ASTA has sent a letter to the incoming Trump administration laying out a series of priorities, ranging from discouraging travel bans to concerns about airline ticket refunds.
On the campaign trail, Donald Trump vowed to reinstate the travel ban from his first presidency, saying he would expand it to prevent refugees from war-torn Gaza from entering the U.S. Â
Trump’s original ban from January 2017 was an executive order banning travel from seven Muslim-majority countries for 90 days, and it drew fierce opposition from the travel industry, which was concerned about an unwelcome message doing collateral damage to inbound tourism.Â
The ban was blocked by a U.S District Court judge in the state of Washington, but a revised ban was later upheld by the Supreme Court. President Joe Biden revoked the bans with an executive order when he took office.
Back in 2017, ASTA CEO Zane Kerby said the Trump ban “injected a great deal of uncertainty into the travel industry,” and that concern remains today.
“Any restrictions on travel to, from or within the United States would create tremendous uncertainty in an industry that is highly vulnerable and reactive to uncertainty,” Kerby said in this week’s letter to the incoming Trump administration. “Further, any ban or complicated restriction on travel to the United States would negatively affect our country’s position to fight for its share of the international travel market.”
Clarifying the air refund rule
ASTA also expressed a concern about airline ticket refunds. As dictated by a Department of Transportation rule that took effect Oct. 28, the merchant of record for airline ticket sales has been required to pay refunds to customers when flights are canceled or significantly changed since Oct. 28.
While travel agencies aren’t often the merchant of record for airline tickets, they are when they buy airline seats in bulk for large groups. ASTA is concerned these travel agencies don’t have the money to pay refunds on their own, putting their businesses at risk.Â
The rule does not dictate how airlines are to reimburse ticket agents, nor does it establish a timeline for them to do so. Another DOT rule did specify airlines must provide refunds “promptly,” but didn’t establish a timeline.
The Society has asked the new administration to modify the rule. ASTA suggests airlines be given seven days to remit payment to travel agencies that are merchants, and that agencies be given another seven days to refund customers.
ASTA also asked the new administration to implement a provision that the DOT streamline “offline disclosures” of airline fees to consumers booking air travel. Those disclosures must be made up front when travelers book air tickets non-electronically, like in person or on the phone.
Simplifying IC regulations
ASTA highlighted the regulations used to classify workers as employees or independent contractors (ICs), considering how heavily travel agencies rely on ICs. ASTA estimated there are 85,000 ICs in the United States.
In January 2024, new rules on ICs were issued by the Department of Labor, changing the way they are classified. ASTA said the new rules resulted in inconsistencies and confusion.Â
The Society asked for a return to 2021 regulations that were instituted during the first Trump administration, which streamlines classification to two main factors: the nature and degree of the individual’s control over the work and the individual’s opportunity for profit or loss.
ASTA also encouraged the administration to encourage a single standard to determine a worker’s status across all federal agencies.
One of ASTA’s priorities in 2024 had been the Labor Department’s overtime rule that increased the minimum salary threshold for overtime-exempt workers twice, from $35,568 to $43,888 in July and to $58,656 on Jan. 1, 2025. However, a federal district court invalidated the rule in November, reverting the minimum salary threshold to $35,568.
“To our surprise, the Biden administration has chosen to appeal this decision,” Kerby wrote. “It is our request that you abandon the appeal once you take office.”
Protection from hotel junk fees
ASTA had a request related to the Federal Trade Commission’s rule about hotel junk fees. Under the FTC’s rule, ASTA said consumers could file a complaint against a travel agency if that agency received inaccurate information from a hotel.
The Society would like an exemption for intermediaries or a “safe-harbor mechanism to protect an innocent third-party seller from enforcement action in this scenario.”
The FTC has indicated it will review situations like this, and ASTA encouraged the new administration to continue that examination.
ASTA believes that travel management companies should be exempt from enforcement of the FTC rule entirely, as their booking systems are “behind the scenes, and not subject to varying prices on various websites.”
A bigger voice for travel agencies
ASTA encouraged the new administration to establish the Passenger Experience Advisory Committee within the DOT, which was created via the reauthorization legislation. That committee will have a seat representing ticket agents.
“As evidenced by the disappointing rule on airline ticket refunds, the travel advisor voice is sorely lacking within conversations on air travel, despite accounting for 40% of all air ticket sales,” Kerby wrote.
ASTA also encouraged the new administration to nominate a travel professional for the role of assistant secretary for travel and tourism at the Department of Commerce once the Trump administration’s commerce secretary is confirmed. The office was created under the Biden administration via legislation in 2022.Â
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