Fundamental Topics: Seller and Traveler Registration Requirements in the United States (Presented by HospitalityLawyer.com)

Stephen Barth, Founder | HospitalityLawyer.com®

Stephen Barth, author of Hospitality Law and coauthor of Restaurant Law Basics, is an attorney, the founder of HospitalityLawyer.com, the annual Hospitality Law Conference series, and the Global Travel Risk Summit Series. As a professor at the Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management, University of Houston, he teaches courses in hospitality law and leadership. He is #3 on Global Guru’s Top 30 Hospitality Thought Leaders & Influencers for 2023. In addition to legal and travel risk mitigation insight, Stephen specializes in communicating the importance of Emotional Intelligence in leadership roles; and has provided valuable insight to many companies including The Methodist Hospital System, Wyndham Worldwide, Dine Equity, Business Travel News and Aramark. His fun, fast-paced presentations provide practical information and solutions to enhance your personal and professional life.

• Education & Credentials

He earned a B.A. in Economics, an M.A. in Communications, and a J.D. from Texas Tech University. His faculty profile also describes decades of work in hospitality law and leadership education, alongside litigation-support and expert-witness work in hospitality-related matters.

• Recognition & Leadership

He has received University of Houston teaching recognition, including the Career Teaching Excellence Award, and other teaching honors noted in his professional materials. He has also been recognized by Global Gurus in its hospitality rankings, including being listed as the #1 hospitality professional for 2022 and appearing in the 2023 and 2024 lists.

• Professional Involvement

His work includes building HospitalityLawyer.com as a platform serving hospitality lawyers and industry leaders with legal, safety, and risk-management resources. He is also associated with industry-facing conferences and summits that convene professionals around hospitality legal risk and travel risk management.

• Experience

Across more than three decades at the University of Houston’s Hilton College, his profile notes teaching and speaking activity at significant scale, including thousands of students taught, extensive publishing, and hundreds of industry presentations. His work also includes being retained in litigation contexts and contributing expertise on hospitality-related standards of care and operational risk.

Jeffrey Ment, Managing Partner | The Ment Law Group, PC

Jeffrey L. Ment is the Managing Partner of The Ment Law Group, PC, and a seasoned attorney admitted to the Connecticut and New York bars with 33 years of experience across travel industry law, law enforcement representation, personal injury, and civil litigation. As a former sales manager for two major airlines, travel agent, and tour guide, he brings rare, hands-on industry knowledge to his legal practice, giving him a practical perspective that few attorneys in the travel law space can match. He has tried more than 34 cases to verdict and handled countless additional matters through arbitration and mediation, representing clients ranging from major travel corporations to individual law enforcement officers across Connecticut and New York.

• Education & Credentials

Jeffrey Ment holds an undergraduate degree in management from the University of Connecticut and a Juris Doctor from the University of Miami School of Law. He is admitted to practice in Connecticut and New York, as well as before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.

• Recognition & Leadership

Attorney Ment has been recognized as a legal authority in the travel industry through his work as a legal columnist for Travel Age West, where he authored the ongoing “Legal Lingo” column. His commentary and expertise have also been featured in national publications including the New York Times, USA Today, and the San Francisco Examiner.

• Professional Involvement

Attorney Ment maintains active membership in a broad range of professional organizations spanning both the legal and travel industries, including the American Bar Association’s Air Space Law Section, the International Bar Association’s Leisure Industries division, the Academy of Hospitality Industry Attorneys, the American Society of Travel Agents, the United States Tour Operators Association, the National Tour Association, the Adventure Travel Trade Association, the Student Youth Travel Association, and the International Forum of Travel and Tourism Advocates, among others.

• Experience

With over three decades of practice, Attorney Ment has represented travel companies, tour operators, motor coach tours, hospitality groups, and insurers across a wide range of matters — from crisis management and travel contracts to seller-of-travel compliance and international regulatory issues. He has also represented over 1,000 law enforcement officers across Connecticut in matters including fatal shootings, internal affairs investigations, workers’ compensation, and employment disputes, and routinely handles political asylum cases before the United States Immigration Court. His extensive presentation history includes speaking engagements before SYTA, NTA, USTOA, ASTA, and Arival, as well as prior CLE programming for myLawCLE.

I. Understand U.S. Seller-Of-Travel Registration Requirements and Compliance Obligations | 12:00pm – 12:20pm

Operating as a seller of travel in the United States requires strict adherence to state-specific registration laws and the consequences of non-compliance can be severe. This section walks attorneys through the registration frameworks in key states, the financial security requirements that accompany them, and the compliance obligations that travel companies must meet to avoid civil penalties, cease-and-desist orders, or criminal exposure.

II. Identify Legal Duties When Representing Travel Companies and Their Clients | 12:20pm – 12:40pm

Attorneys advising travel companies carry a distinct set of legal duties that extend to both the business and its clients. This section examines the professional obligations that arise in the representation of agencies, tour operators, and online travel companies,  including disclosure requirements, fiduciary considerations, and the liability exposure that follows when those duties go unmet.

III. Examine Essential Contractual Relationships, Including Agreements | 12:40pm – 1:00pm

The travel industry runs on contracts and poorly drafted agreements are among the most common sources of litigation and financial loss. This section breaks down the critical agreements travel companies must have in place with travelers, vendors, suppliers, and tour operators, highlighting the key provisions that protect all parties, the clauses most frequently contested, and the gaps that leave counsel and clients exposed.

Break | 1:00pm – 1:10pm

IV. Recognize The Roles of Key Regulatory Bodies and Governance Structures Impacting Travel Businesses | 1:10pm – 1:25pm

Travel businesses operate under the oversight of multiple federal and state agencies, each with distinct authority, enforcement tools, and compliance expectations. This section identifies the key regulatory bodies shaping the legal landscape for travel companies, including the DOT, FTC, and state attorneys general, and explains how their governance structures directly impact the day-to-day legal obligations of travel businesses and their counsel.

V. Spot Common Compliance Gaps and Risk Areas in Travel Operations | 1:25pm – 1:40pm

Even well-intentioned travel companies routinely fall short of their legal obligations and the attorneys who advise them need to know where the vulnerabilities are. This section spotlights the most common compliance failures in travel operations, from registration lapses and inadequate consumer disclosures to contractual gaps with third-party providers, giving attorneys a practical framework for identifying and addressing risk before it becomes liability