Are you as tired as I am over all the trash talk about YTB’s stock? Honestly, I’m sick of it. It’s as if YTBLA.OB is the only stock out there that’s down in the dumps. You’ve got to be hiding out in a cave somewhere not to realize that the markets overall are…well, in the toilet.

While the market has many running in fear, others are banking on the fact that the market will eventually turn in an upward trend. Most people would think someone would be crazy to actually be buying stock these days. Yet, that’s exactly what many of the super wealthy would have done in order to make their fortune. It’s times like these that would explain why Warren Buffett bought a considerable amount of stock at the end of the third quarter. (And if you’re thinking he sold a bunch, think again.)

The “Average Joe” simply can’t stomach what’s going on right now. That’s why we’re seeing the selling frenzy that we are, and also why critics appear to be focused on YTB’s stock specifically. It helps give the perception that the company is in dire straights and won’t last. Our third quarter numbers did a significant job is dispelling those rumors after their release. While there is a considerable amount of excuses following YTB’s profitable quarter, it did cause some of the most hardened critics to actually state that the numbers actually turned out better than they expected.

I would assume that’s why the focus has been shifted so quickly to the stock. It’s the one thing critics can point to that doesn’t look all that rosy, nor is bouncing back. The picture they’re painting is as if all other sectors are doing just fine, and it’s only YTB that’s having the difficulty holding on to its price. (Even with a profitable quarter.)

This attempt to spin the stock got me thinking how YTB compares to other stocks, more specifically, the travel sector since YTB of course knows nothing about travel. (Even after our 8 year run in this sector and being named in Travel Weekly’s Power List the last two years.)

By no means do I claim to be some type of stock expert. Far from it. But anyone with a pulse should realize that the markets, even after the election, continue to tank.

After pulling up various stocks to compare with YTB’s I started noticing that the broad brushed picture being painted isn’t what our critics claim it to be. (Big surprise, I’m sure.) Nor did any one sector in our industry lead in the categories I checked. About the only sector I was not able to check thoroughly at this time were other Brick and Mortars. (Most according to the Travel Weekly Power List are privately held.) I also tried to pick stocks that most everyone would know, even if you’re not “in” the industry. (Hogg Robinson Group, being probably the one exception.) Since there were so few public Brick and Mortar Agencies, I did use both American Express and Boeing who do own “Agencies” but obviously have diversification which neither look to either help or hinder their performance over the last year.

Here is an overview of the industry representing Airline, Cruise, Brick and Mortar, and On-line Agencies.

YTB (as noted by the blue dot) ends up pretty much “average” compared to the other stocks in the industry. Since there are so many in this sample, I’ve taken each industry and broken it down into segments for ease of reading.

Our first sector is how YTB compares to the Airline Industry. Companies are color coded and YTB will remain blue. Companies sampled with YTB are Continental, Delta, US Airways, and Northwest Airlines.

Next is a one year snap shot of Brick and Mortar Travel Agengies, which include American Express, Boeing, and Hogg Robinson Group.

Would a one year snap shot of on-line agencies look any better? Take a look at how YTB compares with Expedia, Priceline, and Orbitz.

And our last sector is the cruise industry as we take a look at both Carnival and Royal Caribbean.

After looking at this again, maybe Royal Caribbean should be the one in red…

So what gives? Why all the focus and fuss over YTB’s stock when obviously YTB appears to be on par with all the other companies in the market?

Because that’s what critics do. It’s something for them to talk about to give the perception that the Network Marketing business model is flawed or inferior to what they consider a tradition business plan. It’s all about perception to add fear and doubt about your choice in the industry.

They want you to go back to something more “legitimate” or “secure”.

So let me ask you. When it comes to the stock market, which one of these stocks above look to be more secure to you?<-->

Doug & Ronda Bauknight
AKA: TravelPro
Travel Agent / Networker
Phone: 678.458.5812

Learn How To Become A Travel Agent

Book Your Travel & Vacations With

Kind of mixed bag today on news and updates concerning the company everyone loves to talk about – YTB. I spent some of the afternoon yesterday reading between phone calls and e-mail’s on most of the favorite watering holes getting a pulse and latest spin on all the news.

