A Deadline, A Training Session, and A Duty-of-Care Warning

Advisors quoting Delta Vacations packages this week have a hard deadline: discounts of up to $200 (code SMSUMMER26) or up to $250 for Medallion members (code SMMED26) apply only to packages booked by August 31. The savings are tiered to package value and require a minimum four-night stay, so the exact discount an advisor can quote depends on where the trip lands in the pricing bands. This covers Delta Vacations' core U.S., Caribbean, and Central America package inventory — the kind of quick-turn leisure bookings advisors are fielding for late-summer and fall travel right now. With three weeks left on the clock, this is a get-it-quoted-now situation rather than a wait-and-see one: clients pricing out packages need to be in the system before month-end to lock in the tier, not just have a quote in hand.

• Up to $200 off with code SMSUMMER26
• Up to $250 off for Medallion members with code SMMED26
• 4-night minimum stay required; book by August 31

Collette is running a live 'Office Hours' session on August 13 walking advisors through its core booking and marketing stack: MyCollette, the Travel Advisor Portal, e-brochures, and the operator's AI tools. It's framed as hands-on training rather than a sales pitch — advisors get real-time Q&A on the systems they use to quote and market Collette's escorted tours. For agencies that can't make the live slot, an on-demand replay will be available afterward, so the content isn't a one-shot opportunity. Two independent trade outlets are covering the session, a signal Collette is pushing harder on advisor-facing tooling as its 2026/2027 escorted programs ramp up. Worth a calendar hold for any agency doing regular Collette volume, particularly newer staff still finding their way around the portal and quoting workflow.

The Justice Department has charged an unlicensed tour operator in the deaths of a 27-year-old woman and her five-month-old infant after a boat capsized in New York Harbor. Prosecutors allege the operator ran the vessel without a Merchant Mariner Credential or Coast Guard inspection, overloaded it beyond capacity, and had no infant life vest aboard. Nothing here touches the major escorted-tour brands advisors sell daily, but it's a pointed reminder that local excursions and boat tours booked outside those brands — day trips, harbor cruises, add-ons sourced independently — don't carry the licensing oversight or USTOA-style traveler protections built into packaged tour programs. When a client asks for a local excursion recommendation, confirming the operator's licensing and insurance status is worth the extra minute, especially for water-based activities where the liability gap is largest.