Hawaii Travel Booker To Pay More Than 155 000 To Victims Of Botched Vacations

Wendy Tenedora Wong – owner of House of Aloha Hawaii, a travel booking company based in Ewa Beach, Oahu – has been ordered to repay hundreds of thousands of dollars to customers, mostly in California, who said she never booked their vacations . Under her Aug. 23 plea agreement, Wong has until her Nov. 4 sentencing hearing to pay $155,002.32 in restitution to the victims, said Tamalca Harris, Santa Clara County deputy district attorney. He will still face two years of felony probation. News from Hawaii If he fails to repay the money, he faces one year in county jail and one year on mandatory supervision. THE PRICE OF PARADISE: Honolulu charges the highest tourist tax, see how it affects your trip A GREEN HAWAII: Hawaii to shut down only coal plant in ‘aggressive’ step to achieve clean energy by 2045 There are 48 customers who have come forward against Wong, though not all are asking for their money back, Harris said. According to reports from Bay Area ABC7’s I-Team, Wong was calling customers right before their trip to tell them a flight was canceled and not rebooking them. In other cases, people realized shortly before their trip that there were no confirmed reservations, or customers would arrive at the agreed-upon hotel without a reservation in their name, according to complaints to the Better Business Bureau. When confronted, Wong would make excuses such as “crazy weather” or claim a refund is on the way, according to ABC7. A couple told ABC7 they chose Wong to plan their destination wedding in Hawaii and paid her $72,000. About three months before the wedding they realized there were no confirmed reservations and Wong gave the couple excuses like “everything is underwater,” they told ABC7. The couple was unable to get a refund from her and had to quickly find another planner to rebook their wedding. The story continues Another BBB complaint from 2019 describes how a family tried to book a night at Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa through Wong. “When we arrived in Hawaii, we had no reservation at Aulani and (Wong) assured us that we would receive a refund,” the complaint states. The family had paid through Venmo and said Wong told them to contact Venmo or their bank to get the refund. (Venmo does not have a refund policy, but does require the recipient to refund the sender.) According to the BBB, Wong never had the proper business license to provide travel services. In 2014, he filed for bankruptcy for nearly $200,000. Even her parents said she owes them about $200,000, ABC7 reported. In 2019, customers received an email from House of Aloha Hawaii saying the business was closing permanently after “irrecoverable business losses” and that all reservations were to be canceled, according to ABC7. “(Wong) abused a position of trust and disrupted the lives of many families in the community when she betrayed them,” Harris said, adding that the families should feel proud that they came out against Wong. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: House of Aloha Travel scam: What happened, how much money is owed

title: “Hawaii Travel Booker To Pay More Than 155 000 To Victims Of Botched Vacations Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-20” author: “Robyn Mcphail”

Wendy Tenedora Wong – owner of House of Aloha Hawaii, a travel booking company based in Ewa Beach, Oahu – has been ordered to repay hundreds of thousands of dollars to customers, mostly in California, who said she never booked their vacations . Under her Aug. 23 plea agreement, Wong has until her Nov. 4 sentencing hearing to pay $155,002.32 in restitution to the victims, said Tamalca Harris, Santa Clara County deputy district attorney. He will still face two years of felony probation. News from Hawaii If he fails to repay the money, he faces one year in county jail and one year on mandatory supervision. THE PRICE OF PARADISE: Honolulu charges the highest tourist tax, see how it affects your trip A GREEN HAWAII: Hawaii to shut down only coal plant in ‘aggressive’ step to achieve clean energy by 2045 There are 48 customers who have come forward against Wong, though not all are asking for their money back, Harris said. According to reports from Bay Area ABC7’s I-Team, Wong was calling customers right before their trip to tell them a flight was canceled and not rebooking them. In other cases, people realized shortly before their trip that there were no confirmed reservations, or customers would arrive at the agreed-upon hotel without a reservation in their name, according to complaints to the Better Business Bureau. When confronted, Wong would make excuses such as “crazy weather” or claim a refund is on the way, according to ABC7. A couple told ABC7 they chose Wong to plan their destination wedding in Hawaii and paid her $72,000. About three months before the wedding they realized there were no confirmed reservations and Wong gave the couple excuses like “everything is underwater,” they told ABC7. The couple was unable to get a refund from her and had to quickly find another planner to rebook their wedding. The story continues Another BBB complaint from 2019 describes how a family tried to book a night at Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa through Wong. “When we arrived in Hawaii, we had no reservation at Aulani and (Wong) assured us that we would receive a refund,” the complaint states. The family had paid through Venmo and said Wong told them to contact Venmo or their bank to get the refund. (Venmo does not have a refund policy, but does require the recipient to refund the sender.) According to the BBB, Wong never had the proper business license to provide travel services. In 2014, he filed for bankruptcy for nearly $200,000. Even her parents said she owes them about $200,000, ABC7 reported. In 2019, customers received an email from House of Aloha Hawaii saying the business was closing permanently after “irrecoverable business losses” and that all reservations were to be canceled, according to ABC7. “(Wong) abused a position of trust and disrupted the lives of many families in the community when she betrayed them,” Harris said, adding that the families should feel proud that they came out against Wong. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: House of Aloha Travel scam: What happened, how much money is owed

title: “Hawaii Travel Booker To Pay More Than 155 000 To Victims Of Botched Vacations Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-30” author: “Connie Seit”