If you’ve been stuck in some sort of hole and don’t know what the heck I’m talking about, you’ve come to the right place. Not to worry, and not to disappoint, I’ll fill you in.

For the folks in YTB, you might want to keep this post handy because it’s going to be loaded with some pretty powerful ammunition for some of the junk we’ve had to endure over the last few years concerning our stock, and will also debunk some of the spin out there concerning “it doesn’t add up” and “insider trading” that’s currently floating around by our Critics.

An official announcement has been released that YTBLA will move off the Pink Sheets and over to the OTC. Now for our “Critics” this is no big deal, and to be fair, it IS only the first phase of our intent to upgrade to a National Exchange like AMEX or NYSE. OTC isn’t all that big of a deal, and there is still some work to do to move over to one of the “big boys”, but this first step is crucial and also provides several key elements that I need you in YTB to know and also warn our Critics who are calling foul in several areas concerning our Annual Report and questions they have concerning our business practices and / or math.

If you didn’t know, or simply don’t recall, our Annual Report states the following:

“Because we have become current with our periodic reports under the Exchange Act, we intend to have our Class A Common Stock quoted on the OTC-BB once again and to thereafter apply for its listing on a national securities exchange, although no assurances can be given in this regard. Towards such end, on March 3, 2008, the requisite paperwork for the quotation of our Class A Common Stock on the OTC-BB was submitted to a FINRA member firm for filing with FINRA.”

For those that don’t know who FINRA is, they are the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and a firm who tests and authorizes Members. The FINRA looked at several key factors concerning our company’s business practices. The portfolio of regulatory services that FINRA offers includes member application processing, registration processing and disclosure review, financial and operational surveillance, examinations and audits, market surveillance, investigations, disciplinary actions, dispute resolution and regulatory consultation.

FINRA’s regulatory clients include NASDAQ, American Stock Exchange (Amex), International Securities Exchange (ISE), NQLX and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB).

By maintaining constant market surveillance - on both a real-time and post-trade basis, the FINRA helps ensure the fair and orderly conduct of securities transactions. FINRA oversees and regulates all trading on NASDAQ, the American Stock Exchange, the International Securities Exchange, the Chicago Climate Exchange and in the OTC markets, as well as trades in New York Stock Exchange- and Amex-listed securities reported to NASDAQ.

What this means to you the RTA and / or stockholder is this:

One - While our Critics want to discredit our Annual Report with this bunk that it doesn’t add up, you can now politely suggest that they may want to consider a remedial math class and then some sort of Financial or Securities Course to help them with any errors or questions they have.

Two – While many are speculating that “insiders” are moving this stock price up – down – or pulling the preverbal “Pump and Dump”, the only pumping going on is by them, with mud they have loaded in the slings and arrows they are shooting all over the internet.

Any arguments directed at either “not adding up” or “insiders pumping and dumping” are now Null and Void.

Keep page 9 of the Annual Report, and the link to FINRA handy for anyone who wants to question the credibility of any of the financial statements. Everyone can be assured that all of our Financial Statements at this point are accurate, and our company is squeaky clean.

The second part of the news and spin floating around concerns YTB’s association with IATA. In an article posted in Travel Weekly on Wednesday, YTB will be able to continue to use the numeric code given to us by ARC, but it looks as if we will continue to do business without any type relationship with IATA.

I realize the Travel Agent community believes that an Association with IATA is crucial and like our listing the last few years on Pink Sheets, we will now endure the brunt of jokes about our lack of any association with what in their minds adds credibility. I’ve also heard spin that they believe this will hamper our International Expansion.

I could be completely off the mark here folks, and International regulations are not my area of expertise, but I do have a couple of questions.

Can IATA terminate based on guilt by association? YTB does own Sunrise Travel Services in Canada, and the Commissioner in Canada recently reinstated an Agency in Canada in which the US Association did not like, but couldn’t do anything about. Like the ARC numeric code issue, the US Commission “may” not have any input in any type of International IATA Accreditation, especially when the Agency was never even threatened with any type of termination or violations to begin with.

