Tour Operators and Other Suppliers Need to Honor Refunds and Commissions, ASTA Says

This week’s news that ARC was not going to hold travel agencies responsible for debit memos was a boon for advisors who had increasingly been left on the wrong side of consumer displeasure with flight cancellation and refund policies in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

But airlines aren’t the only category of supplier not holding up commitments to both the consumer and the trade.

ASTA, continuing its lobbying work, is now calling on suppliers across travel to honor commitments to both travelers and advisors.

The association, in a message released on Wednesday, said it understands that suppliers are dealing with a set of issues far beyond normal business circumstances, suppliers are now changing policies in the midst of the pandemic and the financial burden is too often falling on the traveler and the travel advisor.

While the regular policies are “painful enough” for advisors, ASTA said, “the growing number of suppliers that have elected to change their refund, cancellation and commission policies retroactively, overwhelmingly to the detriment of advisors and consumers alike. This is simply wrong in every possible way.

ASTA is asking for suppliers to reverse course on any retroactive changes suppliers have made to their policies and for suppliers to “do the right thing when cancellations occur that are not initiated by the consumer.”

That includes ensuring “that all travel components are full refundable and merely credited for future travel” and to “honor the original agency commissions on all bookings if the travel is rebooked” and, if the travel is refunded, to consider “a partial commission payment.”

The ask also includes for suppliers to start paying commission at time of deposit or final payment, to “Forgo the practice of assessing cancellation fees on rebooked or refunded itineraries and ensure that travel credits are at least equal to the price the customer paid; and set no time limit on any credit issued for cancelled bookings when taken in lieu of an offered refund or, alternatively, make the credit good for a minimum of two years from the original departure date.”

ASTA’s message was another one issues in a joint effort between the association and a number of major travel agency groups including BCD Travel, Cruise Planner, Ensemble, GIFTED, MAST, NEST, Nexion, OASIS, Signature, Travel Leaders, TPI, TRAVELSAVERS, Uniglobe, Virtuoso, and more.

It follows a message also co-signed by most major agency groups earlier this month calling for “increased airline flexibility’ for the traveling public and agents.