Starwood Pet Travel

If you want pain and confusion, choose Starwood. If you want your animals to be stressed, choose Starwood.

I paid $7,000 to Starwood Pet Travel.

It was a shockingly horrific experience.

Before I paid, I was repeatedly told that a direct JFK to Lisbon flight was possible and would be explored. That mattered in my decision making, because why would I choose a layover option that would create more physical and mental stress for my cats? Why would I choose more cargo handling, more confinement, a 5-hour layover for no reason, and more cabin pressure changes?

Especially since there are multiple direct flights a day from NYC to Lisbon (6 hours total) where the 2 cats and I were moving.

Only after payment did it become clear that a Lufthansa flight—an unnecessarily prolonged journey—two extra hours of flying, a five-hour layover in Frankfurt, and then an additional three-hour flight back to Portugal. Was always the intended plan. Was the only plan. The owner said it was for safety and only when I contacted customer service was I shown it would be a breach of contract if I didn't go through Germany. That I was powerless in this premium pet relocation service to provide the kindest trip for my cats.

This was only the beginning.

I spoke to the owner and customer care because I could not get ahold of my coordinator, Gemma, by phone after her initial promises. My emails seemed to not be read or responded to.

* My name was repeatedly misspelled,

* Incorrect links were sent,

* Documents had to be resent multiple times,

* Important information was buried in fragmented emails and fine print,

* The portal had glitches,

* And getting clear answers was nearly impossible.

And this disturbed me: I later learned that my coordinator, Gemma, was away for approximately two months while other staff members continued to communicate with me using her name and email signature.

Excuse me? That's not professional or premium and possibly not ethical.

But this is not the worst of it.

What happened next was so painful that I think any pet owner would be horrified.

I arrived alone in Portugal after an exhausting international move believing my cats were arriving on the expected schedule. I had been told (after much fighting my premium cat service for it—which is really how you want to spend your time when you are moving internationally) that the cats were on my flight. I arrived, opened my GPS tracker, and saw they had been left behind in New York City.

I should have been concerned when Jeary came to pick them up and didn't understand why they were going to a holding center instead of the airport. I should have been concerned when I got no photos and couldn't get on the portal. But an extra day in an undisclosed location? And I thought a layover would be stressful for them. Where was this place they were? Why were they not with me?

And no one was answering the phone.

The US office was closed for the holiday, but I had been told that the UK office would absolutely answer the phone if anything happened. They did not. I left emails. I waited forever by the carousel for good Wi-Fi, being so worried and waiting for Starwood to call me back. Nothing.

The explanation was another offhand comment from Gemma, the coordinator, three days before the flight about a possible airline strike. Not that they were changing the cats' flight, but if there was a strike, then the cats' flights would change. Of course, I said. If there's no plane, they can't get on it. But I knew there was no strike. Why? Because I called the airline. Did Starwood call the airline? No, they could not be bothered. Did they clarify with me that I understood that the cats would not be flying and arriving with me, that they would be kept somewhere I was not told about for a whole extra day? No (I could've let a friend take care of them as opposed to being stressed somewhere they don't know in a crate.)

I had no reason to even consider this was going to be the plan for the cats. Because there was no strike.

Did anyone communicate: Your cats are not arriving with you. Your cats will be held. Or even better, this is where your cats will be held, this is how they will be taken care of in this facility. Your cats may arrive days later.

Did I sign anything that I understood and approved they were being held somewhere in a crate for an extra day and what flight they were on? No, 100% no. But again, Starwood gets you with the flyaway comments and the fine print while it's the 2 days before you are moving your life internationally. No kindness. No consideration. No follow-up. No photos of the cats. Nothing that was promised. Their carrier boxes smelled like *** and *** when they arrived. For what? There was no strike. I knew this days before the flight. But Starwood didn't care. From beginning to end. The only person who treated me kindly was Ryan Bole throughout this whole process. I hope she finds a better paying job with better people.

If you love your animals, stay away from this company. Dear God, for the sake of your own peace of mind, stay away from Starwood.