You can just imagine what the “critics” will say about that. (And I’m sure they will.) Based on all the “doom and gloom” about the swarm of supplies pulling the plug, the stock going bust, and how important IATA was here in the US and how they were convinced all these issues would crush us, I’d take just about anything you see or read from a “Critic” with a grain of salt. Chances of them being on mark about anything these days concerning YTB are sketchy at best.

The good news is this.

One – It seems critics have resigned themselves to the fact that IATA here in US concerning YTB really didn’t amount to much as they are now focused on hopes concerning our International Expansion. (We ARE s
till here, still booking travel, and still getting paid on that travel.)

Two – The numeric code was issued by ARC not IATA and IATA has conceded that the number is ours.

There’s still plenty of work to do and we’re certainly not out of the woods just yet. A lot can change in the weeks and months ahead, and from what I understand, YTB isn’t through by any means in becoming the Largest Travel Agency in the World.

Sign up for our FREE Newsletter for news and updates concerning YTB!

Doug & Ronda Bauknight
AKA: TravelPro
Travel Agent / Networker
Phone: 678.458.5812

Learn How To Become A Travel Agent

Book Your Travel & Vacations With

Travel Reservations: 1.800.243.4450
RTA #24635

They finally got me.

I have just been duped – hoodwinked - had the wool pulled over my eyes - what ever you want to call it, busted for not following a “Golden Rule” that I have been preaching here for years. I can’t say that I don’t know how this happened, because I do, and I’ll explain how this scam worked, but quite honestly I’m more than a little embarrassed over what just transpired a few days ago.

First, what’s this “Golden Rule” that I tell you to follow but I somehow forgot?

“Don’t believe a word you hear, unless you can verify it on your own to be true.”

Mistakes happen, and while I’m not sure that either Neal Boortz or Harv Ecker, two mentors of mine who have attempted and obviously failed to pound this into my head, would ever forgive me for such a simple oversight, I’m just going to try to let this one slide under the table, and chalk it up to experience.

I feel obligated however to help you learn from my mistake.

So, just how was I played? How could someone like ME miss something like this? The “sting” stems from the newly released 2007 Annual Report when a couple of days ago, one of the Traditionalists posted a comment on my blog that there were only 366 shareholders of company stock.

I simply dismissed it and told this Traditionalist they might have heard something to that effect, but I could assure them, there were more than 366 stockholders of YTBLA. (Myself being one of them.) Another Traditionalist chimed in that this number could in fact be found in the Annual Report on the bottom of page 9.

Now remember my Golden Rule; “Don’t believe a word you hear, unless you can verify it on your own to be true.” So like a good boy, I opened up the Annual Report and sure enough, there it is.

“As of December 31, 2007, we had 366 shareholders of record of our Class A Common Stock and Class B Common Stock.”

I was dumbfounded to be honest. I know a ton of people in YTB and when the stock was down in the dumps, I got calls, e-mails, and private messages asking me what I knew what was going on with the company stock. I couldn’t honestly tell them anything I knew because, I really didn’t know why. My gut told me that it would rebound, and I’ve learned to always trust my gut.

By the way, I have very limited experience in this type of stuff. Yes, I own stock, and I also have some mutual funds that I have invested in, but for the most part, investments of this type are of a very limited basis. When I tried to purchase this stock a couple of years ago, I went to a Broker who simply wouldn’t in good conscience let me invest the type of money I was talking about into YTB. While I thought this Analyst was very nice and polite, I wasn’t asking him for advice, I just needed a Broker and it would either be him or someone else. (As it turned out, it ended up being E-Trade.)

When I realized that I was only one of 366 stockholders according to what I was told and I thought I was able to confirm, I had a choice to position this as either be a very risky and lucky investor, or brilliant.

