WASHINGTON -- More and more agents are selling travel
electronically, but will that produce new legal hazards for the
trade?
So far, said travel attorney Rodney Gould, there have been no
horror stories to tell, "but there will be."
Gould, who maintains his practice at Rubin, Hay & Gould in
Framingham, Mass., will be a presenter at the fifth annual National
Travel Law Symposium set for Jan. 15 here. The symposium theme is
Travel, Technology and the Law.
Customer expectations and evidence of full disclosure help drive
lawsuits and determine the outcomes; however, Gould said, selling
electronically makes it more difficult for agents to establish that
written descriptions and disclosures were made available in a way
that could be readily read and analyzed by clients.
The fact that customers will pay using electronic signatures,
rather than the real thing, promises to complicate things, as well,
he said.
These marketplace changes, Gould said, raise for agents the
question of what they have to do to be as protected when selling
electronically as they are when they provide information to clients
in print form and get real signatures for credit card sales.
There are solutions, he said, for making electronic selling
"just another wrinkle" in the way agents can do business, and he
will address this subject during his presentation.
Meanwhile, the daylong program will include a panel of attorneys
set to debate a range of issues associated with harnessing
technology for staffing, selling and marketing.
John Kim, vice president law for Cendant Corp. and counsel for
Cheap Tickets, Lodging.com and Trip.com, will join the group; four
previously named panelists represent Cruise.com, Expedia,
Travelocity and Worldspan.
The symposium, set for the Washington Marriott hotel, is
sponsored by Travel Weekly and ARTA. It is open to all interested
travel industry personnel.
The registration fee is $79, covering lunch and a binder with
symposium papers. To register, call (800) 969-6069 or e-mail [email protected].
Rooms have been blocked for delegates at the Marriott, at the
special rate of $139 single or double. Call (800) 228-9290 and
mention the symposium.