ASTA Terms and Conditions for Membership

Under federal law ASTA dues are not deductible as charitable contributions, but 97% of dues may be deductible as a business expense. $12 of your dues is allocated to ASTA Network Subscription. Cancellations within 30 days are charged $50, after 30 days dues are nonrefundable.

To the best of my knowledge, my application is accurate and complete.

(1) I will comply with ASTA’s Code of Ethics,

(2) I will support continued improvement of the travel agency industry,

(3) I have not been expelled from ASTA within three years of application,

(4) I will follow the guidelines for the use and display of ASTA’s logo,

(5) I have not misused ASTA’s collective trademarks or copyrighted works but applicants may be relieved of this if extenuating circumstances are shown and restitution is made in accord with policies of the Board of Directors,

(6) I will at all times meet the requirements for the class of membership to which they were admitted, including payment of dues established from time to time for that class of membership, and if a firm, name an Official Representative who shall be the owner, manager, or a full time executive or administrative employee of the firm.

Specific Requirements for Membership Categories

a.   Travel Agency Member (also known as Core Member) is a firm or an individual conducting a travel agency business that:

(1)  earns at least $5,000 annually from bona fide sales, or management of the sale, of travel,

(2)  is located in the United States (including Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa) or elsewhere in North America,

(3)  has any licenses or registration to operate a travel agency when required by the relevant jurisdiction,

(4)  is not be owned or controlled by, and exclusively selling the services of, a major airline, cruise line, hotel, bus company, government, or entity established by a government, and

(5)  if an individual, is either not an employee of a Travel Agency Member or is an employee of a Travel Agency Member who wishes to

(a)  have the right to vote; and

(b)  be eligible to serve in elected office.

b.   Travel Agency Employee Member is an individual who is:

(1)  a bona fide employee of a Travel Agency Member, but need not personally meet the earnings requirements of a Travel Agency Member; and

(2)  registered as a Travel Agency Employee Member whereupon he or she shall enjoy the privileges and responsibilities of ASTA membership, provided that he or she shall not

(a)  have the right to vote or serve in elected office, and

(b)  be charged dues in addition to those paid by the Travel Agency Member by which they are employed.

c.   Non-Affiliated Member is an individual who is:

(1)  employed by a non-ASTA-member travel agency; and

(2)  pays dues at the lowest level of Travel Agency Member dues, whereupon he may exercise full voting rights and serve in elected office.

d.   Premium Agency Member is:

(1)  a firm that operates a travel agency business that has any licenses or registration to operate a travel agency when required by the relevant jurisdiction;

(2)  is not owned or controlled by, or exclusively selling the services of, a major airline, cruise line, hotel, bus company, tour operator, car rental agency, government, or entity established by a government; and

(3)  shall designate four Premium Managers from among its employees, in addition to the Premium Official Representative, one of which Managers shall have the right to vote and be considered a member for all purposes whereas the three other Premium Managers shall have the same rights to Premium Member benefits as the Premium Official Representative but may not vote or hold elected office.

e.   Consortium Member is:

(1)  a firm that provides to participating travel agents and/or travel agencies a preferred supplier program;

(2)  is paid a commercially reasonable membership/management or participation fee for access to the firm’s services, which fee is not paid by a deduction from commissions or other income generation;

(3)  has designated as its representative for its ASTA relationship an individual senior officer or member of its board of directors or equivalent governing body, which representative may exercise full voting rights and shall be eligible for election to the Board of Directors as provided in Article VII, Section 4 below; and

(4)  shall designate four Premium Managers from among its employees, in addition to the Premium Official Representative, one of which Managers shall have the right to vote and be considered a member for all purposes; the three other Premium Managers shall have the same rights to Premium Member benefits as the Premium Official Representative but may not vote or hold elected office.

f.    Premium Agency Employee Member is an individual who is:

(1)  a bona fide employee of a Premium Agency Member; and who

(2)  registers as a Premium Agency Employee Member whereupon he or she shall enjoy the same privileges and responsibilities of ASTA membership as Travel Agency Employee Members, provided that

(a)  Premium Agency Employee Members shall not have the right to vote or serve in elected office, and

(b)  Premium Agency Employee Members shall not be charged dues in addition to those paid by the Premium Agency Member by which they are employed.

g.   International Travel Agency Company Member is a firm that is:

(1)  an accredited travel agency in good standing with the International Air Transport Association (“IATA”), or its successor organization, or is operating in accordance with all applicable laws of the firm’s country of residence;

(2)  not located in the United States (including Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa), or elsewhere in North America;

(3)  operated with the intention of making a profit from the travel agency business; and

(4)  has any required licenses to operate as a travel agency.

