Please review our policies and procedures on a regular basis. These policies are put into place to streamline the operation and provide a better experience for all agents. All agents are expected to adhere to these polices and the clauses contained within the independent contractor agreement.
Submitting Your Bookings
All bookings made with a travel supplier using the LEVARTÉ Travel booking credentials are required to be recorded on your Commission Claim Form in your Advisor Hub. Bookings are to be recorded on your Commission Claim Form (LevartéCRM) once you have created a confirmation number or held group space with the supplier, regardless if a deposit is made or not. Failure to record your bookings on your Commision Claim Form will result in a delay of supplier communication for your client, document delivery to the client and commission will be unclaimed on the booking. If your booking is not posted on the CRM prior to us receiving the commission, you will be charged a $10 research fee which will be deducted from your commission. Agents can submit bookings to your Booking Desk to receive unclaimed commission payment up to twelve months past due. In the event that after 60 days has past and you still have not received the commission, please submit a Commission Research Form located in your Agent Hub.
Commission Payment
Agents will be paid any pending commission weekly on Friday afternoons after 4:00PM CST. Agents must be in good standing* with LEVARTÉ Travel on the day of the commission run in order to receive their commission due.
*Agents in good standing are those agents whose LEVARTÉ Travel account is paid to date, has fulfilled their agent agreement, and does not owe monies on an outstanding invoice.
Commission Recalls
Suppliers will, at times, recall a commission previously sent to the agency. This can be done for a number of reasons including client cancellations, supplier cancellations, refunds, etc. If this occurs, the supplier will contact LEVARTÉ Travel requesting that a partial or full commission be returned. LEVARTÉ Travel will only notify the advisor if the commission has already been paid to the advisor. The advisor can either repay the portion of the monies due or LEVARTÉ Travel may deduct the amount due from a pending commission payout.
Collecting Payments
As an independent contractor, you must collect and apply all payments from your client toward their travel reservation. Advisors will apply payment within the specific supplier travel agent site or with the supplier by phone. Advisors will not act as the merchant themselves on any travel segment transaction. Independent contractors are not permitted to collect monies for travel via any type of merchant account (PayPal, Square, Stripe, or Bank Account) and make payment through their own personal or business accounts. Independent contractors who charge service fees and adhere to their state’s specific Seller of Travel Laws (SOT) can transact those fees in a manner that suits the needs of their business. There are some states that prohibit ICs of SOT from collecting any payment directly from their clients for travel. Please refer to the Seller of Travel Laws for more information. Credit cards are the best way to take payment from your client, as you can process their payment directly on the supplier’s booking site. This way, there is no doubt that money has been applied, and the client may be entitled to additional insurance benefits (have your client check his/her cardholder benefits for automatic and/or added travel insurance protection). In addition, it makes operating your business much simpler. Make sure you always have your clients fill out a Credit Card Authorization Form, located in your Advisor Hub in the Resource Center.
Net Payments
All bookings made with LEVARTÉ Travel’s credentials are to be paid to the Gross Total of the fare. This is the full retail amount of the travel. There are suppliers who list both the “Net” and “Gross” totals for bookings; this is most common on cruise bookings. The agent is responsible for knowing the difference and applying the gross total. The Gross amount does contain the commission total and that total will be recorded and paid to the agent.
Payments on Personal Travel
Advisors may pay “NET” for their own room or cabin. The advisors name must be on the booking in order for us to approve the NET rate. Any other rooms must be paid to GROSS. Any booking other than your own that is paid to NET is grounds for termination.
Credit Card Charge Backs
Advisors are held responsible for all processed travel transactions made to confirm their client’s travel. The advisor will be notified in a timely manner with details of the charge back. Advisors are given an opportunity to provide proof of credit card authorization, contact the client for another form of payment or to make alternative payment arrangements. If the advisor does not supply adequate authorization documentation, the bank does not accept the advisor’s documentation, and the client refuses or cannot make good on the payment, the advisor will be responsible to repay the full amount. The advisor will be given the option to repay the amount with future pending commissions due or be issued an invoice for immediate payment. A payment plan can be discussed and until the amount is paid in full the advisors account will be placed on hold for commission payouts. Clients may file a claim for several reasons, these include but are not limited to:
- Client is not familiar with the name of the merchant (Supplier)
- Incorrect amount was processed from what they agreed to
- Client was not satisfied with services rendered
- Client was not made aware of the cancellation policy and terms of the supplier
- Client not informed of non-refundable fees
- Non-refundable deposits
- Bulk air
- Insurance premiums
- Fraud
Working with Vendors
Advisors are allowed to work directly with any tour operator/travel supplier of their choice; however, advisors are making reservations under our ARC, IATA and CLIA numbers and therefore should not engage in any activity or action that may disrupt, hinder or cancel our relationship with any particular vendor. LEVARTÉ Travel must be noted as the Agency of Record and not the IC’s company name.
