I understand that it means you hold a certain amount your account until the end of the safari.

Does this apply to both the daily rate and trophies?

Or just the trophies?

Saeed,

MEA has a seperate business account in which we hold trophy fee deposits. Occasionally we will also hold some daily fees because for tax purposes the safari operators don't want the money until the year of the safari. None of this gets mixed in with our personal money.

Mark

Just because it happened to an acquaintance not related to hunting-

Unless the account is set up through a third party, if the account holder goes bankrupt (in this case an agent) at least here- it is considered as part of their assets and gets frozen and then divided up amongst all the creditors, not just the guy who it is being held in “escrow” for.

There is a bunch of legalese to get a true escrow account set up.

Saeed,

As far as we are concerned all daily rates are paid in full before a client arrives in camp.

On bigger hunts where the t/fees can amount to several thousand dollars, we hold an estimated trophy fee amount on behalf of the client in a client account. After the safari we remit the t/fees due to the outfitter and refund the client straightaway if a refund is due. The purpose of this is so that a client does not have to travel with a large amount of cash. Apart from a safety standpoint, as you may well know in most countries these days you have to declare if you are entering with more than $10,000, in the case of America we have to declare this on departure as well!

This exercise is also done to safeguard the outfitter to ensure that he will be paid after the hunt. And it's not just a matter of trust but also an insurance if something happened to a client! I have had an unfortunate situation where a fairly young client passed away a few weeks after he returned owing quite a bit of extra money as he had shot more than he had planned to. His wife with whom he was estranged paid me but it could have easily gone the other way.



Arjun Reddy
Hunters Networks LLC
www.huntersnetworks.com
30 Ivy Hill Road
Brewster, NY 10509
Tel: +1 845 259 3628

Watch GUNSTIX Shooting Sticks in action
Short version https://youtu.be/HYoF1nR9JFo?si=aUeCBW_G5OJAK26f
Long version https://youtu.be/NJ96K8T-ttc

2025 SHOW SCHEDULE:
DSC (Atlanta 9th - 12th January) booth #4829
SCI (Nashville 22nd - 25th January) booth #414
Western Hunting and Conservation Expo (Salt lake city 13th-16th February) booth # 220

quote:

Originally posted by crbutler:
Just because it happened to an acquaintance not related to hunting-

Unless the account is set up through a third party, if the account holder goes bankrupt (in this case an agent) at least here- it is considered as part of their assets and gets frozen and then divided up amongst all the creditors, not just the guy who it is being held in “escrow” for.

There is a bunch of legalese to get a true escrow account set up.

All true but if you had wired the money overseas and something happened to the outfitter then what recourse do you have! This is a funny business built on trust and a handshake. Works for the most part!

Thank you gentlemen.

I asked the question because I believe some people believe that you as agents, hold ALL the money until AFTER the hunt.

This includes daily rates.

This is in total contrast to all professional hunters operating in open hunting countries - not farms - who insist that ALL daily rate money MUST be paid well in advance.

Saaed,

I don't think it matters whether its a farm or free range. All the outfitters I work with expect that their daily rates will be paid before the client arrives. No different to booking a hotel.

FYI, in Ethiopia the trophy fees are also paid upfront and are non refundable, whether you shoot or not. The outfitters mostly sell animals that they know they can show a client, but at the end of the day its hunting and I am sure clients have come back without something on their wish list!

quote:

Originally posted by reddy375:
Saaed,

I don't think it matters whether its a farm or free range. All the outfitters I work with expect that their daily rates will be paid before the client arrives. No different to booking a hotel.

FYI, in Ethiopia the trophy fees are also paid upfront and are non refundable, whether you shoot or not. The outfitters mostly sell animals that they know they can show a client, but at the end of the day its hunting and I am sure clients have come back without something on their wish list!

Thank you.

That is the way I understood it.

But I get the idea that some clients think all the money is kept with the outfitters for safety.

They look at it from one side, they expect the professional hunt to trust the,, while they do not trust him.


As I mentioned earlier, quite a number of clients end up as crooks, refusing to pay money due to the professional hunter, who had trusted them, once they get home.

In the old days of Travellers Cheques, I have heard of instances where the client claimed his cheques were stolen, so the bank would not honor them.

quote:

Originally posted by MARK H. YOUNG:
Saeed,

MEA has a seperate business account in which we hold trophy fee deposits. Occasionally we will also hold some daily fees because for tax purposes the safari operators don't want the money until the year of the safari. None of this gets mixed in with our personal money.

Mark

A true escrow account is an account operated by a third independent entity to receive and divest funds as per agreed contract conditions. There are companies that offer escrow services providing protection to the primary parties involved in financial transactions e.g. clients, outfitters and safari operators.

Unless MEA's "separate business account" is held by an unrelated entity it is not an escrow account in the true meaning and intent of the word. If there is a dispute between a client, the PH and/or MEA then MEA holds all the money no matter what account it maybe in.