Welcome to the Southern California Chapter of the American Society of Travel Advisors,
your source for the latest travel-industry news and information for travel professionals
and travelers in the Southern California area!
your source for the latest travel-industry news and information for travel professionals
and travelers in the Southern California area!
Who We Are
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ABOUT US
The SoCAL ASTA Chapter supports our membership by offering Professional Development scholarships, networking and training events, as well as Consumer Awareness campaigns to promote the use of a Travel Advisor. We support the lobbying efforts of our National ASTA organization as well as National Consumer Awareness campaigns.
Our Chapter meets at least 4 times each year in the Los Angeles area as well as in our outlying areas such as the Inland Empire, Las Vegas and Ventura County. |
VISION
To build a strong network of travel professionals in Southern California.
MISSION
To enhance the professionalism and profitability of our members.
Please contact us at socalchapter@asta.org for more information about ASTA and how you can become involved on a local level.
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UPCOMING EVENTS
Hi CCTO Board of Directors and Member Organizations:
As per President Diane Embree, following please find the link for our member organizations to distribute to their members and industry partners in our new advocacy effort:
Take Action: California Travel Advisors ASTA-CCTO Day of Action on California AB 5:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/californiatraveladvisors
For those who desire to utilize the CCTO call-to-action which includes an embedded link to this website, it is attached here.
Thanks to everyone for your efforts -
Best,
Jerry Desmond, Esq.
Legislative Advocate
CALIFORNIA COALITION OF TRAVEL ORGANIZATIONS
DESMOND & DESMOND LLC
925 L Street, Suite 260
Sacramento, CA 95814
p 916.441.4166
f 916.441.3520
e jerry@DesmondLobbyFirm.com
www.DesmondLobbyFirm.com
CALIFORNIA COALITION OF TRAVEL ORGANIZATIONS THE STATE LEGISLATIVE COALITION OF NATIONAL, STATE AND REGIONAL ASSOCIATIONS OF SELLERS OF TRAVEL
Call to Action
Take Action Today to Prevent the Elimination of Travel Entrepreneurs July 19, 2019
Travel advisors, tour operators, travel destinations and our industry partners are urged to take action and advocate for an amendment to a pending legislation that would disrupt the independent model that has existed for decades and provide opportunities for thousands of entrepreneurs, many of whom are small, women-owned business owners.
Sign up today to visit and lobby your State Senator in the legislator’s office in your area on August 6: click here
The Issue – AB 5: California legislators are considering AB 5 [Gonzalez] that would place into statute the Dynamex ABC criteria for determining when workers are considered “independent contractors” and when they are considered “employees.”
Even individuals who consider themselves to clearly be “independent contractors” are subject to being deemed “employees” under this new rule if they are “in the same line of work [providing travel services]” as their host agencies. Even host agencies located outside California will be impacted if they have agents located in California. Our request is that state Senators take action to ensure that AB 5 is amended to include a provision clearly stating in the law that the Borello test rather than the Dynamex ABC test is utilized for determining the status of a Seller of Travel as either an independent contractor or employee.
Since the inception of the California Seller of Travel Law 25 years ago, this state registration program and consumer protection law has acknowledged independent agents - who are primarily women and are all small business owners - as an integral part of the travel industry. They:
California Coalition of Travel Organizations
The California Coalition of Travel Organizations [CCTO] is a nonprofit state government relations coalition of national, state and regional associations and consortiums of travel agents and tour operators. CCTO member organizations include individual California chapters of the American Society of Travel Agents, as well as United States Tour Operators Association, Student Youth Travel Association, Signature Travel Network, WESTA, Ensemble, PATH, Travel Leaders Network, and Virtuoso. CCTO has been actively lobbying in the State Capitol since its formation in 1987 and sponsored the legislation enacted in 1995 that established California’s Seller of Travel [SOT] Law and its landmark Travel Consumer Restitution Fund.
As per President Diane Embree, following please find the link for our member organizations to distribute to their members and industry partners in our new advocacy effort:
Take Action: California Travel Advisors ASTA-CCTO Day of Action on California AB 5:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/californiatraveladvisors
For those who desire to utilize the CCTO call-to-action which includes an embedded link to this website, it is attached here.
Thanks to everyone for your efforts -
Best,
Jerry Desmond, Esq.
Legislative Advocate
CALIFORNIA COALITION OF TRAVEL ORGANIZATIONS
DESMOND & DESMOND LLC
925 L Street, Suite 260
Sacramento, CA 95814
p 916.441.4166
f 916.441.3520
e jerry@DesmondLobbyFirm.com
www.DesmondLobbyFirm.com
CALIFORNIA COALITION OF TRAVEL ORGANIZATIONS THE STATE LEGISLATIVE COALITION OF NATIONAL, STATE AND REGIONAL ASSOCIATIONS OF SELLERS OF TRAVEL
Call to Action
Take Action Today to Prevent the Elimination of Travel Entrepreneurs July 19, 2019
Travel advisors, tour operators, travel destinations and our industry partners are urged to take action and advocate for an amendment to a pending legislation that would disrupt the independent model that has existed for decades and provide opportunities for thousands of entrepreneurs, many of whom are small, women-owned business owners.
Sign up today to visit and lobby your State Senator in the legislator’s office in your area on August 6: click here
The Issue – AB 5: California legislators are considering AB 5 [Gonzalez] that would place into statute the Dynamex ABC criteria for determining when workers are considered “independent contractors” and when they are considered “employees.”
