ACTA Applauds Suppliers Who Have Moved to Pay Commission Up Front

The Association of Canadian Travel Agencies (ACTA) on Tuesday applauded suppliers who have made changes to their policies in light of a recent push from ACTA to help advisors get through the pandemic.

After several suppliers have committed to protecting advisor commission on canceled bookings, and others have committed to pay at time of booking instead of when the trip is taken or after the trip is taken, ACTA celebrated the moves. In a statement this week, ACTA’s Wendy Paradis said that the actions are what ACTA had recommended in its three best practices for suppliers to adopt now that travel is combing back post-COVID:

1. Pay commission at the time of deposit and/or when the file is paid in full, regardless of travel date
2. Protect commission if the travel is rebooked, canceled or refunded (and definitely if the supplier has retained partial payment)
3. Pay commission on any prepaid or pre-booked add-on’s, upgrades, and excursions

“The pandemic has illustrated the vulnerabilities for travel agencies and travel agents with regard to former policies on commission recall and commissions paid only when clients travel,” Pardis said.

“Going forward, we hope to see all suppliers change their policies. Travel agents have been without revenue now for months despite taking bookings –this model cannot continue.”

Several other leading trade figures in Canada also commented on the moves this week.

David Harris, CEO of Ensemble Travel Group, told ACTA that “The pandemic really put a spotlight on one of the critical issues affecting travel advisors specifically – protecting and paying commissions in a timely manner.  While we know that all stakeholders in the travel eco-system were devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the recall of commissions hits small independent travel agencies and independent advisors the hardest as that revenue is needed to pay rent, employee wages, and general operating expenses.”

 “The suppliers who have stepped up and demonstrated an understanding of how critical advisors are to the entire travel system and recognizing the need to pay commissions in a timely manner upon final payment of trip and protecting them against refunds has been a bright spot in an unimaginable year and I truly believe that those suppliers will be rewarded in the long term.”

Cathie Lewis-Hardy, the VP of strategic partnerships at TRAVELSAVERS told ACTA that “TRAVELSAVERS continues to advocate with suppliers for updated commission policies where commission is paid at deposit and/or at final payment, as well as commission protection.  We believe these changes are fair and reasonable and will greatly assist advisors with much-needed monthly cash flow.”

And Christine James, VP of Canada at the TL Network said that “clearly it’s been an extremely challenging year financially for all travel retailers over the past 16 months.  Recognizing the overwhelming cash flow hurdles that travel advisors were faced with, it was a relief to see that the majority of suppliers stepped up to protect commissions on any existing bookings.  At the very least, it removed the initial burden of advisors scrambling to deal with commission recalls for their clients that accepted the future travel credits!”