TenDot Travel

Sit back and grab your beverage of choice because my 41st 1-star review out of 520+ is going to be long. Unfortunately, we are limited to 5001 characters for Yelp reviews, so I'll have to shorten.TenDot charged $5400 each for 540 American Outlaws (supporters group for the US men's national soccer team) to go to Brazil for the World Cup. That's $2,916,000 to be exact. Below I will note the problem legs of the trip and highlight the issues:Houston to Natal:-Plane 1's departure time was changed @ last minute (11PM), but then they departed past the original time (2AM instead of 1AM)-Plane 2 had to downsize (14 people had to find another way to Brazil)-Plane 2 stopped for fuel in Puerto Rico on the way to Brazil. Only the captain made an official announcement (not TenDot) despite "SJU" being printed on the boarding passes1st Natal hotel:-Didn't match the address as stated in PDF provided by TenDot-Derrick Eells, VP and co-founder of TenDot, assures us there's lots to do around hotel (surrounded by rubble & abandoned buildings) and it's safe-Police tell us it's unsafe to walk around-Someone gets jumped later that week while jogging-Room has dead cockroaches-sat long enough to leave imprints2nd Natal hotel:Derrick Eells explained he moved my friend and I first because "you were doing a lot of complaining so I'm moving one of my guys out so you can move in." I felt no guilt because I am the one paying. TenDot charged American Outlaws an extra $3000 to move everyone out of the 1st hotel, even though TenDot didn't drop us off at the right hotel in the 1st place.Natal to Manaus:Awoke @ 1:15AM to catch a 2AM bus (arranged by TenDot), but did not arrive until 3:30AM. Arrival @ airport ~4:30AM. Plane 2 scheduled to leave @ 7:45AM, but the flight's not on the airport monitors. No info given by TenDot until 8:15AM when we were told we were awaiting a plane from Fortaleza (40min flight). The plane arrived, had to be catered, & fueled. Roll call completed @ least 3x. Finally depart ~12PM & barely make it to the stadium when the gates open.Manaus to Natal:All 540 AOs @ Manaus airport ~10PM. No updates given by TenDot. We finally talk to AO national individually ~12AM & find out check-in's @ 2AM because FIFA pushed all flights back. Plane 2's scheduled to depart @ 7AM. Tensions are high due to lack of info, & people are tired. A gal asks Derrick, "How do you know the planes will really depart @ 5 & 7AM?" He replied, "When Delta has a flight, how do you know it's confirmed?" Very poor customer service.We line up @ 2AM to check-in for the flight but check-in's only for the 1st plane. We finally check-in for the flight ~5AM (waited 45min for security's stickers). Again, no TenDot announcement, since we haven't seen a TenDot person since 12AM (disappeared before plane 2's check-in). Here's a list of problems, according to my tweets:8:22AM - Another flight needs to board, so it's a disaster in gate area9:45AM - Gate change10:30AM - We need to be bussed to the plane, but 1 bus has left w/no passengers. Fuel payment is needed for the plane.11:01AM - Paperwork done previously needs to be redone, & frustration sets in. We're told to stay calm because the police are afraid we'll mob the door. We've been in the airport for 13+ hrs @ this point.12PM - Derrick from TenDot finally shows up.1PM - Depart for Natal.Natal to Houston:No information provided on the TenDot board in the hotel upon return from Recife. We're told by word of mouth we're departing for the airport at 10AM, but TenDot's unsure. It wasn't until we boarded the airport bus that Derrick's available to provide flight times. We are scheduled for a 3:30PM departure, 10:45PM arrival.TenDot failed to let people know the airport security rules. They are different for international flights. We are held to similar USA TSA screening rules in Brazil, and many people have items confiscated, e.g. cough syrup or unlabeled bottles. Plane 2 cannot go to the gate until plane 1 departs. No computerized systems for charter company hired by TenDot means lack of real-time accountability. Problems encountered:5:11PM - Plane 1's pushed back from the gate. Plane 2 has to move to the gate and fuel.5:43PM - Someone on plane 2 accidentally boards plane 1, and there are 11 people missing on plane 1. Plane 1 returns to gate, fixes mistake, then pushes back again. All info via word of mouth, no updates from TenDot5:47PM - Plane 2 has to be catered.6:40PM - Boarding. Pilot explains delay's due to negotiations w/US customs to ensure they can receive us.7:19PM - Wheels up2:15AM - Arrival in Houston, 3.5hrs lateI will NEVER again use TenDot. I understand things happen, but lack of communication was evident throughout the WHOLE process. I measure success by action; I did not meet anyone on this trip willing to pay $5400 & go through this again. Have a TenDot day!

