Train or bus tickets to Hawaii. Ocean view rooms in landlocked locations. Tours to exotic destinations for less than $1,000. Reservations for spouse and lover? Travel advisors have to deal with a lot of ridiculous requests. But some requirements leave even the most seasoned travel advisors scratching their heads.
Travel Market Report reached out to our readers to find out the craziest customer requests you’ve ever received.
Here are some of the prominent requirements.
Catering by McDonald’s “I worked with a gentleman many years ago. He wanted to tour China and wanted McDonald’s to organize a group meal in Shiyan, China. I don’t think it will ever happen, but I had to go through the motions of at least trying before I found out at that point that there are no McDonald’s in China.” – Stephen Lincoln, Lincoln Travel
Pets Are Travelers Too“The CEO of a defense company wanted to use his Frequent Flier miles to fly his Saint Bernard 1st Class from San Diego to Switzerland for Christmas! Saint Bernard was their only ‘child’, and his ex-wife lived in Switzerland, and it was her turn for the dog!” – Trudy Kelly, Travel By Design
“Can you get a plane ticket to Europe for my deceased pet so I can bury him where my ancestors lived?” – Sandy Johnson, AAA Alabama
No turbulence in first class, right? “Back in the day, many moons ago, I had clients flying from Vancouver to Honolulu. Apparently there was a lot of turbulence, so when they arrived, they immediately invited me to change to first class (yes at that time) so they wouldn’t experience turbulence again while sitting in first class.” – Carol Attrell, The Travel Agent Next Door
Those cruise dates do not work. Change them. “I had a cruise client ask me if I would call the cruise line and ask them to change the dates of a four-night cruise to leave a day earlier and return a day earlier to fit their schedule.” – Enrico Saltarelli, Salty Breeze Cruise Planners
Arrival in style“The client wanted to fly a paraglider to the resort (Six Senses Zighy Bay) and it was arranged. Tandem paragliding with an instructor!” – Leona Assie, travel agency from the neighborhood
“Arrival of Horse and Carriage from the Airport.” – Tamara Rushdan-Ferguson, Passengers Get Out
Pepperidge Farm Cookies or Bust“We’ve had clients insist that we load THEIR private jet with Pepperidge Farm cookies (to be purchased at a grocery store on one of the Out Islands in the Bahamas). We suggested to one of their assistants that they supply their corporate aircraft with cookies of their choice from the United States since there is no guarantee that we will be able to find Pepperidge Farm cookies on Eleuthera.” – Lori Gédon CTC, Coyaba Travel
Plans to Surf Seven Continents“One client wanted to surf all seven continents. He has one left, Antarctica. I did my best to comply with his request even though I knew it was very unlikely to come true.” – Terri Oliver, Cruise Planners
Decor Requests “We had a client who wanted us to change the sofa in her cabin on a cruise because she hated beige.” – Nancy Zupancic, Vision Travel
“We had a guest who was invited to the hotel for a wedding in the Caribbean. They called wanting to go, but insisted on a room without floral decor. All pictures of the hotel show rooms with floral motifs on the bedding and tropical flower paintings on the walls. I called the hotel and asked if they had rooms without floral motifs. The manager told me I could change the bed linen, but he couldn’t remove the pictures because they were attached to the walls to prevent theft. I informed the client about the bed linen change and suggested they cover the pictures if they found them offensive. The client was upset, told me I wasn’t working hard enough to meet their request. They then asked me to call the hotel again and insist that the pictures be removed. I politely told them no and never heard from them again.” – Tina Somers, Aurora Travel Service
A room with an ocean view (but no ocean) “I had a client who booked a trip to Walt Disney World and insisted on an ocean view room. When I explained that it was not possible because Orlando is in the middle of the state. They didn’t believe me until I actually showed them a map of the state.” – Krissi Harmon, OAL Travel Network
Railway to Europe “I had a gentleman who wanted to go by train to England. When I told them there were no trains to England, he said he would go from Canada because they were closer!” – Donna Lucas, Direct Travel
Sounds like O-Strich’s “ride an ostrich in Africa.” – Coreen Doucett, Neighborhood Travel Agent
Sea to Go Toilet “Can I bring my own toilet seat on the plane to Aruba, I can only use my home toilet seat on other toilets.” – Renee Gerbert, Action Travel
Walt Disney Divorce “The client has returned from a 12-night trip to Walt Disney World and Universal Studios. He sought a full refund from Walt Disney World. When I asked him what happened and why he was asking for a refund, he explained that because of the new Genie+ app and his argument with his wife about it, he is now divorcing, and Walt Disney World is to blame. I suspect the problems were deeper than Genie+ navigation complications.” – Natalee Fox, The Travel Concierge
But, you have connections “Many years ago, a potential client called me in May for the July Pride of America cruise around the Hawaiian Islands. It was a special anniversary and she was only interested in a balcony cabin on a certain sailing. I checked with NCL and found out that all of their balcony cabins are sold out for that sailing. I let the client know, and she informs me that she already knows. It took me a minute before I could ask her if she already knew they were sold out, why was she calling me?! Her answer: I called you because they told me that you have a lot of contacts. Well, yes ma’am, I do, but not the kind that can put an extra balcony on a cruise ship!!” – Debbi Sturch, Tek n Travel
