Florida Rep. María Elvira Salazar (R) has joined a bipartisan effort in introducing the Flight Refund Fairness Act. The bill seeks to address concerns related to unexpected delays and cancellations when traveling.
Given that Miami is one of the busiest tourist destinations in the world, the newly introduced bill aims to alleviate financial concerns when traveling. Millions of tourists travel to Miami, and they rely on adequate and fair travel policies. For tourists who use travel agencies, liabilities related to unexpected delays and cancellations can create concerns for both the traveler and the travel agency. The bill would address concerns with small travel agencies, ensuring that said liabilities do not negatively affect individuals who use travel agents for their vacation planning.
Specifically, the legislation allows the exemption of small travel agencies or ticket agents from requirements obliging travel agencies broadly to produce a refund when flights are cancelled. The responsibility of providing a quick reimbursement will remain with the airline that canceled the flight. This would allow small business to avoid incurring heavy costs that are associated with the aforementioned liabilities.
In a statement, Rep. Salazar praised the effort, citing that "Miami is the premier tourism hub and the small businesses that support this industry must be protected." "The Flight Refund Fairness Act will remove a regulatory hurdle for small travel advisors that otherwise may jeopardize their business operations and burden travelers," she added. Thus, the bill would "ensure fair competition in the travel industry remains strong."
Nevada Rep. Dina Titus (D), the Co-Chair of the Travel and Tourism Caucus, who introduced the bill with Rep. Salazar, also issued a comment on the matter.
"I know the importance of travel advisors to the travel, tourism, and hospitality industries across the country, 80 percent of which are women-owned small businesses," she said. In introducing the bill, she further explained that it's an effort to "protect these small businesses which continue to attract more visitors to Southern Nevada to experience everything the Las Vegas Valley has to offer.”
The bill has even received the support of American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA) President & CEO Zane Kerby, who commented that the bill "recognizes that small businesses are the backbone of our nation's economy." "Ninety-eight percent of travel agencies are considered small businesses by the Small Business Administration, and those who use a travel advisor know they have someone in their corner working tirelessly to obtain their refund when a flight is cancelled."
