The American Society of Travel Advisors has opened its Hotel Watch List to the public for two weeks, giving the wider industry another look at the properties its members have reported for failing to pay earned commissions. The list, normally an ASTA member exclusive, will remain publicly available through September 22.
The roughly 50 properties on the current list span independent motels, airport hotels, and some of the industry’s better-known flags — and the top end of the market is more visible than it was when the list was last public in June. New additions this quarter include the Park Hyatt Vienna; the Hotel de Berri, a Luxury Collection Hotel in Paris; the Omni King Edward Hotel in Toronto; the Hyatt Regency Dharamshala Resort in India; the Radisson Blu Hotel, London Bond Street; and TradeWinds Island Resorts in St. Pete Beach, Florida.
They join holdovers such as the Boston Marriott Copley Place and Boston Marriott Cambridge, the Flamingo Las Vegas and Harrah’s on the Las Vegas Strip, the Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City, the Rixos Premium Dubrovnik, the TWA Hotel at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, and The High Line Hotel in Manhattan.
The list has also seen departures since ASTA first made it public in March, when high-profile names like the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center and the Orlando World Center Marriott appeared. Both have since come off, along with more recent exits like the Radisson Cincinnati Riverfront.
A property lands on the Watch List after a member reports commissions that remain unpaid 45 days or more following a client’s completed stay. Before adding a hotel, ASTA notifies it in writing and offers a chance to resolve the issue through its business-to-business dispute resolution process; properties that pay the advisor or otherwise settle the matter within 30 days stay off the list. The list is composed of hotels that are not current ASTA supplier members — in many cases, properties operating under major global brands but independently owned or franchised — and ASTA has emphasized that inclusion “does not constitute a determination by ASTA regarding any wrongdoing.” The association makes the list public quarterly.
The recovery numbers show why ASTA keeps turning up the pressure. Since launching its Report a Hotel Commission Issue tool in late 2025, the society has recovered nearly $60,000 in unpaid hotel commissions for members — up from roughly $15,000 when the list first went public in March and more than $45,000 in June. ASTA has set a target of recovering $100,000 by the end of 2026, putting it at about 60 percent of that goal with one quarter remaining.
Toni Temple of Cruise Planners received a payment of more than $16,000 — 113 days after the final traveler in a group completed their stay.
“I feel that until I reached out for help by ASTA, the property was ignoring me,” Temple said.
Joyce Davis, president of Joy! Cruises and Tours Inc., recovered $3,000 after ASTA pursued her case for several months; the hotel was added to the Watch List after initially failing to respond and removed once Davis confirmed payment. For Kelli Benitez, a previous public release of the list prompted her to chase an international commission she had written off.
“I thought it was a lost cause,” Benitez said.
“For travel advisors, commissions are not just compensation, they are the foundation of their business,” Beth Butzlaff, general manager, USA, at Virtuoso and chair of ASTA’s Consortium Council, said in prepared remakrs. “When payments are delayed or never arrive, advisors are forced to spend valuable time chasing down earnings instead of serving clients.”
The public release lands amid continued industry pressure on suppliers to modernize commission payment practices, with advisors, host agencies, consortia, and technology providers all pushing for better visibility and fewer delays.
ASTA members with hotel commission payment issues can use the Report a Hotel Commission Issue tool once more than 45 days have passed since the client’s completed stay. The reporting tool itself remains a member-only benefit.
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