TICO's Richard Smart Talks Vouchers and the Value of Travel Agents

Monday’s changes to the Travel Industry Act did a lot to help travel agents, says the head of the Travel Industry Council of Ontario. But TICO is working hard to bring even more relief to agents, advisors and others in the beleaguered travel industry.

TICO president and CEO Richard Smart was the guest of the day on TravelPulse Canada’s exclusive 1 on 1 Facebook live chat, chatting with TravelPulse Canada Editor in Chief John Kirk.

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Smart said governments are often faulted for moving slowly, but that the Ontario government was quick to address the issue of vouchers and chargebacks.

“First of all, we’re a consumer protection organization, and we were very concerned, particularly during this COVID-19 period, that suppliers, airlines, cruise companies, registrants and tour operators were in a position where cash is very scarce right now. We know people are not booking. We know that in the supply chain most of the monies that are collected by credit card companies or others are being passed to suppliers.

“So, when consumers rightfully and naturally are looking for refunds, that clearly isn’t a simple task for most registrants or suppliers. This concept of future credits or vouchers has been out there. But one of the issues we had with the legislation as it was prior to Monday was that those vouchers weren’t really worth anything if the supplier was to fail down the road. So, we made changes.

“Whether or not a consumer has redeemed a voucher for future travel service or has an unredeemed voucher or coupon for future travel, if the registrant has issued that voucher and there’s a failure … we want consumers to feel comfortable that those vouchers have value and would be eligible for a claim against the industry finance compensation fund that TICO manages. And, by the way, that’s now, next month, next quarter. This exemption that we’ve put in place in the legislation is right through to April 1, 2021, God forbid Covid-19 goes on that long.

“But even if someone receives a voucher next Christmas or early next year, that voucher will still be valid. And the travel can even take place a year later, right through April 1, 2022. So, we have this two-year period that the government and TICO are saying under the circumstances, under this crisis, that is a reasonable form of compensation or reimbursement; whatever you want to call it. We think that’s an important message to send. It’s now law. it’s consistent with what the airlines and the Canadian Transportation Agency is saying, and we hope that’ll go a long way for various other parties, credit card companies and insurance companies to consider that voucher to be a true form of compensation.”

Smart said that without the amendments announced earlier this week, there was a risk that the vouchers might prove worthless to consumers down the road. Agents can now be comforted in knowing that their customers are protected, he said.

“We’re here for the consumer but we also want to see a strong and vibrant industry, and the only solution we could see in the short term during this crisis was to make a clear statement that a voucher is an acceptable form of reimbursement to a consumer, because I mean, if the agencies had the money, I think Frank (DeMarinis of TravelBrands) said it yesterday, they would refund the customer. And, in fact, after COVID-19 passes, we’ll revert back to the provisions with the legislation that a refund is a distinct, is an option to a registrant if the money is there.”

Smart touched on “trust accounting” during his video, which is posted on our Facebook page. He also talked about TICO’s $25 million compensation fund.

“Those monies are available when there’s a failure of a TICO registered travel agency or tour operator, or an airline or a cruise line, and consumers who have made their purchase through the TICO registrant can make an eligible claim against that compensation fund if there’s a failure. And this is the concern right now. It’s speculation, but this pandemic is so overwhelming, to so many ... that failure is a distinct possibility.

“This is why our general mantra is we want consumers to always book through TICO registered travel agencies and tour operators because they have the protection of the fund and it’s available to them. They’re forgoing their consumer protection if go direct to the hotel or direct to the airline.”

Smart said he’s running out of adjectives to describe the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Our inboxes are full, our phones are going off the hooks. We understand that consumers, travel advisors, registrants in general are really challenged in this time frame. We’re doing our part to respond to those queries and questions. We’re feeling the anger and the angst as well. What really amazes me with the travel community is the resilience and taking the high road and really trying to understand and be sympathetic to the needs of consumers out there.”

Smart said travel advisors are the best ambassadors for consumer protection.

“They’re working for free right now, and we’ve shared that situation with the government, with the minister. We made some announcements on Monday but we’re not stopping there. We’re having continuous dialogue to see what else we can do.

“I’m optimistic. I know they understand the gravity of the situation. They want to do good by all the industries impacted but I think the travel industry is feeling the pain more than some of the others.”

TICO, of course, has had to make cuts of its own during the crisis.

“We have to share in the solution and share in the pain, but in the long term both the industry and TICO are a resilient and passionate bunch,” Smart said. “We’ll get through this and we’ll recalibrate ’ll be better for the learning experience and what we take away from it."