Membership Terms and Tier Schedule

NORTH AMERICAN GROUP TRAVEL ASSOCIATION MEMBERSHIP TERMS AND TIER SCHEDULE

Effective ____________, 2026

1. Who we are and what these terms cover

1.1 North American Group Travel Association ("NAGTA," "we," "us") is a nonprofit trade association organized under the laws of the District of Columbia to promote the common business interests of the group travel industry in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Our principal office is at 1235 Pennsylvania Ave SE, Suite 1340, Washington, DC 20003.

1.2 These Membership Terms and Tier Schedule (the "Terms") govern every membership tier and program of NAGTA. By joining at any tier, or by using a benefit of membership, you agree to these Terms, to the Code of Conduct in section 11, and to the Antitrust Compliance Statement in section 12. If you join on behalf of an organization, you represent that you are authorized to bind it.

1.3 NAGTA's Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws control over these Terms. Section 13 explains what "member" means under those documents and what rights a membership tier does and does not carry.

2. Eligibility and categories

2.1 Membership is open to any organization or individual whose business or role touches group travel in the United States, Canada, or Mexico, and to overseas operators that bring groups into North America. Consumers and individual travelers are not members. NAGTA does not license, certify, or inspect anyone; it records what a member says it is, requires that the record be accurate, and lets members report each other under section 11.

2.2 Every member joins in 1 of these categories, which drive the directory, the request-for-proposal channel, and the sizing bands in section 5:

A. Transportation. Motorcoach and charter bus operators, including school-bus contractors that run charter work; minibus, van, limousine, and executive-shuttle operators; sightseeing and city-tour operators; airport and hotel shuttle companies; airline group desks and group-air consolidators; rail, ferry, cruise, and river-cruise group departments; bus brokers and charter lead resellers, admitted with a mandatory "broker" label.

B. Lodging. Hotels, resorts, conference centers, campus and retreat lodging, campgrounds and RV resorts that accept groups; third-party group housing and sourcing firms; hotel group-sales representation firms and management companies.

C. Attractions, venues, and dining. Attractions, museums, theme parks, zoos, gardens, historic sites, park concessioners; theaters, shows, sports teams' group-ticket offices, racetracks, casinos; group-friendly restaurants and caterers; wineries, breweries, farms, outlet centers, and shopping districts; outfitters and activity providers.

D. Destinations. Destination marketing organizations, convention and visitors bureaus, and state, provincial, and national tourism offices; destination management companies, ground handlers, and local receptive services.

E. Planners. Tour operators and wholesalers; receptive operators; student, educational, performance, sports, mission, pilgrimage, and adventure travel companies; travel agents and advisors who sell groups, and their consortia; corporate event, meeting, and incentive planners; churches, denominational travel offices, and other faith organizations; schools, universities, alumni associations, parent groups, scouting, and camps; senior centers, parks and recreation departments, assisted-living activity directors, and senior clubs; reunion planners; fraternal and service organizations, unions, employee clubs, and bank or chamber travel clubs; and any volunteer who leads a group trip.

F. Individual professionals. Tour directors and escorts, step-on guides, motorcoach drivers, and group-sales managers, as personal members independent of their employers.

G. Allied vendors. Motorcoach dealers, manufacturers, parts, service, fuel, tolling, insurance, financing, compliance, and drug-testing vendors; reservation, dispatch, tour-operator, ticketing, payment, and ELD software; travel insurance; marketing, media, publishing, printing, and photography; legal, accounting, and consulting practices serving the industry.

2.3 A bus broker or charter lead reseller, and any member that resells another member's services, is admitted with a "broker" label that appears on its directory listing and that the member must repeat in every quote it gives through NAGTA channels.

3. The tier ladder

3.1 Every organization enters at the same free tier and is offered the same ladder. Planners follow the same ladder as suppliers, with 1 permanent exception stated in section 3.9.

3.2 Introductory Member (free, time-limited). The full benefit set for 12 months from the join date, or 24 months for founding members, meaning organizations that join before the public launch date fixed by the board (target 08/2027). Benefits: full directory profile (logo, photos, group amenities, capacity, contacts by department), receipt of every request for proposal in the member's categories and service area, the NAGTA Member seal for the member's own website and materials, the editable template library, the request portal, webinars, the newsletter, research summaries, and the dispute channel.