Which position do you think I decided to pick? ;-P

But something just didn’t sit right with me. I couldn’t imagine with all the employees at the home office, all the Directors who were vested in stock due to bonuses and many of them had invested early themselves like I did, and all the people calling and e-mailing me in a panic a month or so ago that there were only 366 stock holders at the end of 2007.

It just didn’t add up! (Sorry, had to steal that line.)

With documentation like an Annual Report that’s filed with the SEC, I had to take this as fact. It’s right there in black and white and can’t really argue the point very well now could I? I had seen some of the “Critics” posting on various boards that with only 366 stockholders, manipulation of the stock up or down is very easy to do. Speculation that a couple of Directors had gotten together to drive the price up and then dump it were running amok all over the place. Critics will continue to spread this “Pump and Dump” theory for years to come, trust me.

With all the headlines and focus on the Annual Report about YTB being a Darling, and Stock to watch, I knew that it was Day Traders manipulating the stock price, not Directors, so that spin was extremely easy to dismiss and let go of.

You should too, because it’s complete bunk.

Then yesterday afternoon I got a call from someone cross line to me who I speak with on a regular basis and we exchange what we hear, and most of the time have a good laugh at all the fuss over little ol’ YTB these days.

Then the bombshell came. “Doug” he said, “You know that 366 number that everyone’s been talking about?”

“Yes” I replied.

“That number represents employees at the Home Office not total shareholders.”

WHAT?

Sure enough, I confirmed with an Investment Broker and according to the SEC, the company has to report how many “employees” own stock.

How could I have been so blind to trust a bunch of Critics, Naysayers, Cynics, who’s only mission in life is to “spin”? I actually thought they knew what they were talking about!

So there you have it. How Doug got snookered by the TTA’s and Critics. A cryin’ shame, but I guess it could happen to the best of us.

So the next time you see some “Critic” spout off something as “fact”, please save yourself the embarrassment.

“Don’t believe a word you hear, unless you can verify it on your own to be true.”

Well, I’ve finally pulled it off. I’ve just written and released my first book entitled “What the Critics Know about YTB“. This is a “tell all” book on how to handle the Critics, Skeptics, Cynics, and Naysayers out there who have nothing better to do with their time than throw a bunch of mud up on the wall to see what sticks.

I came up with the concept and “how to guide” very early on Sunday morning while reading, and when the inspiration struck, I knew I had to share this with everyone I could in YTB. You’ll find it in today’s monthly newsletter, along with some other news from the last month, travel training information, and other key events coming up. If you’re in YTB, and want to be kept up to date, please feel free to subscribe, I’d love to have you on the list.

I asked Tim & Georgia Dominey, two close friends and mentors who also happen to be Level 2 Directors with the company to write the “Foreword” for my new book and I’m making a copy available to you for today for FREE! I encourage you to take the time to read this book concerning what to do and what to say to those who are slinging mud. Many have found my message direct, to the point, and dead on concerning many of the issues and negativity being thrown YTB’s way with this step by step guide on how to handle the critics.

The timing couldn’t be more perfect today, as YTB filed its 2007 Annual Report with the SEC yesterday with a hefty $3.2 Million PROFIT for the year. Revenues increased a total of 177% over 2006 numbers. Other notable increases were Marketing Commission of $80.5 Million up 169% and Travel Commission paid to our RTA’s reached $13.4 Million, an increase of 174%.

It should be noted that while only commissions are paid to our RTAs’ booking of travel services are reflected as a component of our revenues in our financial statements, YTB also keep track of the aggregate “retail value of all travel services” that are booked by our RTAs (which directly impacts our commission revenues). The value of such travel services increased 83.7% in 2007 to over $414,000,000, from approximately $225,000,000 in 2006. (Placing bets currently on how long this $414 Million will be spun into “fees”. Hummmmmmm)

This also marks three straight profitable quarterly reports and 2007 marks the first full year of profitability! Whoo Hooo!

In anticipation of our positive Annual Report our stock is also up considerably yesterday afternoon with 1.19 Million shares being traded after critics, cynics and naysayers had left us for dead.

I put this quote just below my dedication in my new book which I just love.

“Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated”
~ Samuel Langhorn Clemens, a.k.a. Mark Twain, May, 1897 in a note to the New York Journal.

Speaking of the stock we are now current with our periodic reports under the Exchange Act; so we intend to have our common stock quoted on the OTC-BB once again and to thereafter apply for listing on a national securities exchange. AMEX would require a price of no less than $5 per share from my understanding.

And if all this STILL wasn’t enough for ya’ll, it appears that Mr. Kim Sorenson is firing back a couple shots at IATA through YTB’s legal department.

In a Travel Weekly report YTB has asked the commissioner for the U.S., James Johnstone, for clear permission to continue using its numeric code number, which was assigned by ARC, with the understanding that YTB agrees not to represent itself as an IATA agency. Kim Sorensen was also quoted that making the code available to contractors was “the same as what any host agency has done.” By implication, he raised the question: Why was YTB terminated when others were not?

In documents filed with the commissioner, YTB offered its answer. It accused IATA of enforcing its standards belatedly “as a pretense to quash competitive activity.” Please note the article next to YTB fight against IATA as the travel agency commissioner in Canada declined to uphold BNW’s termination there, while IATA said it “respectfully disagrees” with parts of the commissioner’s decision. However, IATA said the decision “makes crystal-clear that no person or entity has the right to display the IATA numeric code or IATA’s trademarks and service marks on in-house ID-cards or other credentials.”

Sound familiar?

You Bet!

Do you think you might be able to either sell some Travel or maybe put someone in the business based on all this good news?

Me too! Let’s “Get ‘er done!”

Doug & Ronda Bauknight
AKA: TravelPro
Travel Agent / Networker
Phone: 678.458.5812

Learn How To Become A Travel Agent

Book Your Travel & Vacations With

I started a huge task weeks ago when I promised John Frenaye that I would get his questions answered. ALL his questions. Over the next couple weeks due to the length of this list, I’m going to focus on each of these questions one at a time. My goal here is not only to answer the question, but also point out why this question is even asked in the first place.

This will also be an excellent opportunity and tool for anyone with additional comments about each of the specific questions to get better clarification. Use the comments section to discuss each of the questions in greater detail. I remind you that I learned how to accomplish such a huge task from Brian Tracy and his courses, which teach that you focus on the each task one at a time, focus on the solution, break it down into manageable chunks, and before you know it, you’ve achieved your goal.

It should be a really fun debate, and for those of you in YTB, take this information and documentation and use it. Here are the questions we have gone over thus far.

Question #1 - Why a compensation plan takes 12 pages to define?

Question #2 - How YTB arrived at $226 Million in travel sold for 2006. (Still waiting.)

Question #3 - Why so little of the “training” at the annual convention was for travel. (OK, YTB only believes in training at other meetings. We can let this one go.)

Question #4 - How nearly 150,000 RTAs can pay in the course of 9 months $79 million dollars in website sales, fees, and training; and receive $9.3 million in return. (This is huge…anyone?)

Question #5 - And for those that say I don’t get the math, I did not learn how nearly 150,000 people paid in $79 million dollars and only got $64 million in return. (Hello? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?)

Question #6 - Why it is a good thing to have your top executives selling off stock. (There were no takers on this one, so I am gonna assume that it probably is NOT a good thing as everyone initially thought.)

Question #7 - Why a 3:1 split was a good deal when two of the three shares are worthless. (Thanks to Doug for the most reasonable explanation of this. The split may have been a good deal but with the current value of the stock, it is anyone’s guess.)

While doing some research on this topic I found Stock Split Secrets which might interest investors who truly want to take advantage of what happens during a stock split, and it might even help those challenged by making investiments. A stock split from my limited understanding almost always turns out to be a good thing, both in voting, and in money. While I’ve only ordered this book and have not read it, I wanted to put it out there for eveyone, because in my humble opinion, it looked very informative.

Even though I helped John understand the reality of the stock split, it appears that John hasn’t done an effective job of correcting his information. Like most journalists of the day, when there is something negative to report that makes front page news and a retraction needs to be made concerning what’s reported, it’s buried somewhere on page 22. It’s up to someone else to clean up the mess.