Membership in the International Travel Agency Company category is closed effective June 2, 2016; however, member firms in this category as of that date shall be permitted to remain in the category until their current term of membership expires.  Members in this category seeking to renew their membership thereafter must qualify as either a Travel Agency Member pursuant to subsection (a), or as an Allied Company Member pursuant to subsection (i), of this Section 2.  

h.   International Travel Associate Member is an individual who is:

(1)  actively engaged in the business of selling travel;

(2)  a bona fide employee of an International Travel Agency Company Member in good standing with IATA or holds any required licenses to operate as a travel agent; and

(3)  not located in the United States (including Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa) or elsewhere in North America.

Membership in the International Travel Associate category is closed effective June 2, 2016; however, individuals in this category as of that date shall be permitted to remain in the category until their current term of membership expires.  Members in this category seeking to renew their membership thereafter must qualify as either a Travel Agency Employee Member pursuant to subsection (b), or as an Allied Associate Member pursuant to subsection (j), of this Section 2.  

i.    Allied Company Member is a firm that is engaged in providing products, services, or information, sold or used by travel agencies.

j.    Allied Associate Member is an individual who is:

(1)  a bona fide employee in an executive, administrative, or sales position with an Allied or Travel School member; and

(2)  has his application verified by the Official Representative of that member firm.

k.   Travel School Member is a firm that:

(1)  educates and trains individuals for a career in the travel industry;

(2)  meets any accreditation standards of the jurisdiction in which it is located; and

(3)  is not eligible for any other category of membership.

l.    Honorary Member is an individual who is elected to such membership by the Board of Directors in recognition of a unique contribution to the travel industry.

m.  Independent Contractor Member is an individual who is:

(1)  a non-employee worker engaged by or otherwise affiliated with an ASTA Travel Agency Member or Premium Agency Member or

(2)  is a current member in good standing of the National Association of Career Travel Agents (NACTA).

A two-year membership commitment shall be required for membership in this category.

In the event a firm or individual satisfies the eligibility criteria for more than one category of membership, the firm or individual applying for membership shall select from among those categories a single category under which admission to ASTA is sought.

Applications for Membership

Procedures for processing applications shall be determined by the ASTA staff under the direction of the President and Chief Executive Officer.

Membership Dues

a.   The dues for members shall be determined by the President and Chief Executive Officer after consultation with the Board of Directors.

b.   Payment and Allocation of Dues, and Processing Fees.  The President and Chief Executive Officer shall determine the times when dues will be required to be paid and how they will be allocated in ASTA’s fiscal or membership years and shall also establish fees for processing applications for each category of membership.

c.   Assessments.  Assessments of no more than $50.00 may be levied upon each voting member by an affirmative vote of at least 3/4 of the full number of Directors entitled to vote.  Any voting member who resigns rather than pay such assessment shall not be liable for it.

Registration of Assumed Names

Each Travel Agency member, Premium Agency member, International Travel Agency Company member, Allied Company member, Consortium member or Travel School member must register with ASTA any assumed name used.

Resignation

Any member may resign by filing a written resignation with ASTA; however, resignation does not relieve a member from liability for dues accrued and unpaid as of the date of resignation. 

Voting Rights

a.   Members in the Travel Agency, Independent, Non-Affiliated, Consortium and Independent Contractor member categories shall have one vote per membership.  Members in the domestic Premium Agency category shall have two votes per membership, one exercised by the Premium Official Representative and one exercised by a Premium Manager designated by the Premium Representative. Premium Managers so identified shall be considered a member of ASTA for all purposes.

b.   Members in the International Travel Agency Company and International Travel Associate categories of membership, as well as those Allied Company and Allied Associate members located outside of North America, may vote only in international chapter elections. Each member identified in this paragraph shall have one vote.

c.   Members of NACTA may vote only to elect one NACTA member to occupy the NACTA-elected Director position on the Board of Directors.

d.   No other membership category may vote.

e.   All references to “voting members” shall refer to members in the categories of membership identified in paragraphs a, b, and c above.  

f.    Whenever in these Bylaws the phrase “of the full number of Directors entitled to vote,” preceded by a fraction, appears, it means the stated fraction of the entire Board of Directors, not merely a quorum of that Board.

