High on ASTA's to-do list
for 2016 is the introduction of a membership category for independent contractors
in the middle of the year.
Membership will be $199
for independent contractors affiliated with ASTA Premium Agency members who
sign a two-year agreement. Also, contractors who are members of the National
Association of Career Travel Agents (a group for independent agents that is wholly
owned by ASTA) are eligible to join for $199.
“For the past two years,
ASTA’s large consortia members have been showing an enhanced commitment to the
association by subsidizing and mandating membership,” Kerby said. “We believe a
tiered membership structure is the best way for members to pay according to to
their ability based on sales, and the new IC category is another way to help
those agents who want to join ASTA to do so.”
Additional details on the independent
contractor membeship are expected to be released in the coming weeks.
ASTA also outlined its lobbying
agenda for the coming year. The society will continue to fight against hotel
marketing campaigns that urge consumers to book direct for perks like free
WiFi.
In 2015, book-direct
campaigns took center stage when ASTA entered into discussions with Marriott
regarding its #itpaystobookdirect campaign, which offered perks to Marriott
Rewards members who booked on the company’s website. One of the videos from the
campaign was removed following those discussions; ASTA said it had offended
travel agents.
Other book-direct
campaigns were then brought into the spotlight, prompting ASTA to add the
campaigns to its lobbying agenda.
ASTA will continue to
oppose state-level proposals that apply sales and hotel occupancy taxes to
agency fees and other income. In 2015, the society fought — and won — sales and
hotel tax expansion proposals in six states.
Finishing a campaign with
the U.S. Travel Insurance Association to bring a single state standard to
travel insurance sales is also on the list. While 42 states and the District of
Columbia have approved the standard, which allows agents to sell travel
insurance under the umbrella of the travel insurance provider, eight states
remain.
ASTA advises agents
selling travel to residents of any of those states — Vermont, Massachusetts,
Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, South Carolina and Hawaii — to
consult with the insurance provider or a lawyer regarding regulations.
Other priorities include
supporting the Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act; updating the DOT Regulatory
Compliance Course, which instructs agents on adhering to rules for travel
sellers so they can avoid government fines; and working to lessen the impact of
the U.S. Department of Labor’s pending proposals regarding overtime eligibility
and independent contractors.
Consumer-awareness efforts
also are on the agenda, as ASTA's Chapter Presidents Council voted to allocate
money from chapter funds for projects that promote the use of travel agents.
ASTA CEO Zane Kerby said
promoting agents is one of the society’s “top priorities” going into the new
year.
Among its agent-promoting
projects, the society will revamp TravelSense.org , a consumer website that
connects travelers with ASTA members.