Incentives
 Objective
The primary objective of the incentive plan is to reward agents for being more productive and for directionally selling our marketing partners, preferred suppliers, and preferred air carriers. It is not meant to create rivalry among agents, nor is it meant for the customer to know that their sale will put money in your pocket. Any indication of these acts will result in immediate suspension from the incentive plan program. (note: this plan replaces all other compensation plans presently in place, including merit increases.)
Sales Commission Achievement
Quarterly Incentive up to 30% of base salary for producing standard commissions that exceed minimum performance standards. Fifty percent (50%) of the calculated incentive will be held back and paid after year-end based on achievement of total-year minimum performance standard.
Preferred Vendor Sales
Monthly Incentive is based on directionally selling tours and cruises on selected preferred vendors. Typically the incentive will be 7% of the commission amount for each sale booked on a qualifying vendor, providing the agent sells at least 60% of their tour and cruise bookings on preferred suppliers AND the agent�s Sales Commission Achievement Incentive is at least 2 times their salary. Payments will be made within 45 days after the commission has been received by the agency. For more information see Preferred Suppliers For more information see Preferred Suppliers.
Agent Professional Incentive Fees
All agents, leisure, commercial, and client dedicated, who secure professional fees based on their experience and knowledge, will be entitled to 25% of such fees (providing a 2.0 ratio is attained) based on the following guidelines:
A. Consolidator Air Bookings – a minimum markup of $100.00  is required.  Agent will receive 25 % of amount collected over the mandatory $100.00 markup.
B. All Net Tour/Cruise Bookings (including groups) – Agent will receive 25% of the amount collected over the standard agency commission of 13%.
C. All Commissionable Bookings – Agent will receive 25% of the amount collected over the commission paid by the Tour Operator/Cruise Line.
Any booking charged to our Credit Card Merchant Machine will be subject to a 3.5% penalty deducted from the professional fee.
Plan Effective Date: May 1, 2016

Eligibility Criteria: To qualify for incentive opportunities outlined in this plan, agents must meet the following eligibility criteria (note: outside/independent agents and all support employees are ineligible for this program):

  1. Be actively employed by Travel Leaders/Donovan Travel and have regular full-time or part-time status, with an effective employment start date as of the 1st day of the accounting quarter being measured.
  2. Be actively employed by Travel Leaders/Donovan Travel when incentive payments are made in order to receive payment. No pro-rated payments will be made.

Quality of Service: Service Quality is essential to our customers and to our business. Quality may be perceived differently by individual customers, but must include the following: professionalism, timeliness, accuracy, and comprehensive service. Supervisors are responsible for ensuring that all customers receive the highest quality service.

Qualification of Payment

  1. Management reserves the right to withhold payment if an employee is on a formal written disciplinary / development plan. Payment will not be granted for the time period the disciplinary plan is in effect.
  2. Individuals must have no unauthorized absences on Mondays (and/or workdays following a holiday) during the quarter to receive their incentive payment. �Unauthorized absence� is defined as any absence without the prior approval of the individual�s supervisor, including no-call, no show and sick call (exception: verifiable emergencies).

Plan Amendment, Modification or Termination: Management reserves the right to amend, modify, or terminate this plan at any time. In the event payments are delayed due to circumstances beyond reasonable control, Travel Leaders/Donovan Travel will not be liable for payments in excess of earned incentives.

Payments: Agents will receive a statement by the 45th day after the close of the incentive period (month or quarter). Payments will be made in the pay period following the 45th day after the close of the incentive period.
 Sales Commission Achievement
Quarterly Incentives for achieving standard commission goals. Agents can earn up to 30% of base salary for generating standard commission that exceeds minimum performance standards.

Agent Designation: Supervisors will designate each agent as �primarily leisure, primarily commercial, or client dedicated� based on his/her primary work emphasis. Agent designation definitions are:

  • Primarily Leisure: Less than 75% of sales are generated by commercial accounts.
  • Primarily Commercial: 75% or more of sales is generated by commercial accounts.
  • Client-Dedicated: 100% of sales is generated by a client-dedicated account AND the agent has support available for ticket preparation. Agent can be located in an onsite or full-service office.

Following are the minimum performance standards for each of the agent designations:

  • Primarily Leisure: 3.0 x Base Pay
  • Primarily Commercial: 3.0 x Base Pay
  • Client Dedicated: 4.5 x Base Pay

Payout Levels: Quarterly payouts will vary according to each agent�s quarterly base compensation and quarterly sales commission achievement against his/her performance standard.

The following indicates the quarterly incentive earnings potential (expressed as a percentage of base pay) that agents can earn according to their designation and performance level:

Performance Levels by Agent Designation: Performance level is determined by dividing the agent�s year to date standard commissions by year-to-date base pay. Base pay will reflect any LWOP taken. The performance level will be measured using comparable number of weeks� standard commission and base pay.
Leisure
Less Than 3.00
3.00- 3.49
3.50- 3.99
4.00- 4.49
4.50- 4.99
5.0 or greater
Commercial
Less Than 3.00
3.00- 3.49
3.50- 3.99
4.00- 4.49
4.50- 4.99
5.0 or greater
Qtrly Incentive*
0%
6%
12%
18%
24%
30%
* A % of Base Earnings
Commission Tracking: Standard commissions will be measured on all invoiced air, tour, cruise, and miscellaneous sales. This will include all cars and hotels booked by the agent on which commission is received.

Invoiced sales, which reflect the individual�s agent number in the PNR, will be credited to the appropriate agent. The commission will be recognized when the company receives the commission (on final payment for cash/check payments or actual date of receipt for credit cards and hotel/car commissions.) Refunds and/or recall of commission will occur on the date the company pays out the commission refund.

Year-end Holdback: Fifty percent (50%) of the calculated quarterly incentive will be held back and will be paid after year-end based on achievement of the agent�s Total-year Minimum Performance Standard. The holdback portion will be paid approximately 30 days following the end of the year.

Payout Timing: Incentives under the Sales Commission Achievement component of the plan will be paid on a quarterly basis approximately 45 days following the end of the quarter.

* Agent incentive rate applies to packages as noted. However, special offerings that reduce the Travel Leaders commission, rail-passes, and corporate hotel rates are excluded. Agent incentive rate on cruises applies to the cruise portion only, unless the air is commissionable at the same rate as the cruise portion. This list is as of January 1 and is subject to change.

This list is subject to change, however, changes will only be made effective the first day of an eligible quarter.