ASTA to Revive Agent ID Cards, But Not Everyone Sees Their Value

ASTA will once again issue travel agent identification cards to its U.S. members, joining industry groups such as IATAN, CLIA and the Outside Sales Support Network (OSSN), which have long offered such credentials to retail travel professionals.

For ASTA, the decision to reintroduce photo ID cards, which it will mail to members by year-end, is “one piece of an overall strategy to remind all travel agents of the importance of belonging to their national trade association,” president and CEO Zane Kerby told Travel Market Report.

For agents and suppliers, such identification cards have traditionally served a different purpose––giving suppliers a way to qualify legitimate travel sellers for discounts, fam trips and other perks, and giving agents professional credentials to show to suppliers.

Are such cards still useful in today’s travel industry? Which cards do suppliers recognize? And is yet another card needed? Here’s what suppliers and agents had to say.

Supplier recognition
Many suppliers do indeed recognize credentials such as the IATAN and CLIA cards and OSSN’s TRUE card when offering discounts and other benefits to agents. But such credentials are hardly the only considerations for suppliers, or for agents the only means of obtaining supplier perks and support.

The Globus Family of Brands, for instance, recognizes the IATAN, CLIA and TRUE cards, as well as state travel seller licenses, said Jennifer Halboth, director of channel marketing.

But sales are the real qualifier.

When an agency that has established a relationship with Globus books a minimum number of passengers during the previous year, all of its agents gain access to Globus discounts ranging from 25% to 60% for their own travel and that of a companion. Globus considers other factors as well, including completion of its specialist programs.

Policies differ
Tauck, which offers rewards, training and “in-person experiences” to qualified agents, accepts IATAN, CLIA and TRUE cards, said spokesperson Angela Caes.

She noted that “the vast majority of agents booking travel with Tauck use an IATAN or CLIA identifier,” adding that if an agent has none of those, the tour firm will create a Tauck ID for the agent.

Collette Tours “prefers the IATAN and CLIA cards, but will treat each agent on a case-by-case basis,” said spokesperson Amelia Sugarman.

If an agent is interested in taking a Collette fam and “holds a travel agent ID from a different entity, we would encourage them to apply,” she added.

One such entity is OSSN, whose 14-year-old TRUE Code, and the ID card that goes with it, has gained growing acceptance among agents and suppliers, according to president Gary Fee. Today 2,400 agencies are enrolled in the TRUE program, whose numeric ID code is designed to streamline the booking process for agents.

“Starwood, Hyatt, Hilton, Avis, Celebrity—all the suppliers except for Marriott—accept the TRUE code as recognition of a bona fide travel agency,” said Fee.

Newly on board are SeaWorld, Busch Gardens and Sesame Place. The attractions have just begun accepting the TRUE card, “because more and more agents were asking us to,” said Kristina Zito, SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment’s Northeast regional sales manager.

ASTA initiative
As for ASTA’s new agent ID card, suppliers are waiting to learn more. “We need a little more information about it, but we’re always interested in working with the travel agency community,” Zito said.

At MS Cruises, sales support specialist Denis Burnham said that an ASTA card “would be as desirable as an IATAN card, providing the criteria to acquire it meets similar industry standards.”

Ray Lee, business development manager for Unique Vacations, had not yet heard about ASTA’s new agent ID card. But he said that Sandals “would certainly consider” accepting it as proof of an agent’s professionalism for fam trips and discounts, since ASTA is “known and recognized throughout the industry.”

Agent view
Meanwhile many travel agents don’t seem to see a need for ID cards, much less another one. An agency’s sales volume and its relationships with suppliers are far more important when it comes to obtaining support, discounts and other benefits, agents suggested.

Industry veteran Jani Miller, president and CEO of Central Travel in Toledo, Ohio, noted the importance of being IATAN-accredited and a member of Ensemble.

It is thanks to those alliances––plus the agency’s sales volume––that “we do quite well with commission, T&D [training and development] and supplier support,” said Miller, who has been selling travel since 1977.

As for ASTA’s new card, Miller said she doesn’t think the industry needs another card and she would like to better understand ASTA’s rationale.

Suppliers know you
At Swift Travel Deals in Little Rock, Ark., 29-year-old owner Ileaa Swift said her agency doesn’t use any ID cards.

“I’ve never been asked for a card. I have relationships in the industry, and people invite us to come visit their resort. I don’t even know what the benefit of a card is,” Swift said.

Abe Korn, an agent at Travel Lines Express in Boca Raton, Fla., agreed. In the end, he said, “suppliers know you because you do business with them.”

But Carol McParland, owner of Baldwin, N.Y.-based Superior Travel and vice president of ASTA’s Long Island (N.Y.) chapter, said she supports ASTA in offering a card that identifies professional agents, and she hopes suppliers will be supportive as well. “We want them to legitimize professional travel agents,” she said.

Back at ASTA, CEO Zane Kerby noted that ASTA has issued photo ID cards to its U.S. members in the past, and it still does so for its international members.

ASTA provides “a place to find or vet a professional travel agent who adheres to our Code of Ethics,” Kerby said. “So we thought, why not make this card available to all agents again, so they can use it if the need or occasion should happen to arise?”