Travel Agencies booking hotel rooms into Las Vegas, Reno, and other casino-oriented locations should be aware that many properties in those markets require that each agency booking location provide W-9 documentation before any commissions are paid.
For example, we have been informed by Harrah's Entertainment that this policy applies to their owned and managed hotel properties. They include Harrah's, Bally's, Paris, Flamingo, Caesar's, Rio, Horseshoe, and Showboat. No commissions are paid to any agency booking source that does not have a W-9 form on file with the hotel.
There is a filter-down effect to this policy. If the hotels using this model do not have the W-9 of the booking source on file, they in turn will not respond or pay to Commtrak when they receive our invoice on your behalf.
The net result is that regardless of any agency or Commtrak billing effort, some commissions legitimately due to your organization may never be paid or resolved.
Commtrak recommends the following actions when booking into casino markets:
- Insure that your booking agents verify the property's commission policy and requirements at the time of booking. Specific commission policies may not be reflected in GDS displays and may only be uncovered by questioning the hotel.
- Have copies of relevant W-9 forms at each location, and available to fax/email to the property.
- Keep records of all W-9 distributions.
Note: Many casino hotels will justify this W-9 policy by stating that it is a mandate from their city's gaming and licensing agency. Our research suggests that this is not the case. In direct conversations with the Las Vegas Gaming Commission, it was clearly stated that there is no such rule in place for non-gaming revenues. Regardless of the logic, if your agency books significant business into casino markets, it is important that someone oversees the reservation process to insure that your commissions are protected. |
