. The first trip was guided and the problem was mechanical in nature. No other plane, had to fly one in from Mexico, we were in Quito. The airline took responsibility of its own and issued credits for the flight. The second trip was to Australia and was an independent trip. The airline was China Eastern. The time in Australia was wonderful. The hotel was in need of a refresh, but the reviews had made that clear. We spent little time there, but it was not the quality most people would expect. I did some research before I booked so I was not surprised. I SHOULD have researched the airline better, who knew! China Eastern has a poor reputation. Flying though China in general is best avoided. On the return trip we were late landing. There was only 30 minutes until the next flight left. China Eastern just refused to let us leave the arrivals area and said we could leave the following day at 1:00 or 9:00 PM. Go get the luggage and be taken to a hotel. This meant applying for a temporary Visa, finally got through that process only to have people very rudely tell us to wait 30 minutes for the hotel. Of course we were not in the right place, after almost an hour of waiting for the people to come get us. Next place, 30 minutes, bus will come. Asking for an updated was not well received. 90 minutes later we are put on a bus and taken to another shabby hotel. I spent the night trying to make new travel arrangements as we were supposed to land in LAX at 6:00 PM Saturday night and fly out at 6:00 am Sunday. Instead, at 6:00 am I was in Shanghai. Re-booking the flight resulted in $200 per person fees and put us home on Monday - cost a day of PTO. The hotel in LA was non-refundable of not canceled by Thursday of the previous week - an additional $155 loss. The car was airport parked for two additional days due to the delay - 21.90 plus tax. We spent 13 hours at LAX - add meals and agony that cannot be calculated with a price. Overnight flight home - maybe the best part of this ordeal since it was very quiet since most people slept. While at LAX talked with China Eastern (why not, had plenty of time!) They said (as stated on the website) that any refunds for trip delays/interruptions had to be handled by the booking agent if one was used. You guessed it Gate One says their terms and conditions that were agreed to say no trip insurance no relief. They also said if I "didn't know what I was doing" I should have called. Of course they also said the layover time in Shanghai was "legal" and would have been offered by phone as well. I am a seasoned traveler and the only time I have used an agent has been the two Gate One trips, all others, domestic and international, I have booked myself without indecent. They were insulting and did not care whether I planned to remain a customer or leave poor feedback. BEWARE of Gate One. Great when all goes smoothly (but do your independent research and understand what hotels they are using and apparently airlines as well)! I would suggest avoiding their independent tours completely. Even guided, they deposit you at the airport so you are on your own with flight issues. The numbers you are given to use if there is a problem were useless. The group of people that I was stranded with in Shanghai tried calling, no answer. As a final thought, don't connect through China if you can avoid it, all Chinese airlines have a poor reputation and the country is notorious for having flight issues and doing nothing more than providing a room if absolutely necessary. I have yet to find a place on the Gate One website to leave a review. That speaks volumes! You can read positive reviews, but just try to leave a review, not happening!

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9 Day Tour of Peru Was a Travel Nightmare
StarStarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 2/51

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA -- We enjoyed our trip to Peru and found our principal guide, Victor, to be wonderful -- well organized, informative and enthusiastic. Our hotels were above average, except for the Sonesta at Lake Titicaca. The walls were paper thin there and we could hear everything in the adjoining room.

Our one extreme disappointment was Gate 1's response to the hurricane emergency in Miami, where we were scheduled to fly to on our return. American Airlines sent us something the day we left for Peru, September 6, offering us the opportunity to receive a full credit or to change our flight on September 16, when we were scheduled to fly from Miami to Boston. (We booked the AA leg separately because we wanted to break up the trip by a day both coming and going.) The email from AA indicated there would be major travel issues on our return. As a consequence, we called Gate 1 Travel first thing on September 6th to see what we should do.

The person I spoke to said to make arrangements with the Avianca reservation folks in Miami when we went to check in for our flight. When we tried to do that, we learned that Avianca staff DOES NOT DO FLIGHT CHANGES at the airport, they all need to be done online. So we called Gate 1 back, again, to see if they could rebook us on an Avianca flight from Lima to Boston. (Simultaneously, we were checking the flights on Avianca's website on our phone.)

