YTB Ranked 25th in Travel Weekly Power List
The annual Power List from Travel Weekly currently ranks YTB International #25 for 2008 out of a record number of agencies this year with 62 companies with travel sales of more than $100 million. All of the agencies in this years Power List faced a common enemy during the latter part of the year, that being the economy. As we are now at the half way point of 2009, many on this years list are not as optimistic as they once were about travel sales and expect a decline anywhere between 15% – 25% between 2008 and 2009.
The economy is one thing, but when a company such as YTB has to endure fear based attacks from a small, yet extremely loud group of critics who desperately need to control free enterprise and exaggerate every move the company makes, is another. With the legal attacks combined with the mud thrown up on the internet via blogs, forums, and message boards, a year over year increase of any amount should show the stability and resolve of our model for anyone who has two wits about them.
Regardless of which side of the fence you reside, the following numbers appear in Travel Weekly’s 2009 Power List.
– 2008 Sales: $424.1 million
– Employees: 317
– Previous Ranking: 26
– ARC sales of $2.76 million
– 85% of sales from leisure travel
– Hosts 92,383 travel sellers
– Owns Rezconnect Technologies Inc.
– Publicly held
True, some spent the last year focused on creating excuses and never gave YTB a chance to survive and/or make this years Power List. Accusations of bankruptcy or being prohibited from conducting business outright started the second claims were filed by the State of California which magically appeared the day before the YTB’s National Convention in August of 2008. Its sad, but some appeared to have missed or simply forgot that there was a legal process that needed to take place. As we’ve seen so many times before, relying on negative speculation rather than facts can damage ones credibility as some sort of expert.
Few have also knocked the legitimacy of the Power List with any excuse they could come up with. It was last years list with a huge jump from #35 to #26 and 84% growth that more than likely had something to do with the desperate pleas posted for anyone who would listen to in order to stop YTB from co-existing with names like American Express, Carlson Wagonlit, Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz, and Priceline.
With so much press and attention on YTB it’s not surprising that Travel Weekly once again made special note of our company in this years list.
One company that has seen its share of headlines recently is YTB (No. 25), a publicly traded multilevel marketer with and ARC appointment and a reported $424 million in travel sales, most of it through a network of tens of thousands of small hosted, work-from-home recruits.
A source of unending controversy since it first gained national attention a few years ago, YTB recently settled an action brought by the State of California that accused the company of operating an illegal pyramid scheme. Even if YTB succeeds in transforming itself into a franchise operation and fulfilling the other terms of the California settlement, the company is likely to remain a galvanizing force for friends and foes alike.
For the purposes of the Power List, however, only one thing matters: total sales. Although this number is not included in YTB’s annual financial report to the Securities and Exchange Commission, it is consistent with a company statement to the SEC.
“During fiscal 2007, the aggregate value of retail travel services that have been booked by our RTA’s and independent franchises surpassed $400 million”. YTB reported in the statement.
The company has stated that the total represents retail travel sales and excludes revenue from other activities.
Like it or not, YTB continues to make headlines in this industry because YTB is a major player when it comes to actual travel sales. A few clearly don’t understand the difference between gross sales and actual income generated from those sales reported in our SEC filings. If some can’t comprehend that it takes $424 million in sales to generate $27 million in actual revenue in the travel industry, I’d question how much they truly understand thier industry. However, because there’s a very clear and distinct fear surrounding MLM and recruiting, all focus and attention points directly at revenue generated from recruiting compared to income generated from travel. Those of us that can make the distinction between the two revenue streams have understood for years how silly such comparisons are. Why the perceptions between apples and oranges and these fears persists after all these years is a question I’ve long given up asking.
I couldn’t possibly tell you what type of excuses will come from this years list. You can be assured that like other years, something will be pointed out here that will attempt to question the validity and accuracy of this report when it comes to YTB. In order to come up with these excuses however, desperate critics will need to toss out the fact that YTB is one of very few that are publicly traded companies who answer to the SEC. They will also toss out YTB’s appearance on this list for it’s third straight year. And lastly, the special notes surrounding YTB in Travel Weekly’s introduction, like last year will be completely ignored and the beliefs and opinions of these few critics will appear to some as an overriding and dominant fact, instead of desperate pleas for attention to make all things right with thier own little world.