3.3 Listed (free, permanent). Where an Introductory Member lands when its period ends without a paid tier. Benefits: a basic directory record (name, category, city, website), the newsletter, the dispute channel as a party, and the marketplaces. Not included: request-for-proposal receipt, the seal, profile depth, the template library, the portal, webinars. The join date and record are kept, so a Listed member that later pays does not start over.

3.4 Associate Member (paid; $195, $495, or $995 a year by organization size, section 5). Everything in Introductory, without expiry, plus the full rate-benchmark and demand-report tables, the Associate Member seal, participation in advisory surveys, and acknowledgment in the annual report.

3.5 Sustaining Member (paid; $2,500 a year). Everything in Associate, plus a seat on a working group, quarterly advocacy briefing calls with the President, up to 10 locations or properties on 1 membership, a dispute concierge (staff-assisted resolution), and acknowledgment in the newsletter.

3.6 Leadership Circle (paid; $7,500 a year). Everything in Sustaining, plus the annual roundtable, unlimited locations on 1 membership, named acknowledgment on the website and in the annual report, first look at research 30 days before release, and invitations to join advocacy coalitions on matters affecting the member's cohort.

3.7 Full Member (by invitation only). NAGTA's highest tier, designated in its Articles of Incorporation. Admission is only on the Founding Member's nomination and the approval of NAGTA's disinterested directors, under the Bylaws. Dues are set case by case and are not published. Full Members hold the advisory rights described in section 14. There is no application; NAGTA invites.

3.8 Individual professionals enter as Introductory Members (free, 12 months) and then choose Listed or Associate at $95 a year. Higher tiers are not offered to individuals except by invitation.

3.9 Planners. Planners follow the same ladder as suppliers, with 1 permanent exception: the marketplaces are free for every planner forever, at every tier including Listed. Groupbinder, browsing the directories, posting requests for proposal, and receiving bids never expire and never cost a planner anything. What expires with the Introductory period for a planner is the NAGTA-specific layer: profile depth, the seal, the template library, research detail, the portal, and webinars.

4. Benefit matrix

5. Sizing bands for Associate dues

5.1 Bands are self-declared at joining, shown on the profile, and corrected on complaint. An organization that straddles bands picks the higher one.

5.2 The declared band is a representation by the member. NAGTA may correct a band on complaint after giving the member 10 business days to respond, and may invoice the difference for the remainder of the membership year. A knowingly false band is a materially false listing under section 15.

6. Introductory period mechanics

6.1 The period starts on the join date and is shown on the member's dashboard from day 1.

6.2 Notices go out at 60 days and 30 days before expiry, and on the day, each one showing the number of requests for proposal the member received during the period and the tier that would keep them coming.

6.3 On expiry the record moves to Listed automatically. Nothing is billed automatically at any point. A downgrade is not a charge; NAGTA never bills a member without the member's affirmative order for a paid tier.

6.4 Paying for Associate or above at any time, before or after expiry, restores the full benefit set immediately and runs for 12 months from payment.

6.5 Founding-member status (24 months) attaches to organizations whose join date precedes the public launch date fixed by the board, and is shown on the profile permanently as "Founding Member 2026" or "Founding Member 2027".

6.6 Dues are annual, paid in advance, non-refundable, and invoiced by NAGTA. NAGTA collects its own dues into its own bank account; no operating company or marketplace ever touches them.

7. Dues, payment, and renewal

7.1 Dues for Associate, Sustaining, and Leadership Circle are the amounts in section 3, plus any applicable tax. Dues for individual professionals are $95 a year. Full Member dues are set by invitation and are not published.

7.2 Dues are due in advance for a 12-month membership year that begins on the date of payment. Dues are non-refundable, including on resignation or on termination for cause under section 15, except that NAGTA refunds dues paid in error or paid for a tier NAGTA declines to provide.

7.3 Renewal is by the member's affirmative order each year. NAGTA sends a renewal notice 60 days and 30 days before the membership year ends. NAGTA does not store a payment method for automatic charging and does not renew a paid tier automatically. If a paid tier is not renewed, the record moves to Listed on the day after the membership year ends, and section 6.4 applies to any later payment. If NAGTA ever offers automatic renewal, it will do so only with the member's separate, express consent, with the terms, the amount, the renewal date, and a simple cancellation method stated before consent, and with the notices that applicable law requires.

7.4 For an individual professional paying personally: the membership term is 12 months from payment; the fee is $95; it is not refundable; you may cancel at any time by email to membership@nagta.org, and cancellation stops any future renewal notices but does not refund the current year.

