WEROAD and HUAKAI: the truth about these travel agencies
Do you want to travel the world for free? Weroad and Huakai advertising has the claim of TRAVEL FREE. But no one gives anything to anyone for no reason. You are not going on vacation, you are going to take care of 15 young people abroad. And they don’t pay for your work.
Weroad and Huakai are two clone group travel agencies that advertise to attract people who want to RIDE FOR FREE.
BE VERY CAREFUL. It is not about traveling for free but about being responsible for a group of people abroad, that is, being an accompanying guide. A job that is paid in any agency and that is also not easy.
Here they tell you that you are going to travel for free when in reality you are going to work for free.
This is the original article in Spanish language: WEROAD y HUAKAI son una ESTAFA: la verdad sobre estas agencias de viajes
♥ I invite you to visit the list of ethical travel agencies and the Black List. A collaborative project as objective as possible.
♥ TIERRAS POLARES: workers are not paid and encourage sexual harassment
That our profession involves traveling doesn’t mean that we should do it without charge.
If it becomes fashionable in travel agencies to change guides and coordinators to volunteers, our profession will disappear. The reason is simple: no travel agency that pays its workers can adjust prices and lower them as much as those that do not.
But it is also that: They are risking the lives of customers who don’t know that they are going with a person without experience or knowledge of the country. They leave behind the wheel a child who feels important because they have sent him on a plane for free to Thailand.
Everything is fine until something happens.
But above all, they put customers at risk
They send tour groups with inexperienced young volunteers. Problems that you can’t even imagine can occur on a trip and not just anyone can solve them: natural disasters, accidents, political conflicts…
Problems abroad can be of a wide variety and require a lot of experience traveling, as well as managing groups: coordination of schedules and services if everything goes well, but there may also be accidents, theft or any setback that you have to solve on your own another country. Being an escort guide is a nice job, it can also be hard, but above all, it is a job and must be paid.
Weroad trips and Huakai trips seem pretty chav, superficial and banal to me. From Thailand they think of beaches. And in general everything is taking selfies jumping in places that are beautiful but nobody knows what they are.
The trivialization of the trip to party and many many photos
The absurd selection of personnel: in the Weroad Bootcamp and in the Huakai Bootcamp they choose everyone except those who have a lot of experience traveling or as a travel coordinator or escort guide
You heard right. It’s the world upside down. They reject those who know how safe to do their job!
If, for example, all twenty-something-year-olds who have traveled to five countries and have never coordinated trips are presented, and there is also you, 35 years old, 80 countries behind you and experience as a guide and travel coordinator in Iran, China, Greenland, Egypt, Mexico, Costa Rica, Jordan, Central Europe and the Balkans and they tell you that you are not worth the job.
They are not ashamed! Your fault because you are not what they are looking for.
WeRoad and Huakai are the fastfood of travel
«It’s just that you don’t have the mood.»
The asshole mood of hopping all day in group photos holding onto a selfie stick.
In Weroad and Huakai they make you believe that you belong to a select club of traveling for free and having pachanguera parties in different places in your country.
On the weekend in Valencia, the people from WeRoad even told me that I wasn’t much of a party animal… We were in a nightclub full of people and flat music. No, what happens is that this type of party does not motivate me. Tell me that I’m not a party girl, damn…
WEROAD THREAT
WeRoad travel agency has threatened to sue me for defamation if I don’t stop talking about them.
you are not going to shut me up
Everything I say is true. So this is not defamation.
If communicators, researchers and journalists succumbed to every threat of defamation, journalism would not exist.
Email threat from the WeRoad team.
At Weroad they are obsessed with «the mood».
For the «staff selection» of Weroad they make you move to another city, paying you the expenses. In my case it was to Barcelona. And later, Valencia. Two weekends. And even the Philippines paid with my money. To that I refused.
Once there, they harass you with videos about how nice it is to travel, how well everyone gets along, the parties they throw from time to time, how good friends they are with each other…
It is obvious that they are friends because they smile a lot and dance in places.
Brainwashing for gullible people from Weroad or Huakai
They try hard to convince you that being a part of WeRoad is a really cool thing, and that you’d be crazy if you turned it down.
The strategy seems very simple to me. You get to a room and they show you a lot of super cool videos of people jumping around the world with the corporate shirt and then some people come out in person with that shirt to tell that in a year they have seen all the Wonders of the World (Yuck It gives me that of traveling to collect photos in places). Two hours have passed and they still haven’t interviewed the candidates. They just rave about being in the Huakai or Weroad travel community.