TenDot was the travel company that organized, planned, and completely made a mess of the American Outlaws US trip to Brazil. On average, each of our planes boarded roughly 7 hours after they were originally scheduled to board. This includes a 19 hour stint in the Manaus airport where the group slept on the airport floor and we were left to fend for ourselves with airport food while no tendot employees could be found. While some of this delay can be attributed to the charter airline and brazilian government, the poor communication and general attitude of tendot made the experience infinitely worse. Aside from delayed flights, their organizational skills are poor and their customer service is laughable. The co-founder Derrick Eels, who managed the trip, is exceedingly arrogant and holds little regard for his customers who pay for his services. On multiple occasions, he was found to be badmouthing members of our group (customers) who attempted to assist his company in better organizing the trip.

It should be possible to give 0 stars. Or even negative stars. Their slogan, "Have a TenDot day." is basically a new way to say "go f*ck yourself" for the approximately 540 travelers on the $5400 American Outlaws package to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. TenDot seemed to have little to no experience handling a large group. Their communication (or lack thereof) was piss-poor throughout the duration of the trip. Because of their poor planning, I spent 58 hours of a 12 day trip waiting in lines, laying on the floor in airports, and waiting to get on planes and buses when a reasonable amount of time would have been somewhere around 12-18 hours (4 total flights, 2 bus rides). I'm not talking about the actual travel time here. We literally wasted 40 to 46 hours of our vacation that could have been used actually enjoying Brazil. What's worse is I was one of the "lucky ones" to be on the first plane. You can tack on an additional 15-20 hours of bullsh*t for the unfortunate half of the group on Plane 2.The only time during the trip when travel went smoothly is when one of the travelers (thank you Imani!) took the time to personally organize the boarding of the buses before the trek to Recife. TenDot as a travel agency was near incompetent when it came to basic organization. Someone who paid to be on the trip had to step up and do their job for them. How ridiculous is that?As if these points alone aren't enough to warn you from booking travel with this poor excuse of a travel agency, the excessive price gauging by TenDot before and during the trip was shameful. They encouraged everyone on their package to book excursions through them before even setting foot in Brazil. One excursion, for example, was the $600 beach buggy adventure. Actual cost of the beach buggy adventure if you booked through a local? $200. TenDot pocketed more than twice the actual excursion cost in pure profit. Then there was the $71 per person round trip for a 15 minute bus ride to/from the US Soccer party in Ponta Negra the very first night in Brazil. You could have just taken a cab instead and come and go as you pleased for $40 round trip (split four ways $10 a person). And for their highest percentage of profit margin, there was the $110 per person round trip bus ride to/from the stadium in Natal for the Japan vs Greece game they offered, when you could just take a $50 round trip cab (split 4 ways $12.50 per person). I understand travel agencies charge a premium for the convenience they're supposed to provide and for doing all the legwork, but they were clearly trying to rip everyone off at any given opportunity.My experience with TenDot in Brazil was pure hell. I could have done a better job organizing the trip with a Motorola Razr cell phone from the early 2000's and a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. Avoid them at all costs.

TenDot Travel Is a fantastic organization. They plan brilliant trips, always making sure that their clients stay at the best accommodations, and they make everything effortless. We can't recommend Derrick and his whole team highly enough.

TenDot has an incredible Team that has taken care of every last detail from initial planning to the very end details. They seek out beautiful properties, unique activities and classy events that have really suited our group! TenDot has created so many memorable experiences for us. We will continue to use them each year, as this has been such a positive experience for our Firm! We highly recommend their services!