There comes a time when you should stop and look at the reports such as this and compare them with all the excuses we’ve seen over the years. Demands for clarification or additional questions directed at YTB and Travel Weekly have played out for far too long. Both YTB and Travel Weekly don’t appear to be all that concerned, and continue to stick with the same qualifications they always have despite the pleas and concerns.
Some will continue as they always have because changing thier beliefs would be far too upsetting and create too much turmoil. Others however, will begin to see things for what they truly are. If you’re of the latter, I welcome you to the idea of MLM and Travel as major player in the Travel Industry.
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Tags: Power List, Travel MLM, Travel Weekly, YTB News, YTB Travel Network
June 26th, 2009 at 9:29 am
[...] has been plenty of kicking and screaming this week from those few critics I spoke about surrounding Travel Weekly’s Power List publication. It looks as if the same tired old questions will continue and excuses will persist for another [...]
June 29th, 2009 at 2:42 pm
[...] take up more than half of the $95.3 billion with $50.1 billion on their own. (As documented in last weeks 2009 Power List rankings.) If you’re wondering if this is nothing more than a desperate attempt to keep traditional [...]
July 9th, 2009 at 9:30 am
[...] have the foundation or the relationships that we do now. (That comes with proving yourself as a top travel seller.) Because YTB reinvested into itself (which showed up as losses in “income”) the [...]
July 17th, 2009 at 8:18 am
[...] any RTA who spends less than six months in this business. But to say it’s impossible for the 25th Largest Seller of Travel in the Nation with $425 million in gross product and services sold, and a net of $27.9 million is a farce. I know [...]
July 29th, 2009 at 8:07 am
[...] to Agents and the numbers YTB produces for their bottom line in regard to gross revenue. (They read Travel Weekly’s Power List too.) I took a look around at the supplier booths last night when we were registering for [...]
August 4th, 2009 at 7:00 am
[...] among other critics, took exception to the fact that YTB grew from $414 million in travel sales, to $425 million in this years Travel Weekly Power list despite all the criticism, mud slinging, and various other issues totally unrelated to the travel [...]
September 2nd, 2009 at 7:03 am
[...] you’ve never heard of this list before – well, it’s never been out before. Think Travel Weekly Power List here, but for the Direct Sales Industry. For the first time, Direct Selling News decided to come up with [...]
September 25th, 2009 at 7:25 am
[...] It should be a fun weekend with our peers who have a legitimate desire to learn and grow in the travel industry from suppliers who see YTB for what it truly is – the 25th largest Seller of Travel in the industry. [...]
November 30th, 2009 at 7:59 am
[...] a model and a team of people who have proven that ordinary people can produce some large numbers. (Travel Weekly has shown us that for years.) For some reason however, a few in the industry don’t recognize $424 million in travel sales. [...]
December 17th, 2009 at 11:47 am
[...] And today you have a little company based in Wood River, Illinois who has been able to sell $424 million in travel in it’s 8th year in business. [...]
January 15th, 2010 at 7:57 am
[...] Carlson Wagonlit and American Express have battled for the number one position in Travel Weekly’s Power List for [...]
January 22nd, 2010 at 7:06 am
[...] can predict the future by looking at it’s past. Look at what YTB did with Travel? Took a bunch of “Average Joes” and sold over $1 billion in travel in 8 years. All [...]
February 1st, 2010 at 7:14 am
[...] bogus pyramid scheme mantra proposed by critics) and documentation supplied by Travel Weekly as the 25th largest seller of travel in the country – the wheels on the bus begin to fall off as critics are exposed as being the ones who are [...]
March 24th, 2010 at 6:02 am
[...] or worse – dead. They see evidence of things changing around them every day. Look at the Travel Weekly Power List. Four of the top ten companies are on-line Agencies, producing a combined $45 BILLION in sales [...]