Starwood Pet Travel Reviews

Starwood Pet Travel primarily offers comprehensive pet transport from the U.S. to most countries worldwide. It assists customers with travel arrangements and requirements through extensive, personalized support. Here are the key services and benefits:

• Experienced travel and support team: Starwood Pet Travel boasts more than 50 years of combined pet care and travel experience. It’s been transporting pets since 1984.
• Pet travel coordinator: After requesting a quote, you’ll be matched with a travel coordinator whose job is to help you and answer questions.
• Extensive pet protection plan: Automatically included for every pet regardless of destination, this coverage offers up to $2,500 for veterinary expenses, up to $4,000 for emergency return trips due to cancellation for family emergencies and up to $1,500 for airline delays resulting in itinerary changes.
• Service tiers: Choose between economy, business or premium tiers to customize your transport experience and stick to your budget.
• Add-ons: Improve your pet’s comfort and reduce quarantine times by selecting helpful add-on services for an extra fee.
• Military discount: Military veterans and active duty receive a complimentary upgrade to the Comfort & Care package (a $300 value, detailed below).

Starwood Pet Travel specializes in safe and organized pet relocation services both domestically within the U.S. and internationally. It also brings pets into the U.S. Here are the general requirements and terms of use:

• Vaccinations and health certificates: Pets must have up-to-date vaccinations, including specific requirements for rabies and additional vaccinations depending on the destination country. Health certificates must include detailed information such as microchip numbers, vaccination dates and other key veterinarian details.
• Microchip requirements: All pets must have an ISO-standard microchip implanted before travel. ISO stands for International Organization for Standardization. Microchip numbers must be accurately recorded on all paperwork. Non-ISO microchips may require a portable microchip reader for certain destinations.
• Travel kennel compliance: Pet travel kennels must meet the International Air Transport Association (IATA) standards, ensuring sufficient space and ventilation for the pet's comfort and safety during transport. Kennels must be non-collapsible and securely fastened.
• Booking and itinerary: Starwood Pet Travel coordinates flight bookings and quarantine arrangements (where applicable). It also provides a detailed travel itinerary well in advance of the travel date.
• Customer responsibilities: Pet owners are responsible for providing accurate pet information, complying with vaccination and microchip requirements and ensuring readiness for travel according to destination-specific regulations.
• Terms of service: By engaging Starwood Pet Travel services, pet owners agree to comply with all applicable laws and regulations, provide accurate information and follow the guidelines set forth by Starwood Pet Travel to ensure a smooth and safe pet relocation process.

Starwood Pet Travel provides transparent pricing within its heavily detailed quotes. It has three service tiers for most destinations to suit different needs:

• Economy: Starwood handles the bulk of the relocation, while you manage some cost-saving do-it-yourself tasks.
• Business: Starwood guides you through each step of the process and takes care of essential aspects of the move.
• Premium: Starwood claims to manage everything and provide a dedicated pet travel support team throughout the entire process.

Service tier availability depends on the destination and may only be available for some destinations. Brett Furlong, Starwood Pet Travel’s CEO, told ConsumerAffairs in an email that despite potential obstacles, the company aims to help get pets to the places their pet parents are traveling.

“Sometimes, breed embargoes or the time of year prevent us, but we try hard to keep the families together,” he said. “Some locations take a lot of planning, so we ensure pet parents fully understand the time [and expense] required for pets to successfully enter their new country.”

Starwood Pet Travel also offers several add-ons to provide comprehensive service and elevate pet comfort:

• Identification Process Assistance (IPA): Guides USDA-accredited vets on correctly identifying your pet appropriately on all forms required for flying, export and import. It also covers fees needed to reduce quarantine time in many countries.
• Quarantine: Includes post-entry quarantine facility stay and transfer and preferred handling by Starwood. Many foreign countries require pets to enter quarantine or a holding period to ensure they don’t bring in any diseases or parasites.
• Comfort & Care Package: Features tracking, pet protection plan, kennel sizing kit, CareTag, grooming rebate, lost item coverage and one free itinerary change.
• Complete Care Kennel Package: Provides airline-approved kennels, bedding, water bowls and an acclimation guide for travel readiness.

Some of these options may not be available for all countries. Starwood Pet Travel claims to take a hands-on approach to your pet’s travel — the quoting process provides the necessary details and personalized options for your pet.

Because Starwood Pet Travel offers pet transport to a wide variety of places, ConsumerAffairs obtained two quotes based on fictional pets to provide realistic examples for our readers.

Fictional Pet No. 1 is a 36-inch-long, 30-inch-tall Labrador Retriever weighing 56 pounds. Fictional Pet No. 2 is a 22-inch-long, 12-inch-tall domestic shorthair cat weighing 10 pounds. Transport for each pet is from Los Angeles, CA, to Melbourne, Australia. Here are the details:

Starwood Pet Travel offers “an industry-first tracking label with automatic SMS & email updates provided at various transition points along your pet's trip” for all pets. Adding the Comfort & Care Package provides an additional tracking method, CareTag, which allows team members to scan the tag and provide additional real-time updates. It also creates digital copies of all your pet’s vital documentation. The cost for CareTag is $300 per pet.