This is very suspicious
It is clear to me what is happening. When in a company they tell you that it is super fun and great, and you come to make noise for two hours, the message is clear: you are not going to see a penny.
The weroad / huakai trip coordinator always travels with all expenses paid. EVIDENTLY! If the trip is paid, it would be another client. He then says that you get «some money». So unspecified. We have no idea how much it is. When will they tell you? Of course, it will not be €100 a day, which is the minimum stipulated for an accompanying guide.
If you have fun it’s not work, therefore you don’t get paid
I’m starting to feel uncomfortable because I’ve come from Zaragoza, I’ve slept at a friend’s house and her posh boyfriend made me spend €100 on food and drinks. Foolishly I have spent money being unemployed.
And I begin to realize that maybe it’s not about work. When a company does nothing more than convince you that you are going to have a great time and you are going to go to many parties, bad business.
What do they do all the time saying «the traveling community» instead of «travel agency»?
And the concept of «free travel».
Other red flags in travel agencies: use the verb «give» instead of «assign». If the boss tells you, «I’m going to give you the trip to Costa Rica,» he is using language that makes it seem like he is doing you a favor. He gives and you receive.
But it’s not like that. You are actually going to work a lot on that trip and generate profits for the company.
If they say “we are a big family”…
When you raise a question and they make you feel bad for having it.
When you have to indicate more than once that you have done something important and they continue as if they did not see it.
I return to the room to watch travel movies for dummies:
A lot of selfie sticks, a lot of Go Pro, everything very dynamic, bad music, no traveling learning… On these trips, what matters to us is taking photos with our arms raised and our mouths open.
The round of questions begins. The candidates raise issues with smiles on their faces, seeming to be followers of a cult. How quickly they have been brainwashed!
Is no one going to ask how much they pay?
In this country people don’t dare, it’s like it’s wrong to ask so it doesn’t seem like you only care about money. It is even normalized that job offers are published without indicating the salary.
Well, I do work for money. I try to like the job, but at the end of the day, that’s what a job is for.
I raise my hand and ask the million dollar question:
“Could you tell us how much we would charge per trip?”
That was not expected. A very rare question. They answer that it is paid depending on how long the trip lasts.
«Yeah, but how much money approximately?»
Does not count the budget for expenses.
There they already look at me with a face of: «not having the mood».
In agencies such as WeRoad or Huakai, they are very creative and original in terms of framing. They make so much content that customers get tired.
WeRoad and Huakai are not interested in your experience: neither traveling nor working
They are not interested in your experience, and in fact, having experience is the reason for rejecting you. It has happened to all the candidates in the world.
In that interview, which as I say is going to a place where they show you videos of how cool they are and how much fun they have, they told me that I was not qualifed despite having successfully led groups of travelers around China, Greenland, Iran, Balkans, Jordan, Egypt…
How can I not be qualified for the job of travel coordinator or guide if I am already doing it for other agencies?
Well, I wrote all this nonsense on WeRoad’s Facebook.
That is why three more people have written to me telling me that they have done the same thing to me: two from Spain and an Englishwoman who had it happen to her at the Bootcamp in the United Kingdom. That girl is quite like me, she is my English counterpart: guide and travel blogger but with more followers.
Testimony 1 * WeRoad *
A candidate who has perceived the same as me. WeRoad is a scam.
Testimony 2: * Huakai*
Another candidate rejected in Huakai being overqualified
Testimony 3 * WeRoad *
The four best candidates were almost the only ones who were rejected in Weroad and Huakai
Of all the candidates, the four of us were also the most traveled and the only ones with experience in this position.
Come on, they are looking for neophytes who don’t complain about not getting paid: who are malleable to manipulate them.
But when problems arise, we will see if the proposal of «free travel» is so nice.
On the one hand, they are playing with the security of the clients because the person who is responsible for them doesn’t have the skills that we have.
To be a travel coordinator there is no career that trains you, not even Tourism. The only thing that works is having traveled a lot and alone. I can manage myself easily, understand the environment, anticipate possible problems so that they don’t occur and quickly solve what arises even in countries that I did not now before. I didn’t make any mistakes and I anticipated everything taking groups in countries I had never been to, some as complicated as China. And that I did the double function of accompanying guide and travel coordinator, the latter means that I organized everything myself (itinerary, hotels, visits, restaurants…)
When I go as coordinator at each step I make a mental map of possible events that may or may not occur and all their ramifications of possible futures. It looks like the panel from A Beautiful Mind.
