TRAVELAW: Staying in one’s lane, safest way to avoid risk

In today’s issue of Travel Press Today (TPT), Doug Crozier and Tim Law of Toronto-based law firm, Heifetz, Crozier, Law have some timely and practical advice to offer travel advisors today that may help them find their way through these difficult times. Read on …

World events have quite literally blown up in the past few days. Travellers have been stranded and are looking to their travel advisors to get them home. Caught in that frenzy of client calls, texts and emails, advisors should remain mindful of their obligations to clients who are contemplating buying or using travel services already purchased in the coming weeks.

There is a section of the Ontario travel law that clearly defines the obligation of both travel advisor and client, which applies wherever the advisor is located in Canada. It states that the advisor “shall bring to the customer’s attention any conditions related to the purchase of travel services that the travel agent has reason to believe may affect the customer’s decision to purchase.”

In short, the advisor provides information (conditions) and the client decides. These same obligations apply to travel services already purchased.

An Ongoing Obligation

It is important to note that the obligation to bring conditions/information to a client’s attention is ongoing, i.e. if there are developments that might affect the client’s decision to travel after purchase they should also be brought to the client’s attention. Next is the content or substance of the conditions/information that must be brought to a client’s attention.

In other words, what type of conditions/ information must the travel advisor bring to a client’s attention? That obligation is one that judges have stated relates to information of which the advisor is aware because of the advisor’s position in the industry and which is not within the knowledge of the customer.

Awareness on the part of the advisor of conditions in a particular resort or hotel – because they have been advised of such by industry contacts – would therefore qualify as information that should be disclosed to the client.

The existence of the attack on and war in Iran and surrounding areas would not because existing and potential clients would be considered to know of these circumstances.  Of course, if a client says something that suggests the contrary, e.g. “I have heard Tehran is quiet at this time of year,” then the advisor will need to suggest some resources the client could review before purchasing travel services or deciding to buy a ticket to fly to that city, a government website providing travel information/warnings.

A Client’s Obligation

The second obligation belongs to the client – the decision to buy travel services and subsequently the decision to use those travel services. It is not for the advisor to advise a client to buy travel services or whether the client should or should not travel.

It is important that an advisor not usurp the client’s obligation to decide by answering client questions such as: “Would you go in this climate?” or “Do you think Mexico is safe right now?”

The only response to such questions by an advisor should be providing reference to resources that the client can use to assist in making the decision, e.g. that same government website providing travel information/warnings.

Regardless of how long a travel advisor has been in the business or dealt with the same client, it can be easy, as a client relations gesture, to assist with the decision-making obligation that the client must discharge.

Doing so however is outside a travel advisor’s legal obligation and, equally importantly, bears significant risk.

Staying in one’s lane is the safest way to avoid that risk.

Heifetz, Crozier, Law is a Toronto law firm that has for years represented all aspects of the Canadian travel industry. HCL also maintain a non-travel practice, covering litigation, real estate, Wills, corporate/commercial matters, etc. To contact HCL, e-mail [email protected].