7.5 Dues-deductibility notice. Dues paid to NAGTA are not deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes. They may be deductible as ordinary and necessary business expenses. Federal law requires NAGTA to state on each dues notice the portion of dues that is not deductible because of NAGTA's lobbying and political activities. NAGTA estimates that [__%] of dues for the current year is not deductible for that reason. This percentage is set each year by NAGTA's board on counsel's advice and appears on every dues invoice.

7.6 Locations on 1 membership. A Sustaining membership covers up to 10 locations or properties under common ownership or management; a Leadership Circle membership covers an unlimited number. Each location gets its own directory record and receives requests for proposal in its own service area. Associate and Introductory memberships cover 1 location; additional locations join separately.

8. Directory and listing accuracy

8.1 Every member keeps its directory listing accurate: category, contact, service area, capacity, size band, safety and licensing status where applicable, and any broker or intermediary status. A member updates its listing within 30 days after a change.

8.2 NAGTA's directory order is neutral. NAGTA never ranks members by tier, dues, or payment. Profile depth varies by tier; order does not. Priority placement exists only on the operating company's marketplaces (section 10) and is labeled there as sponsored.

8.3 NAGTA may remove or correct a listing that is inaccurate, that misstates a category or band, or that violates section 11, after notice to the member and 10 business days to respond, except that NAGTA may remove immediately a listing that is fraudulent or that impersonates another business.

9. The NAGTA seal

9.1 NAGTA grants each member in a tier that carries a seal a non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to display the seal for that tier ("NAGTA Member," "NAGTA Associate Member," "NAGTA Sustaining Member," "NAGTA Leadership Circle," or "NAGTA Full Member") on the member's own website, proposals, and printed materials, in the form NAGTA supplies and without alteration, for as long as the member holds that tier.

9.2 The seal states membership. It is not a certification, an endorsement of the member's services, or a statement that NAGTA has inspected or vetted the member. A member may not describe the seal as any of those things.

9.3 The license ends on the day the member leaves the tier. A member removes the seal within 30 days after moving to Listed or leaving NAGTA. NAGTA's name and marks may not otherwise be used without written permission.

10. The marketplaces, Groupbinder, and the operating company

10.1 Groupbinder (the planning platform), Charter Bus Directory, Group Hotel Index, the attractions directory, the request-for-proposal infrastructure, priority placement, and the payment and messaging integrations (together, the "marketplaces") are owned and operated by a separate for-profit company in which NAGTA's founder holds an interest (the "operating company"), and, until that company is formed, by NAGTA's founder personally and Censalis Inc. under interim arrangements. NAGTA holds no ownership interest in any of them and receives no share of their revenue. NAGTA endorses and distributes them as member benefits under a written, non-exclusive agreement that NAGTA's disinterested directors approve, and NAGTA receives services and other consideration from the operating company under that agreement. Wherever the words "official planning platform of NAGTA" or "NAGTA member marketplaces" appear, they describe that sponsored relationship.

10.2 Your use of any marketplace is governed by that marketplace's own terms and privacy policy, and your account there is your contract with the operating company. NAGTA is not a party to any transaction, quote, bid, booking, or payment made on a marketplace, takes no fee per request for proposal or per bid, and is not responsible for the marketplaces' operation, content, or availability.

10.3 The only member data the marketplaces read from NAGTA is your tier flag, which sets your member-benefit status and whether you receive requests for proposal, and your directory record for display. NAGTA never sells or transfers member contact lists to the operating company or to anyone else, and the operating company may market to members only through communications NAGTA approves. Activity inside a marketplace is used only in aggregate and for quotes you initiate, and is never joined back to the NAGTA roster for targeting.

10.4 The marketplaces are free for every planner forever, at every tier, as section 3.9 states. Suppliers may purchase priority placement on the operating company's marketplaces; that purchase is between the supplier and the operating company, is labeled as sponsored there, and never affects NAGTA's own directory order.

11. Code of conduct and member obligations

11.1 Every member at every tier agrees to:

(a) Accurate listings. Keep category, capacity, service area, size band, safety and licensing status where applicable, and intermediary status accurate.

(b) Broker disclosure. A member that resells another member's services says so on its listing and in every quote.

(c) Honor quoted terms. Deposits, cancellation windows, attrition, and cutoff dates follow the written confirmation.

(d) No unsolicited bulk marketing. Do not use the directory, member communications, or member contact data for unsolicited bulk marketing; the request-for-proposal channel exists for that purpose.