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TO BE A TRAVEL COORDINATOR YOU HAVE TO BE ABLE TO VISUALIZE THE FUTURE IN AN UNKNOWN PLACE
I’m going to add even more difficulty. The group trip I took through the Balkans in the summer of 2020 in the midst of a pandemic. There I was even able to foresee possible events not from a world I know but from a strange new COVID normality. And therefore unpredictable… But not for me. I was able to see possible problems of a hypothetical future that has never occurred in a present where there is no information on the Internet (what was there was no longer useful and no one has traveled to update it yet), the travel guides of that year were completely outdated and not even the local people knew how to answer questions.
It seemed impossible! And everything went perfect thanks to me. Not a problem, not a wait, not an early riser.
On the way back from Paso Noroeste (the worst travel agency in the world) announces that they are not paying me because they are short of money due to the pandemic. After much insistence that I have done a great job, they tell me that “Well, okay, we are going to give you €200 for how you have broadcast it through Instagram stories, but don’t tell anyone that the other guides are going to be angry if they find out that in addition to traveling for free you are earning money with it”.
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Weroad, are you going to tell me that I am not qualified for the position of travel coordinator?
It has to be a joke. Weroad is a scam!
But beware, when I said that I did not understand why they don’t considered me qualified for the position, they agreed to give me another opportunity.
Hold on, the thing is very insulting and it’s also illegal. Diletta from WeRoad told me that I have to travel as a normal client to Philippines. It means that I had to pay for a crappy and expensive trip to the Philippines, and that there the coordinator would decide if I have the fucking mood. In other words, I had to spend more than €1,000 out of my own pocket on a trip if I wanted to continue with the selection process. This is illegal.
In other words, after a weekend in Barcelona and another in Valencia, to continue in the selection process, he had to pay €1,000. WOW DUDE!
Diletta with her arrogant attitude told me something very insulting:
«Well, if you like to travel so much, you shouldn’t mind spending €1,000 on the trip to the Philippines.»
It is outrageous. They have wasted my time and money. If they wanted people to work for free, they could have told us and we would have been spared all this unpleasantness.
Conclusion: Weroad is a mob without a doubt.
*****
NOW I TELL YOU ABOUT HIS HUAKAI CLONE
Those from Huakai did offer me a «job»…
I WAS OFFERED TO MAKE THIS TRIP: Iceland 9-16 FEBRUARY 2020
I copy and paste exactly what Huakai asked me for and what it offered me in return:
“What we expect:
BEFORE THE TRIP:
Study the travel diary detailed day by day.
Creation and management of the “whatsapp” group with travelers two weeks before the trip
Answer travelers’ questions about the trip (you will have the support of Huakai)
Publication in Huakai’s private Facebook group introducing you as coordinator of the trip to Iceland
Answer the questions in the post of the created Facebook group
DURING THE TRIP:
Wait for travelers on the first day at the hotel reception and organize the welcome dinner
Execution of the trip diary
Solve problems that may arise during the trip (you will have the support of Huakai at all times)
Encourage customers to create content for social networks with Huakai merchandising and if possible mentioning the company
Create content (Stories) for our Instagram account
Willingness to drive (it’s a road trip)
Take care of the common box
AFTER THE TRIP:
Send a trip diary with suggestions to improve the current one
Publish a post on Facebook with the best moments of the trip
HUAKAI SUPPORT:
You will receive a travel diary with the travel information and the itinerary to execute
You will have a person from Huakai in the office to help you at all times with questions/reservations/problems
Extra (during the trip): A person from Huakai will accompany you to help you during the trip as support for content creation / driving
You will receive a polo shirt, a Huakai bottle and a Huakai bag.
COMPENSATION:
paid flight
Paid hotel (double or triple room)
Internal transportation paid
Entrance to the Blue Lagoon paid (80 euro)
25 euros per day for personal expenses (200 euros)
AND IT’S ALREADY. WHAT FACE HAS YOU MADE?
They have only lacked the right of pernada.
And I am not misguided, sometimes they describe the guides as «she is a very pretty girl…»
I can’t find the compensation for working at Huakai or in the compensation section.
They ask you to do millions of things, including winter driving in Iceland.
Of course I told them to fuck themselves.
But nothing happens, they always find a kid willing to do it, with the risk that this entails for the clients and for himself.
This is insane!
Huakai, the clone of WeRoad and therefore smaller but that copies the business model, told me that they did pay and that I had to go to the group job interview first.
Since I was afraid that it would be another tease, I told them that no date was good for me.
And still they caught me.
Iceland in winter 2020, having to drive.
