Jamie Biesiada
Last week wasn't Virtuoso vice president Cheryl Bunker's first time attending ASTA's Legislative Day. It was her third, but it did still mark a first: the first time she brought in her entire team of regional directors to experience the Society's annual fly-in, where travel advisors and supplier partners meet with legislators about issues important to the industry.
"Funding for ASTAPAC and the work that ASTA does to advocate for travel agencies is so important," said Bunker, who's head of global member partnerships for Virtuoso and an ASTA board member. "It's something that we [Virtuoso] couldn't do on our own. We really want to empower our members and our advisors to be part of ASTA so that we have that protection from a good, strong lobbying organization."
Each year, ASTA assembles members in Washington for Legislative Day. This year, the event had a record turnout, with 34 states represented by more than 160 travel advisors. The Society picks a few issues key to the travel industry, trains participants on how to talk about them, then sets them loose on Capitol Hill for a series of meetings with legislators. This year, more than 150 meetings were set up.
At Legislative Day 2019, advisors focused on two issues: First, asking that funds from the Aviation Passenger Security Fee be rediverted to aviation security issues, and second, seeking a single federal test to determine whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor (IC), instead of the multiple tests that exist today.
Bunker brought with her 11 team members, the regional directors responsible for supporting Virtuoso members in the U.S. and Canada. Though she's wanted to arrange it for several years, because of scheduling conflicts, this was the first time she's brought her team to Legislative Day.
"The regional directors help advocate for the importance of why an agency and their ICs should be part of ASTA," Bunker said. "I wanted them to be here firsthand to see what ASTA's all about and the great work that they do, so that they can relay that message to their members."
This year also marked Virtuoso CEO Matthew Upchurch's first time participating in Legislative Day.
"This is the most important thing that ASTA does," Upchurch said.
Currently, 96% of Virtuoso members are ASTA members, according to Upchurch. He plans on encouraging more to join.
Bunker said Legislative Day is not only a way to make important issues known to lawmakers but is also empowering to participants.
"The first time I did it, I was really nervous," she said. "I didn't know what to expect. But then, to see the reception of whoever you're meeting with on Capitol Hill and how receptive they are, how important you really are to them, is impactful."
She added, "It's important to see that you can make a difference."