(e) Respond to disputes. Respond within 10 business days to a dispute filed through NAGTA's channel; accept NAGTA's published outcome or withdraw from membership.

(f) Respect participant privacy. Participant data received from a planner is used only to deliver the trip.

(g) Use the seal properly. Display the NAGTA seal only while entitled to it, and remove it within 30 days after moving to Listed.

(h) Comply with the Antitrust Compliance Statement in section 12 in every NAGTA meeting, program, and channel.

11.2 NAGTA publishes summary standards (model group contract terms, deposit and cancellation norms, attrition clauses, rooming-list and manifest formats, a gratuity guide, and a driver-hours explainer) that are voluntary and informational. The editable template library is a tier benefit.

12. Antitrust compliance

12.1 NAGTA brings competitors together. Every member, in every NAGTA meeting, program, survey, working group, roundtable, webinar, and channel, complies with NAGTA's Antitrust Compliance Statement, which is read at the opening of every meeting at which industry members take part and is reproduced here in substance: never discuss or agree on prices, rates, discounts, commissions, bidding intentions, or terms of sale of any company; never agree to allocate customers, territories, or markets, to boycott anyone, or to limit capacity or service; membership, listing, standards, and dispute decisions are made on objective criteria; benchmarks and research are aggregated, anonymized, and historical, and no member sees another member's individual pricing; and regulatory positions are discussed only as to the substance of the rule and never as to how any company will price or deal in response. If a discussion goes off course, any member may object, the discussion stops, and the objection is recorded.

13. What "member" means, and what a tier does and does not carry

13.1 Under NAGTA's Articles of Incorporation and the District of Columbia Nonprofit Corporation Act of 2010, NAGTA has 1 member within the meaning of the Act, its Founding Member, who holds every statutory voting right. Full Members are designated as members under D.C. Code section 29-404.01(c) and, by the terms of that section, are not members for purposes of the Act. Introductory, Listed, Associate, Sustaining, and Leadership Circle members are program participants under Article V, section 5.4, of the Articles.

13.2 Accordingly, no membership tier carries a right to vote for the election of directors or delegates, a right to vote on any merger, sale of assets, dissolution, amendment, or other fundamental transaction, a right to notice of or attendance at meetings of the Founding Member or the board of directors, a right to inspect NAGTA's records under the Act, or any right other than the benefits and rights stated in these Terms, the Bylaws, and the Articles. NAGTA uses the words "member" and "membership" in these Terms and in its public materials in the ordinary trade sense, and that usage does not change what this section says.

13.3 No provision of these Terms may be read to grant any tier a vote for directors or on a fundamental transaction, and any provision that would do so is void to that extent.

14. Advisory participation

14.1 Advisory surveys (Associate and above). NAGTA surveys members in the Associate, Sustaining, Leadership Circle, and Full Member tiers on programs, standards, research priorities, and regulatory matters. A survey result is information for NAGTA's board. It is not a vote, a resolution, an election, or a direction to the board, and it never concerns the election or removal of directors or any fundamental transaction.

14.2 Full Member advisory rights. Full Members take part in an annual member meeting, may adopt advisory resolutions on NAGTA's programs, standards, research priorities, and advocacy positions, and elect the seats on NAGTA's advisory committees that the board designates for Full Member election. Each of these rights is advisory: an advisory resolution expresses the sense of the Full Members and does not bind or direct the board or the Founding Member; an advisory committee is not a committee of the board, exercises no power of the board, and its members are not directors; and none of these rights is a vote for the election or removal of any director or delegate, on any amendment of the Articles or Bylaws, or on any merger, sale of assets, dissolution, or other fundamental transaction. The board sets the procedures for the meeting, ballots, and elections and publishes them to Full Members.

14.3 Working groups and coalitions (Sustaining and above). Working-group seats, quarterly advocacy briefings, the annual roundtable, and advocacy coalition invitations are program benefits under section 3 and NAGTA's advocacy policy. Participation is advisory and carries no governance right.

15. Termination, resignation, and suspension

15.1 A member may resign at any time by written notice to membership@nagta.org. Resignation takes effect on receipt. Dues are not refunded on resignation.

15.2 NAGTA may terminate a membership at any tier, after notice and 10 business days to respond, for a materially false listing (including a knowingly false size band or an undisclosed broker status), for repeated conduct complaints upheld through the dispute channel, for use of member data or NAGTA channels outside these Terms, for misuse of the seal or NAGTA's name, or for a violation of the Antitrust Compliance Statement. Dues are not refunded on termination for cause. NAGTA may suspend a member's benefits during the notice period where the conduct is continuing.

