N.Y. General Business Law § 157: Definitions

§ 157. Definitions. 1. "Travel consultant" means any person, firm,

corporation, partnership or association, other than a common carrier or

employee of a common carrier, who as principal or agent, sells or offers

for sale any travel tickets or orders for transportation, or negotiates

for or holds himself out by solicitation, advertisement or otherwise as

one who sells, provides, furnishes contracts or arranges for such travel

tickets or orders for transportation.

For the purposes of this article, "carrier" means any person, firm,

corporation, partnership or association engaged in the business of

transporting persons for hire.

2. "Travel promoter" means any person, firm, corporation, partnership

or association, other than a common carrier or employee of a common

carrier, who is primarily engaged in the direct solicitation of persons,

by mail or telephone, for the sale of any travel or vacation

investments, goods, products, or services, including, but not limited to

travel or tour benefits, real property, interests in real property, time

shares, lodging, commodities, or securities. For purposes of this

article, a "travel promoter" does not include:

a. A person, firm, corporation, partnership or association that is an

officially appointed agent of a common carrier and meets standards no

less than those required on January first, nineteen hundred eighty-nine,

for authorized agents of the airline reporting corporation.

b. A person, firm, corporation, partnership or association that is a

registered member in good standing of the Cruise Lines International

Association and who solely solicits and/or sells travel services and

products as an officially appointed agent of one or more ocean carriers

in the sale of the ocean carrier's travel services pursuant to the

agency appointment.

c. A broker-dealer registered with the securities and exchange

commission or the department of law who is engaged in the sale of

securities or commodities or sale or rental of real estate pursuant to

its registration.

3. "Travel services" means transportation, accommodations in lodgings

such as hotels, motels or motor courts, rental of motor vehicles, or any

other service related to travel. For purposes of this article, "travel

services" shall include investments in time shares.

4. "Time share" means an interest in any arrangement, plan, scheme, or

similar device, whether by membership, agreement, tenancy in common,

sale, lease, deed, rental agreement, license, or right-to-use agreement

or by any other means, whereby three or more purchasers, in exchange for

a consideration, receive ownership rights in or a right to use the same

accommodations or facilities in real property, or both, for different

intervals of less than a full year during any given year, but not

necessarily for consecutive years, and which extend for a period of more

than three years or which, for nominal consideration, may be renewed to

continue for a period of more than three years.

5. "Merchant account number" means an identifying number given by a

credit card issuer to a merchant for purposes of identifying the

merchant in the processing of credit card charges and purchases.