Even individuals who consider themselves to clearly be “independent contractors” are subject to being deemed “employees” under this new rule if they are “in the same line of work [providing travel services]” as their host agencies. Even host agencies located outside California will be impacted if they have agents located in California. Our request is that state Senators take action to ensure that AB 5 is amended to include a provision clearly stating in the law that the Borello test rather than the Dynamex ABC test is utilized for determining the status of a Seller of Travel as either an independent contractor or employee.
Since the inception of the California Seller of Travel Law 25 years ago, this state registration program and consumer protection law has acknowledged independent agents - who are primarily women and are all small business owners - as an integral part of the travel industry. They:
- Are registered with the state as Sellers of Travel
- Set their own hours and schedules
- Set their own rates
- Select the customers with whom they will work
- Have unlimited earning potential as independent contractors – and would make less money as employees
- As entrepreneurs, select and market their own brands
- May choose to affiliate with more than one host agency
- Select the services they desire to sell
- May decide to specialize in specific types of travel services
- Select the service providers whose products they desire to sell
California Coalition of Travel Organizations
The California Coalition of Travel Organizations [CCTO] is a nonprofit state government relations coalition of national, state and regional associations and consortiums of travel agents and tour operators. CCTO member organizations include individual California chapters of the American Society of Travel Agents, as well as United States Tour Operators Association, Student Youth Travel Association, Signature Travel Network, WESTA, Ensemble, PATH, Travel Leaders Network, and Virtuoso. CCTO has been actively lobbying in the State Capitol since its formation in 1987 and sponsored the legislation enacted in 1995 that established California’s Seller of Travel [SOT] Law and its landmark Travel Consumer Restitution Fund.
A Message from your SoCal Chapter President
While the summer sun sizzles…
Many of us have been more than a little “hot under the collar” while raging war on AB5, first with our California State Assembly, then with our California State Senate. Despite concentrated efforts by both members, (we hope that you, reading this did participate by contacting your representatives), and our executive team from Washington who traveled to Sacramento to lobby on our behalf, this bill passed in both houses.
Effectively, if amendments are not placed into this bill before becoming legislation, independent contractor status in our travel industry, within the State of California will become unlawful.
So, how can you help? Continue to lobby your own state assembly representative and senator, express your support of our industry’s continued dependence on travel advisors who wish to be independent contractors. Urge them to understand that this independent status is not being coerced, but a matter of individual choice. Additional argument could be that IC’s in this state could simply find host agencies in other states, thus diluting the profits of California companies and their taxes paid to the state.
And for the fun topics this summer…!
We have long wished to create “ASTA on the Go” Events throughout our SoCal region enabling more members to attend and participate in what our great organization has to offer. We are thrilled that our first ASTA on the Go, scheduled for July 25 at the Riverside Mission Inn has sold out…now has a waitlist for members who would like to attend.
It’s with appreciation to Azamara, Celebrity and Royal Caribbean Cruise for their sponsorship that we look forward to sharing this evening with so many of our members in the inland empire. Please visit and like YOUR new, refreshed SoCal ASTA Facebook Page, #astasocal. Follow to keep up with what we’re planning for our great members and do share with colleagues…the more we communicate, the stronger we are…and it’s fun in the sun time for us all!
Keep sending those great clients on vacation…and take some precious fun time for yourselves…I know how hard you work!
Kindest regards,
Tama Taylor Holve
SoCal ASTA Chapter President
While the summer sun sizzles…
Many of us have been more than a little “hot under the collar” while raging war on AB5, first with our California State Assembly, then with our California State Senate. Despite concentrated efforts by both members, (we hope that you, reading this did participate by contacting your representatives), and our executive team from Washington who traveled to Sacramento to lobby on our behalf, this bill passed in both houses.
Effectively, if amendments are not placed into this bill before becoming legislation, independent contractor status in our travel industry, within the State of California will become unlawful.
So, how can you help? Continue to lobby your own state assembly representative and senator, express your support of our industry’s continued dependence on travel advisors who wish to be independent contractors. Urge them to understand that this independent status is not being coerced, but a matter of individual choice. Additional argument could be that IC’s in this state could simply find host agencies in other states, thus diluting the profits of California companies and their taxes paid to the state.
And for the fun topics this summer…!
We have long wished to create “ASTA on the Go” Events throughout our SoCal region enabling more members to attend and participate in what our great organization has to offer. We are thrilled that our first ASTA on the Go, scheduled for July 25 at the Riverside Mission Inn has sold out…now has a waitlist for members who would like to attend.
It’s with appreciation to Azamara, Celebrity and Royal Caribbean Cruise for their sponsorship that we look forward to sharing this evening with so many of our members in the inland empire. Please visit and like YOUR new, refreshed SoCal ASTA Facebook Page, #astasocal. Follow to keep up with what we’re planning for our great members and do share with colleagues…the more we communicate, the stronger we are…and it’s fun in the sun time for us all!
Keep sending those great clients on vacation…and take some precious fun time for yourselves…I know how hard you work!
Kindest regards,
Tama Taylor Holve
SoCal ASTA Chapter President
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Get In Touch
Feel free to contact SoCAL ASTA with any questions, comments, or suggestions.
You’ll find the contact information for our board members and committee chairs on the SoCAL ASTA Board page.
You’ll find the contact information for our board members and committee chairs on the SoCAL ASTA Board page.
EMAIL
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PHONE
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LOCATIONOur Chapter meets at least 4 times each year in the Los Angeles area, as well as in outlying areas such as the Inland Empire, Las Vegas, and Ventura County.
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SoCAL ASTASouthern California Chapter of the
American Society of Travel Advisors |
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