Skimming: The Hidden Practice Costing Event Hosts Millions in Excess Speaking Fees

Anyone who books paid speakers—or accepts paid speaking engagements—should understand a largely hidden industry practice I call “skimming.”

In 2018, I discovered that a previously trusted third-party booking entity had charged event hosts more than the gross appearance fees established in its signed contracts with New Leaf. Across fewer than ten bookings, the undisclosed overcharges totaled nearly $100,000. Neither the event hosts nor New Leaf knew the additional money was being collected.

When direct discussions failed to resolve the matter, we entered arbitration. Every booking we had completed with this entity during the preceding two years was affected.

I am intentionally not naming the company because the problem extends beyond a single entity.

 

The Arbitration

Resolving the matter required:

  • Three years
  • Nearly $25,000 in arbitration costs
  • Hundreds of hours of preparation
  • A three-arbitrator panel
  • Considerable stress and uncertainty

I ultimately prevailed on the majority of my claim because of a contract clause I had created specifically to prevent skimming.

I prevailed on every agreement containing that clause. For earlier agreements without it, the entity was permitted to retain its specified commission and remit the remaining overcharges to New Leaf. After collection costs and years of work, however, the recovery provided only nominal compensation for the time invested.

More troublingly, the ruling did not produce widespread industry change.

I initially shared my successful clause with interested members of the International Association of Speakers Bureaus so they could better protect their exclusively represented speakers. I later learned that the clause also helped some entities understand how to structure agreements that permitted them to retain additional compensation legally.

I had assumed that every exclusive representative working under gross-fee terms would want to prevent skimming. That assumption proved incorrect. Some intermediaries benefit from collecting compensation well beyond the industry’s traditional 20–30% commission on a speaking fee. Others may simply consider the practice too costly and difficult to challenge.

The Public Record

The arbitration itself was not confidential. The confidential materials are the contracts between the booking entity and the affected event hosts.

The hearing, arbitration award and subsequent Essex County Superior Court proceedings concerning enforcement of the judgment are not subject to that confidentiality. Court filings are public records.

When the entity did not pay the award, New Leaf was required to enter the judgment in Massachusetts, transfer it to the defendant’s state and retain local counsel to pursue collection.

Why Event Hosts and Speakers Should Care

The decline in exclusive speaker representation since 2020 has created additional opportunities for intermediaries to maximize their earnings without adhering to traditional commission norms. If an intermediary can legally collect 25%, 50% or more, some will do so.

Both sides of the transaction face financial harm:

  • Event hosts may pay substantially more than the speaker requires.
  • Speakers may lose compensation that the host believed was intended for them.

Even speakers with exclusive agents or managers should ask direct questions:

  • How is my gross speaking fee communicated to buyers?
  • What compensation may an intermediary add or retain?
  • How do you verify that outside booking partners comply with our fee and commission terms?
  • What contractual protections prevent undisclosed markups?

Without clear policies, appropriate contract language and financial transparency, skimming can continue unchecked.

How Skimming Works

The booking entity did not exclusively represent the speakers involved and therefore had no duty to act in their financial best interests. Nor did it serve as a fiduciary for the event hosts.
Yet event hosts reasonably assumed it was working to secure the most favorable terms on their behalf.

Instead, the entity increased the speakers’ required fees and presented the inflated amounts to event hosts as the speakers’ actual prices. The hosts accepted those figures and signed confidential contracts, preventing them from confirming the financial terms directly with the speakers or New Leaf.

The undisclosed compensation violated our gross-fee policies, specified commission terms and contracts governing brokered appearances. We call this practice “skimming”: an intermediary collects compensation beyond the agreed commission without the speaker’s knowledge or authorization while representing the inflated total as the speaker’s required fee.

Consulting and Fee-Integrity Audits

I’m Amy Gray, Founder of New Leaf.  I provide confidential consulting for event hosts who hire paid speakers and speakers seeking to protect their earnings.

My guidance draws on my direct, successful arbitration experience and 25 years as a private, exclusive agent to prominent speakers, managing all inquiries and engagements with event hosts and booking intermediaries.

I offer:

  • One-day, on-site training, on how to spot, stop, and prevent skimming
  • Confidential fee-integrity audits
  • Contract and commission-practice reviews

All of my services respect the confidentiality requirements of existing agreements.  I do not need to see any documents that are labeled confidential to perform my work.

To discuss pricing and availability, contact Skimming@NewLeafSpeakers.com.

Please note: I am not an attorney or legal expert.  Consultation with a properly qualified attorney or arbitration expert in your jurisdiction prior to initiating any legal action against an entity you suspect of engaging in skimming behavior is recommended and strongly advised.  A properly qualified attorney can help you determine if litigation or arbitration is advisable to recover excess charges or lost earnings.

A Warning About Search and AI Results

Event hosts must understanding the risks of relying on first-page search results and AI-generated overviews. Companies with sophisticated search-engine and AI-optimization strategies dominate results through numerous websites and business names, making separate entities appear to be the correct booking resource and/or a series of independent companies, when they may, in fact, operate under the same umbrella entity.

Search visibility is not proof of independence, transparency or trustworthiness. Any material information supplied through search results or AI overviews should be independently verified before a booking decision is made.