Wendy Tenedora Wong – owner of House of Aloha Hawaii, a travel booking company based in Ewa Beach, Oahu – has been ordered to repay hundreds of thousands of dollars to customers, mostly in California, who said she never booked their vacations . Under her Aug. 23 plea agreement, Wong has until her Nov. 4 sentencing hearing to pay $155,002.32 in restitution to the victims, said Tamalca Harris, Santa Clara County deputy district attorney. He will still face two years of felony probation. News from Hawaii If he fails to repay the money, he faces one year in county jail and one year on mandatory supervision. THE PRICE OF PARADISE: Honolulu charges the highest tourist tax, see how it affects your trip A GREEN HAWAII: Hawaii to shut down only coal plant in ‘aggressive’ step to achieve clean energy by 2045 There are 48 customers who have come forward against Wong, though not all are asking for their money back, Harris said. According to reports from Bay Area ABC7’s I-Team, Wong was calling customers right before their trip to tell them a flight was canceled and not rebooking them. In other cases, people realized shortly before their trip that there were no confirmed reservations, or customers would arrive at the agreed-upon hotel without a reservation in their name, according to complaints to the Better Business Bureau. When confronted, Wong would make excuses such as “crazy weather” or claim a refund is on the way, according to ABC7. A couple told ABC7 they chose Wong to plan their destination wedding in Hawaii and paid her $72,000. About three months before the wedding they realized there were no confirmed reservations and Wong gave the couple excuses like “everything is underwater,” they told ABC7. The couple was unable to get a refund from her and had to quickly find another planner to rebook their wedding. The story continues Another BBB complaint from 2019 describes how a family tried to book a night at Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa through Wong. “When we arrived in Hawaii, we had no reservation at Aulani and (Wong) assured us that we would receive a refund,” the complaint states. The family had paid through Venmo and said Wong told them to contact Venmo or their bank to get the refund. (Venmo does not have a refund policy, but does require the recipient to refund the sender.) According to the BBB, Wong never had the proper business license to provide travel services. In 2014, he filed for bankruptcy for nearly $200,000. Even her parents said she owes them about $200,000, ABC7 reported. In 2019, customers received an email from House of Aloha Hawaii saying the business was closing permanently after “irrecoverable business losses” and that all reservations were to be canceled, according to ABC7. “(Wong) abused a position of trust and disrupted the lives of many families in the community when she betrayed them,” Harris said, adding that the families should feel proud that they came out against Wong. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: House of Aloha Travel scam: What happened, how much money is owed

title: “Hawaii Travel Booker To Pay More Than 155 000 To Victims Of Botched Vacations Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-02” author: “Martha Madsen”

Wendy Tenedora Wong – owner of House of Aloha Hawaii, a travel booking company based in Ewa Beach, Oahu – has been ordered to repay hundreds of thousands of dollars to customers, mostly in California, who said she never booked their vacations . Under her Aug. 23 plea agreement, Wong has until her Nov. 4 sentencing hearing to pay $155,002.32 in restitution to the victims, said Tamalca Harris, Santa Clara County deputy district attorney. He will still face two years of felony probation. News from Hawaii If he fails to repay the money, he faces one year in county jail and one year on mandatory supervision. THE PRICE OF PARADISE: Honolulu charges the highest tourist tax, see how it affects your trip A GREEN HAWAII: Hawaii to shut down only coal plant in ‘aggressive’ step to achieve clean energy by 2045 There are 48 customers who have come forward against Wong, though not all are asking for their money back, Harris said. According to reports from Bay Area ABC7’s I-Team, Wong was calling customers right before their trip to tell them a flight was canceled and not rebooking them. In other cases, people realized shortly before their trip that there were no confirmed reservations, or customers would arrive at the agreed-upon hotel without a reservation in their name, according to complaints to the Better Business Bureau. When confronted, Wong would make excuses such as “crazy weather” or claim a refund is on the way, according to ABC7. A couple told ABC7 they chose Wong to plan their destination wedding in Hawaii and paid her $72,000. About three months before the wedding they realized there were no confirmed reservations and Wong gave the couple excuses like “everything is underwater,” they told ABC7. The couple was unable to get a refund from her and had to quickly find another planner to rebook their wedding. The story continues Another BBB complaint from 2019 describes how a family tried to book a night at Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa through Wong. “When we arrived in Hawaii, we had no reservation at Aulani and (Wong) assured us that we would receive a refund,” the complaint states. The family had paid through Venmo and said Wong told them to contact Venmo or their bank to get the refund. (Venmo does not have a refund policy, but does require the recipient to refund the sender.) According to the BBB, Wong never had the proper business license to provide travel services. In 2014, he filed for bankruptcy for nearly $200,000. Even her parents said she owes them about $200,000, ABC7 reported. In 2019, customers received an email from House of Aloha Hawaii saying the business was closing permanently after “irrecoverable business losses” and that all reservations were to be canceled, according to ABC7. “(Wong) abused a position of trust and disrupted the lives of many families in the community when she betrayed them,” Harris said, adding that the families should feel proud that they came out against Wong. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: House of Aloha Travel scam: What happened, how much money is owed