15.3 Full Member admission, renewal, and removal are governed by the Bylaws; removal of a Full Member for the causes in section 15.2 requires the vote of NAGTA's disinterested directors.

15.4 A terminated member's directory record is removed. A resigning member's record moves to Listed unless the member asks that it be removed.

16. The dispute channel

16.1 A member may file a dispute against another member concerning conduct covered by section 11. NAGTA notifies the other member, which responds within 10 business days. NAGTA staff facilitate a resolution; for Sustaining, Leadership Circle, and Full Members the dispute concierge assists directly.

16.2 NAGTA publishes an outcome ledger that records repeat findings against a member. A member that does not accept a published outcome may resign. NAGTA's outcome is not an arbitration award, is not binding on any court, and does not decide contract claims between the parties; it is NAGTA's determination whether the member met the Code of Conduct.

16.3 NAGTA does not act as agent, guarantor, or insurer for any member and is not liable for any member's performance.

17. Privacy

17.1 NAGTA collects the information a member provides at joining and in its profile, the record of the member's use of NAGTA benefits (including requests for proposal received), and communications with NAGTA. NAGTA uses that information to operate the association, deliver benefits, publish the directory (public fields only), send member communications, and comply with law.

17.2 NAGTA does not sell member data and does not transfer member contact lists to the operating company, to sponsors, or to anyone else. Public directory fields are visible to the public and to the marketplaces. Aggregate, anonymized statistics may be published. Service providers that process data for NAGTA (hosting, email, payment processing) do so under written terms and only for NAGTA's purposes.

17.3 A member may review and correct its information in its profile at any time and may ask NAGTA to delete its record on resignation, subject to NAGTA's record-keeping obligations. Canadian members' personal information is handled in accordance with Canada's federal private-sector privacy law; members in states with consumer privacy statutes have the rights those statutes provide, which NAGTA honors on request to privacy@nagta.org.

17.4 NAGTA's full privacy policy is published at nagta.org/privacy and forms part of these Terms.

18. Communications, CAN-SPAM, and CASL

18.1 By joining, a member agrees to receive from NAGTA the transactional and relationship messages needed to operate the membership: the welcome message, the introductory-period notices at 60 days, 30 days, and the day of expiry, renewal notices, dues invoices, dispute notices, and notices of changes to these Terms. These messages concern an existing membership relationship and are sent for as long as the record exists.

18.2 The newsletter and other program communications are sent to every tier with an unsubscribe link in every message, and an unsubscribe request is honored within 10 business days. Every message identifies NAGTA as the sender and carries NAGTA's postal address.

18.3 For members in Canada, NAGTA sends commercial electronic messages only with the express or implied consent that Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation requires, identifies itself and provides an unsubscribe mechanism in every message, and records the basis of consent. A Canadian member's joining is express consent to NAGTA's program communications, which the member may withdraw at any time.

18.4 NAGTA's request-for-proposal notifications are sent only to members whose tier includes RFP receipt, only in the member's categories and service area, and only for requests posted by planners. A member may adjust its RFP categories and service area in its profile.

19. Changes to these Terms

19.1 NAGTA's board may amend these Terms. NAGTA gives at least 30 days' notice of a material change by email to every member and by posting on nagta.org. A change to dues, benefits, or the tier ladder applies to a paid member from the member's next renewal, not during a membership year already paid for. A member that does not accept a change may resign under section 15.1.

19.2 These Terms are published at nagta.org/terms, with the effective date of each version. The current version governs.

20. General

20.1 NAGTA provides its benefits with reasonable care but makes no warranty as to the accuracy of any listing, benchmark, report, template, or standard, or as to the conduct of any member. To the fullest extent permitted by law, NAGTA's liability to a member for any claim arising from membership is limited to the dues the member paid for the membership year in which the claim arose.

20.2 These Terms are governed by the laws of the District of Columbia. Any dispute between a member and NAGTA arising from these Terms is brought in the courts of the District of Columbia.

20.3 If a provision of these Terms is held invalid, the remainder continues in effect. NAGTA's failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver.

20.4 Contact: North American Group Travel Association, 1235 Pennsylvania Ave SE, Suite 1340, Washington, DC 20003; (202) 873-2400; fax (202) 920-6777; membership@nagta.org; nagta.org.