Ok, and the remuneration? You have already seen it. Any.
Initially when writing this post, I had not included this experience with Huakai because after all they did not make me lose two weekends of my life.
But two days later two men from Huakai call me on the phone and try to trick me with every word:
– I have told them that I was recording the call and they have tried to convince me that it is illegal.
– After my refusal to obey they tell me that the problem is me. That I have a very bad attitude and that it is impossible to dialogue with me.
– That if I record the call they refuse to talk. This is very funny because they are the ones who have called me and who are interested in me deleting this article.
– They tell me that they do not remember having an experience with me when it is written in a WhatsApp conversation.
Well, everything has been said about how legal they are.
For my part, you can insert the mood where it fits.
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Che dire?Non ho parole per il trattamento che hai ricevuto.Spero solo che testimonianze come la tua aiutino le persone a riflettere prima di prenotare un tour con loro. Purtroppo, come spesso accade veniamo a conoscenza della situazione oppure se vogliamo usare i loro termini “la realtà” di questo tour operator un po’ tardi. Sono molto bravi a pubblicizzare i loro tour tramite social, e questo rende il tutto ancora più surreale. Ti aspetteresti mai che un “tour operator” così conosciuto ti vuole truffare? Ti aspetteresti mai che i tuoi diritti vengano calpestati quando tutto quello che hai fatto è stato affidare a loro il tuo tempo e denaro? Ebbene sì, ahimè è quello che fanno tuttora per poi rispondere con delle frasi fatte a tutte le persone che hanno subito un disservizio. Il tutto è a dir poco vergognoso.
Muchas gracias por compartir tu experiencia. Justo acabé un tour con WeRoad en Japón y fue decepcionante. La coordinadora tenía muy poco conocimiento del país y era su primera vez en Japón. Perdimos mucho el tiempo para visitar pocos lugares. Lo que importa es el postureo y fotos y vídeos promoción para WeRoad e Instagram para la coordinadora y una falsa sensación de fiesta continua pachanguera- que también nos hace perder el tiempo. Comparado con viajes de familiares y amigos que usaron el JR pass visitaron muchos más lugares interesantes que yo. Ir en grupo con tanta gente también es una carga y te hace perder el tiempo. No lo recomiendo para la gente que valora y respeta la cultura japonesa. Sentí vergüenza ajena en Kioto con el jaleo y ruido montado por el grupo y coordinadora y el poco respeto hacia los japoneses. Gente así es lo que disgusta a los japoneses y entiendo que prohiban sacar fotos en Gion por este tipo de turistas que piensan que están en una despedida de solteros en Benidorm. No lo aconsejo para nada. Mejor ir por tu cuenta o con un guía especializado conocedor de Japón y que valora la cultura japonesa y la respeta.
Hi, I recently applied to weroad and was quickly invited to one of the group interviews. The whole thing gave me a strange feeling, so I did some research and came across this page today. shortly afterwards i received an invitation to the boot camp. But I was shocked when I was told in the interview that the camp costs €150 to attend and that you don’t even know if you’ll be accepted. But the whole thing is sold as a «party» and «experience» and not as what it actually is: a job interview. I also have the feeling that there are more costs lurking after the camp, like for any Weroad Community activities… After all, I have to say that there is supposed to be a flat rate, but to be responsible for up to 18 people? I already know these tricks from another startup where I used to work: miminum pay, but we have a fruit basket and do «festivals» together… Yes, of course, I burnt out after a short time. So I think I’ll drop the whole thing now, I’d rather invest the €150 for the camp in other things.
It looks like a pyramidal business or cult! Just returned as an unhappy client from a tour of Japan. I can confirm you that they train free paid trips coordinators to make clients feel you are in a non stop club holiday party, but in Japan if you have this party mood it is not appropriate by cultural standards. This coordinator was a first timer in Japan and totally clueless about that country. If you are aware of the surroundings you adjust to the environment. The female coordinator did not and maybe it’s the type of profile they look for in this organization. Brainless work volunteers that think they are compensated with free trips like in cult sects, with hysterical laughs, but leading a group like ours in Japan is not easy. It was often a disaster because you cannot lead a group having no idea of Japanese unique country and worse not having some Japanese language skills. She was much more lost in translation than many of us the group members that seemed much more mature. I feel sorry for her reading this blog and your experience. You have been smart enough to see it was a shady business. As an unhappy client, I understand much better what has happened. The coordinator was not to blame for everything and the scam of an overpriced tour that was quite superficial and would have been much happier going to Japan alone with a JR pass.