Eligibility to Hold Office

a.   Except as provided to the contrary elsewhere in this Section 8, only the Official Representative of a corporate voting member with voting privileges or an individual member with voting privileges may hold the office of National Officer, Director or Chapter Officer provided, however, that a voting member of NACTA may hold the office of NACTA-elected Director.

b.   Official Representatives of International Travel Agency Company members, International Travel Associate members, Official Representatives of Allied Company members located outside of North America, and Allied Associate members located outside of North America may hold international chapter office only.

c.   Independent Contractor Members may hold the office of Chapter Officer, but shall not be eligible to hold the office of National Officer or Director.

d.   No member in any other category shall be eligible to hold office.

e.   Candidates for the office of At-Large Director must have been a member, or an Official Representative of a member, in good standing of ASTA for two years prior to assuming office.

f.    Candidates for the office of Area Director must be either a current Chapter President within the geographic region he or she seeks to represent or a past Chapter President.  If a past Chapter President, the candidate need not have served as Chapter President in the same geographic region which the candidate now seeks to represent.  Pursuant to Article IX, Section 7, a Chapter President who is elected Area Director shall be deemed to have resigned the former office upon assuming the latter.        

g.   Candidates for the office of NACTA-elected Director must have been a member in good standing of NACTA for two years prior to assuming office and be a member in good standing of ASTA at the time of the election.

h.   Candidates for the office of Chair of the Board must have served for one year either as an At-Large Director or an Area Director in the electoral year immediately prior to assuming office.

i.    Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Section 8, no person currently employed by a supplier shall be eligible to hold the office of National Officer, Director or Chapter Officer.  For purposes of this subsection (i), the term “supplier” shall mean any entity, other than a Consortium Member, engaged in providing products, services, or information sold or used by travel agencies, irrespective of whether the entity is an ASTA member.

Membership Meetings

a.   Annual Meeting.  The Annual Meeting of ASTA shall be held at a time and place designated by the Board of Directors.

b.   Special Meetings.  Special meetings of the members may be called by the Chair of the Board or by a majority of the Board of Directors.  Special meetings must be called if requested by 10% of the voting members.  The Board shall designate the time and place of special meetings.

c.   Notice.  Notice shall be given at least 15 days before each annual or special meeting.  Notice of any special meeting shall state the purpose of the meeting.  Notice may be given in any ASTA publication.

d.   Quorum.  The quorum for an annual or special meeting or minimum percentage of participation for a mail ballot shall be 10% of the members entitled to vote.

e.   Voting.  Each voting member in good standing is entitled to vote in accordance with these Bylaws. 

Conduct with Regard to the Travel Agency Industry

No applicant for membership shall be accepted or, if already a member, retained, if the applicant, or a representative of the applicant, within three (3) years before his application, or at any time during his membership, engages in conduct that is likely to bring the travel agency industry into disrepute.  While not necessary to a determination that an applicant or member has engaged in such conduct, a conviction of any offense involving fraud, deception, misrepresentation, misappropriation of property, or breach of trust or other fiduciary obligation is substantial evidence relevant to that determination.  Pleas of nolo contendere, consent judgments, judicial or administrative decrees or orders, assurances of voluntary compliance, and similar agreements with federal or state authorities shall be deemed convictions for purposes of these provisions.

Enforcement of Member Responsibilities

a.   Members may be censured, suspended for up to one (1) year from membership rights, or expelled from ASTA, or have other appropriate action taken against them if found to have engaged in violations of these Bylaws or the ASTA Code of Ethics, or to have submitted false information on any ASTA membership application.  Member discipline shall be considered upon recommendation of the staff by the Executive Committee in the first instance, with ratification by the Board of Directors.

b.   Notwithstanding any other provision of these Bylaws, any membership may be terminated immediately if the member has:

(1)  failed to pay his dues or other financial obligations to ASTA when due; or

(2)  failed to continue to meet the specific category requirements for membership, and does not satisfy the requirements for any other category of membership.

Dispute Resolution

ASTA will assist in efforts to resolve disputes involving members in accordance with procedures as may be adopted by the Board of Directors.