Travel advisors are reacting positively to the newly passed stimulus bill that is headed to President Donald Trump's desk.
The bill includes stimulus checks for up to $600 for people who earn less than $75,000 per year (married couples earning up to $150,000); an additional $600 per dependent child under age 18; $300 per week extension in unemployment insurance and federal unemployment insurance; more than $286 billion in loans for businesses that need to pay rent and staff; $69 billion in testing and vaccine distribution; and $82 billion to schools and colleges.
Many see this as a much-needed lifeline that will at a minimum help them keep afloat through the end of the year and into the early part of 2021.
Debbie Fiorino, chief operating officer of Dream Vacations, CruiseOne and Cruises Inc., pointed to specific aspects of the bill that will be of particular help to travel advisors.
"The newest relief bill is significant for travel advisors as it is targeting businesses whose sales are down more than 30 percent," said Fiorino. "As we all know, the impact to the travel industry has been significant and this bill is intended to truly help those small businesses who need it desperately to stay in business. The news is great for our country, but especially our industry and the many travel advisors who deserve to be able to receive some relief."
Jennifer Doncsecz, president VIP Vacations Inc., pointed out that extended unemployment benefits will certainly help.
"In general I think this is very positive for the travel industry," said Doncsecz. "The extension of the unemployment benefits with the additional $300 per week will certainly help those in our industry who have been laid off or furloughed during this time. I am also interested in learning more about the additional PPP loan as this pandemic has dragged on far longer than most anticipated."
Doncsecz also acknowledged that this bill was more specific on certain important aspects.
"I was impressed with the clarity of the tax deductions on the expenses that were covered by the PPP as the IRS had definitely contradicted what had originally been said in the original CARES act," she said. "For VIP Vacations, we have not furloughed or laid off any of our salaried sales team and learning about a second round for the PPP is wonderful news. With this new relief package and the administering of the new Covid-19 vaccine, I am hopeful for our industry and am beginning to see a path out of this tragedy and embrace 2021 with optimism."
Sarah Kline of Time for Travel sees this new round of stimulus as bridging the gap until travel returns.
"I think the package will help travel advisors get back to work and prepare to "get busy" again," said Kline. "A new round of PPP will fund bringing agents back to the office. Since we don't get paid until people travel this PPP will hopefully bridge the gap of a slow first quarter and, hopefully, commissions will start flowing again by spring."
Cal Cheney of Bucket List Travel and Tours also sees the added unemployment as filling the gap between now and when people begin to travel again more earnestly but also notes that the timing of commissions is really hurting travel advisors who don't have another source of income.
"I think the 11 weeks of unemployment is good in that it will get us to the point when clients start booking again," said Cheney. "However, this crazy business, with income not coming until people actually travel, will still leave a big gap. Fortunately, many of us have low overhead, working from home, as well as a spouse who has income. For those that don't have another source of income, it's time to find one."
Richard Turen, senior partner at The Churchill & Turen Industry Consulting Group, also saw the stimulus as helpful but was critical of how long Congress took to pass this second round, highlighting the struggles travel advisors face.
"The median income for a full-time travel agent in 2019 was $34,283 according to research by Glassdoor and responses from more than 2,000 agents," said Turen. "You have to imagine that this long-delayed package will be helpful to many in our industry, some of whom are literally finding it difficult to feed their families. Meanwhile, since March 1, the richest 636 families in America increased their personal wealth by more than $1 trillion. Yes, Mitch, this is helpful, but it has to be seen as a step in the right direction not the 'answer' for our struggling industry."
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