If booking directly with a hotel or resort outside of using an approved vendor, please ask if they need a LEVARTÉ Travel invoice, LEVARTÉ Travel W-9, or LEVARTÉ Travel bank details. If so, please fill out the invoice form found in your Advisor Hub and then submit a Help Desk Support ticket giving us the hotel’s name, booking confirmation number or group name, the email address of the person at the hotel requesting this information and we will send them the additional requested information. If money is wired to us and we are charged a fee this fee will be passed on to you the advisor.
Registering with Vendors
LEVARTÉ Travel is registered with hundreds of suppliers. ICs can choose what vendors they want to work with to book their clients’ travel. Upon receiving your New Agent Forms and completing your LEVARTÉ Academy Training, you may register with the vendor suppliers as needed per the instructions on the vendor list. Please know you do not need access to every supplier all at once. In fact, it is highly suggested that you don’t. We encourage you to take your time with each vendor’s training before moving on to the next vendor and starting to book travel. Many of these suppliers may not benefit your business depending on what you specialize in or sell. We don’t want you to overwhelm yourself with information and burn out on vendors you may never use.
Advisors should reference the Vendor List to ensure they are correctly registering with an approved supplier with the proper credentials. If the advisor finds a supplier that LEVARTÉ Travel is not already registered with, you will need to submit a Support Ticket to LEVARTÉ Travel giving us the vendors name and website address. LEVARTÉ Travel has a vetting process and based on our criteria, may choose not to register with a supplier.
Giving Your Agent ID When Making Reservations
When calling in a reservation an LEVARTÉ travel advisor must identify themselves to the supplier as working with LEVARTÉ Travel. Once the booking has been confirmed, that booking is to be immediately entered onto your LevartéCRM. We have hundreds of advisors throughout the country, many with the same first name. Most suppliers normally forward reservation information directly to us. We in turn, forward this information on to the booking agent. In order for us to complete this process efficiently, we must insist that advisors use their Advisor ID, in lieu of your name, when making a reservation directly with the supplier.
Changing Contact Information
You may not change any contact information on file with any supplier. Remember, when you are making reservations with suppliers, you are making them through our ARC, IATA or CLIA number. Do not give the supplier your company name. You may give them your personal email, or phone number as an additional contact for your reservation.
Binding to Contracts
Independent Contractors have no authority to bind, obligate or commit LEVARTÉ Travel, by any promise or representation to perform services other than the transaction of travel sales, unless specifically authorized in writing by an authorized LEVARTÉ Travel manager. Any contract with a travel supplier on behalf of LEVARTÉ Travel, must be signed by an authorized manager. Advisors should call into the office when reviewing group contracts to ensure that LEVARTÉ Travel is being used in the correct manner and not being bound to attrition, penalties and guarantees.
Client Complaints
The advisor should take full responsibility for their clients and their bookings. If you are unavailable for an extended period of time, it is your responsibility to make certain your business is covered. LEVARTÉ Travel does not handle an advisor’s client booking in their absence, unless there are other mitigating circumstances. Advisor’s clients should not contact us directly for assistance with their booking. If an advisor’s client does call us, we will direct them to contact their individual advisor. If LEVARTÉ Travel receives a client complaint, it will be forwarded to the advisor for resolution. In rare instances, LEVARTÉ Travel will assist the client to get the matter resolved; however, it is the responsibility of the advisor to handle and get the matter resolved in an expedited manner.
Non-Disclosure, Non-Disruption and Confidentiality
The IC understands and agrees in return for receiving any information or materials written, verbal, or electronic concerning LEVARTÉ Travel and/or its affiliates, agrees to keep secrets and not to divulge, disclose or communicate, either directly or indirectly, to any person, firm, partnership, corporation or any other entity whatsoever any information concerning the matters effecting or relating to the business of LEVARTÉ Travel and/or its affiliates, including but without limitation to, the booking credentials of LEVARTÉ Travel (IATA, ARC, CLIA), trade secrets, selling, marketing and advertising procedures, past or present employees, past, present pending clients, agents, subcontractors and affiliates, recruitment and training plans, advisor commission programs, daily operations, corporate policies and procedures, supplier and vendor commission and override contracts or any other agreements with these suppliers and vendors, and any other information that LEVARTÉ Travel and its affiliates may deem confidential. At no time is the IC permitted to openly display the booking credentials of LEVARTÉ Travel. The IATA, ARC and CLIA are to be treated as your social security number and only be provided to a supplier for agency verification when requested. The Independent Contractor agrees not to act, or fail to act in any manner either directly or indirectly, that may cause the disruption of business, direct any business away from, and/or to cause discord to the business of and/or business relationships of LEVARTÉ Travel and/or its affiliates. Any such breach will result in immediate termination and forfeiture of unpaid commissions.
Security Procedures
It is the advisor’s responsibility to take steps to prevent credit card fraud with their clients. When dealing with unknown clients, advisors should request copies of their driver’s license, front and back of the credit card, and obtain a credit card authorization form.
Your Own Identity
Advisors are required to obtain their own company/business identity. When dealing with your clients, you must operate under your own company/business name. You may represent yourself as an Independent Agency of LEVARTÉ Travel, but not as an employee, officer or manager of our company.