Nevada Travel Promoter Laws Can Be Confusing
by Melody Fee, OSSN Vice President

Travel Promoter Laws can be confusing! And sometimes it takes several people talking to the right offices to actually get the proper interpretation of a travel law!
This past week OSSN spent a lot of time on the phone trying to help some of our OSSN Nevada members to decipher their Nevada Seller of Travel Law, and so we would like to pass on some unique lessons learned to all of our members, especially those in Nevada.

We had all understood that the "$50,000. bonding requirement" had been repealed in NV, but when you call the Office of Consumer Affairs in this state, you don't get the impression that this is the case! So how does one get to the bottom of the situation and find out what is really required of them to register in a state to sell travel? (And Nevada is not the only state that makes the interpretation of their law difficult.) But in Nevada, they give you a four-page application to complete that is ALSO CONFUSING!

The Nevada seller of travel application tells you that you have three choices to select from for the type of "SECURITY" you will post or purchase if you are a NON ARC seller of travel. They are either: #1) $50,000. surety bond or #2) $50,000 letter of credit Or #3) $50,000. certificate of deposit.

So then you ARE confused because you were told these requirements are no longer necessary! When you turn to the next page, it asks you for your trust account bank number. (You must put your client funds into this account within two days after receipt of money from your client)

The final (confusing) paragraph tells you that IF YOU ARE CLAIMING AN EXEMPTION FROM THE "SECURITY REQUIREMENT-(SEE #1, OR #2 OR #3 ABOVE) THEN PUT YOUR ARC NUMBER IN THE BLANK PROVIDED…

So one is mistakenly led to believe that if you do not have an ARC number, then you have to post of the three "security requirements above! BUT they NEGLECT to tell you that having the TRUST account is the 4th way that you can obtain the EXEMPTION to those other three financial obligations listed above! It is simple IF they would just write it so that it could be understood! And so we briefly suggested to them that they change the wording on the application to clarify this very "gray area" on their application. AND they would spend a lot less time trying to explain the law to many sellers of travel. I would like to thank NV deputy, Sharon Jackson, for really taking the time to both listen and to explain the law in its actuality to both myself and several OSSN members who were trying to get off on the right foot in their new businesses recently! Sharon says that she is one of ONLY TWO officers that are set up to discuss travel promoter laws with inquiring agents and we are SURE she spends a lot of time explaining! Travel Agents may contact the Nevada Department of Business and Industry Consumer Affairs Division at 702 486 7355.