ARTA has been laying low but never stopped advocating for agents

The Association of Retail Travel Agents (ARTA) has largely stayed out of the headlines in recent years, but the 60-year-old organization said that it has never stopped advocating for its travel advisor members, mostly when they have a supplier dispute.

Recently, ARTA made a rare expression of public support for American Airlines’ decision to revisit its distribution strategy, which had been largely viewed as anti-trade. Behind the scenes, ARTA did not support what it called American’s “heavy-handed, forced adoption of the current problem-riddled NDC strategy,” said board member John Faulds, a travel advisor with Travel Destinations Inc. in Scottsdale, Ariz. 

ARTA said it puts out a daily e-newsletter, keeping members apprised of industry issues and potential travel problems. But it generally operates quietly and does not make many statements beyond its member base. 

According to Faulds, the main reason for that is also one of its biggest advantages. 

“One reason why sometimes we seem quiet is that we don’t have supplier members or their money,” Faulds said, so the organization has little budget for marketing or public relations.

But that comes with what he called a unique advantage: They have no qualms about directly addressing suppliers.
“It allows us to call a spade a spade. If there are suppliers that are not dealing with agents fairly, we can call them on it. When you’re an organization that has suppliers as members, it’s a little more delicate, I would say,” Faulds said. 

ARTA also has a seat on ARC’s Joint Advisory Board for the Agent Reporting Agreement, which it uses to “voice our opinions rather effectively,” Faulds said.

While ARTA doesn’t publicly disclose how many member agents it has, Faulds said readership of its daily e-newsletter amounts to “several thousand” advisors. Members are located around the country, mainly along the East and West coasts, with a particularly active chapter in Southern California.

Of late, all eyes in the travel agency community have been on American and its distribution strategy. The carrier last year pulled fares from legacy GDSs, among other moves, to drive agencies to use New Distribution Capability (NDC) channels. However, in May, American CEO Robert Isom announced a reversal of that strategy. ASTA had led the charge against the carrier.

In a statement, ARTA called Isom’s announcement “a step in the right direction” but noted it was still cautious about the airline and its policy.

ARTA takes issue with NDC in general, Faulds said, because “it kind of doesn’t work,” causing added work for travel advisors, especially when servicing bookings. As an example, Faulds said he did an NDC booking for clients going to Paris. One of them couldn’t make it, so he needed to alter the booking. He had to make several changes, spending five hours on the phone with an airline.

“And, of course, all for my full zero percent commission,” he said. “How do you service charge that?”
Helping agencies react to the changes at American over the last year is among the ways ARTA tries to prepare members for various travel industry issues. 

ARTA this month is urging members to be ready for a summer of travel disruptions from storms and potential labor disputes.

“The storms that have disrupted travel in recent weeks are likely to intensify as the summer wears on,” the association said in a recent statement, noting that recent storms in the Midwest resulted in “chaotic experiences” for travelers.

ARTA offered practical advice to advisors: ensure client cell phone numbers are included in each Passenger Name Record in case of disruptions, proactively review itineraries for short connections that need to be monitored and always offer travel insurance in advance.

“Once a storm has been named or a union declares a strike, travel insurance will not cover these losses,” ARTA said. “The time to buy is now while these events can be covered. Forewarned is forearmed.”

Founded in 1963, ARTA celebrated its 60th anniversary last year. The association is governed by its board of directors, which meets four times annually in addition to more frequent Zoom calls.