The trade association is publishing a list of supplier organizations that make timely commission payments and encouraging all suppliers to adopt industry best practices
ALEXANDRIA, VA, August 28, 2023 — The American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA) supports and applauds the timely payment of supplier commissions from its member supplier organizations. To further support the travel advisor community,
ASTA will maintain a list of organizations who adhere to the commission payment
timeframe.
“We applaud our supplier partners who are committed to working closely with the travel industry and making sure that advisors get paid on time for the hard work they do,” said Zane Kerby, ASTA President and CEO. “Some suppliers withhold
full payment of commissions until travel is completed. With our members often working 12 to 24 months in advance on complex travel itineraries, this practice creates a number of problems for the hard-working advisor community that must be addressed.”
ASTA’s senior leadership worked with its Consortium Council as well as its Proud Partner Committee to create consensus and support for the timely payment of commissions.
“Many thanks to the staff at ASTA for the work put into this initiative,” said John Werner, President & COO of MAST Travel Network and Chair of the ASTA Consortium Council. “A lot of thought and due diligence was necessary, and it
couldn't be done without their experience and expertise with these kinds of matters. Thank you also to the Consortium Council for its support and for looking out for the interests of travel advisors in your networks.”
The statement is meant to champion companies that do more to recognize the contributions of the travel advisor community to their success—companies like Explora Journeys.
Chris Austin, Explora’s Chief Sales Officer, explained, “We are offering our travel advisors very healthy commissions, up to 18%, with no NCFs [Non-Commissionable Fares], the industry’s first Rolling Commission Payment Program where
travel advisors can earn commission now on the receipt of deposit funds or when a guest pays in full. We also pay the balance of the advisor’s commission within 21 days of the receipt of final payment funds—150 or 90 days prior to guest
embarkation.”
The statement, along with the list of qualifying organizations, is published and maintained on ASTA.org. Any supplier member of ASTA who has adopted the best practice
can ask to be included on the list by emailing ASTA at [email protected].
ASTA'S POSITION ON TIMELY COMMISSION PAYMENTS
We recognize these suppliers for timeliness of commission payments within 30 days of the published, contracted date set by the supplier for final payment and the payment is made in full.* We encourage
all suppliers to adopt this practice.
* The stated timeline generally does not apply to group bookings or for commissionable ancillary products or services. Commission payments made to host agencies and other intermediaries may be withheld according to the intermediary’s own policies. This statement is endorsed by ASTA's Consortium Council.