Although Rich in Gate 1's office did help us -- after significant pressure on my part -- he booked us a return flight for $556, although we could have booked the same flight for $450 directly from Avianca. Since we were perilously close to our departure time, we allowed Gate 1 to make the change for us. We received NO credit for the original flight. Rich indicated that Gate 1 had no influence with Avianca to cut a better deal. I find that rather preposterous since Gate 1 sends 15,000 people to Peru a year -- clearly the agency should have some clout!

This was our first experience with Gate 1 and I expected the agency would be on top of travel emergencies like hurricanes. This can't be the first experience the agency has had in dealing with a major storm. Clearly, the first person I spoke with at Gate 1 did NOT know how to correctly respond to a client in such a situation, as she advised me to do something (make the change directly with Avianca in Miami) that Avianca does not do. The uncertainty of whether we would be able to get home added extreme anxiety to our party as well as to others in the group. Our tour manager, Victor, had no information to guide us.

One of the travelers with our group, who has traveled a few times with Gate 1, made this comment, "Gate 1 is very accommodating until they receive their fee, but after that they don't want to hear from you." I would say this was certainly our experience.

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Horrible customer service
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

DO NOT EVER BOOK WITH THIS COMPANY.

I'm sure you'll be just fine if you don't have any issues, but god forbid any issues come up- THIS COMPANY IS WORRIED ABOUT ONE THING AND ONE THING ONLY- AND IT'S NOT YOU!

My best friend and I booked a trip to Greece through Groupon with Gate 1 Travel. I scheduled the trip to leave out of Cincinnati, which was where I lived at the time. Shortly thereafter I received a job in another state. Due to this, I needed to reschedule my flight to not be out of Cincinnati, but to the new city.

I called Gate 1, and explained the travel. I said I needed only to change the first and last leg of the trip to the new city, not the middle of the trip as I was stopping in Paris for a few days.

72 hours prior to leaving for the trip, Gate 1 moved my flight from Athens to Paris to where I would now arrive a day later than my best friend. However- they didn't touch her reservation. Mind you, we booked this trip together, had all of our vouchers together etc. Now that they moved the flight, I won't be traveling with her, and I'm now missing our previously booked excursion.

I called Gate 1 Travel to complain. Why would you move the middle flight when all I asked for were the flights bookending the entire trip I asked. They then said they needed to review the phone call where I placed the original call.

They said they would call me back by end of day- NOT. So here I am, 48 hours prior to leaving and I've completely lost a day of my trip and they couldn't care less. When I called back and spoke to a gentleman on the phone, I told him directly that I was going to write a horrible review of the company because of how each call was answered and handled. Each time I called, I was met with condescension, where at one point the guy actually told me that I was "threatening" him for writing a review. I said it's not a threat, I'm telling you honest feedback, asking for help, and all you do is interrupt me when I try to tell you the issue. Of course I'm upset, but I'm not yelling, raising my voice or using foul language. I'm frustrated. I've asked for the flight to be changed back and you tell me you can't. I this point I asked to speak to his supervisor, and his exact words to me were "I don't know if I feel like transferring you now".

I have had wonderful interactions with other Groupon Getaway trip purchases, such as Affordable Asia and many others, but I would never, ever use this company again. It's full of horrible people who feel they have "power" because they are in charge of your itinerary and are not there to help you. They care about selling trips, and not the people who keep them in business by buying their trips.

I will never use this company again, and I truly hope whomever uses them in the future doesn't have an issue, because if you do, they will literally laugh in your face. Shameful.

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Gate 1 Travel Rating:
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1.8 out of 5, based on 49 ratings and
57 reviews & complaints.
Contact Information:
Gate 1 Travel
455 Maryland Drive
Fort Washington, PA 19034
800-682-3333 (ph)
www.gate1travel.com
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