Look at what YTB has had to do time and time again to refute negative claims and images. This has been going on for over a year now, and those that want to oppose our model simply just keep finding creative ways to trash and slander our company and our people. Facts or truth don’t seem to matter when it comes to correcting the wrongs made, and there are far too many to even count at this point. You can however get a good idea by this point in our project just how bad this situation is. We’re now on our seventh question and I’m only one third of the way to completion. The mud slinging that’s thrown around the internet these days has gotten so egregious by those that oppose our company and model that very little (if any) consideration to truth or fact is taken into account. The hope is that if they throw enough mud out there some of it’s going to stick.

It never ceases to amaze me how challenged some people are when looking at facts and figures about YTB. For some reason, they can look at a P&L, Earnings Report, or a stock split from one company and be right on mark. But when it comes
to YTB, forget about it.

When looking at this particular question, I have to ask; is there any reason why any company would offer a stock split when one or more of the shares are deemed “worthless”? None that I can think of, but for some reason YTB has come up with the first occurrence in history. If you’re wondering why we are the first, it’s because we’re a Network Marketing company and SEC filings, regulations, and guidelines don’t apply to YTB. (Who knew?) We are lead to believe that if there’s a way to dupe anyone out of money, we’ll find a way, no matter how outlandish and unreasonable the notion would be for any other business entity.

So to set the stage of what we are to believe based on this question, YTB stock split from one share to three shares, and two of the three shares have no monetary value what so ever. It’s bad enough that those that oppose our model perpetuate that we are ripping off our RTA’s and Reps alike, but now our investors have been scammed as well.

Last July, YTB stock not only split but also reclassified it’s shares into two classes Class A and Class B. As a result, for every share of common stock they held as of the effective date, stockholders received 1 share of Class A Common Stock and 2 shares of Class B Common Stock. YTB International’s Class A Common Stock is currently traded in the Over-the-Counter (OTC) market and is quoted on the Pink Sheets under the symbol “YTBLA”.

YTB International also has a second class of common stock, Class B Common Stock, which is not publicly traded, as it automatically converts into Class A Common Stock upon sale or other disposition. Stockholders seeking to sell Class B Common Stock must contact YTB International’s transfer agent in order to arrange to first exchange it for Class A Common Stock. Shares of Class B Common stock can be converted into shares of Class A Common stock (1 B share = 1 A share).

Isn’t it interesting that because someone can’t “see” a stock, it therefore does not exist and is deemed worthless?

So your next question might be, why reclassify in this way?

The reclassification has to do with voting rights. Those of us who owned stock before the July split now have better voting power and a larger say in the direction of the company. Each share of Class B stock which no longer publically trades, equals 1 vote per 1 share. Class A stock for anyone wanting to jump on board now would only receive 1/10th of a vote per share. What this effectively does for those of us in YTB is help in ensuring and protecting what we have in YTB from a hostile takeover. Anyone wishing to have a majority vote in the direction of the company would have to purchase 20 times the amount of shares to obtain the majority vote. Since Class B is not openly traded, no one can purchase these shares.

While there is truly no way to protect a public company from being taken over, this reclassification does diminish any chance of a takeover or buyout significantly.

One last question which was not asked in this list of questions, but have been asked before from some very savvy investors who know how splits typically work, that being when a stock splits, the price will usually split as well. More times than not, the stock will dive to half the price, and then rebound to a certain level by investors taking advantage of the price point to get in the game. This didn’t happen with YTB, but instead, the stock remained the same, and has fallen steadily instead.

The price remained the same initially because the same amounts of shares were still available in the open market. As investors of Class B stock transfer their stock to Class A and sell, this puts added shares into the open market over time. Stock price again is based on supply and demand. If there are more shares than buyers, the price goes down. If there are more buyers than shares available, the price goes up. We saw in my last post that we do have one major investor who is dumping shares on a regular basis.

(I find it interesting that all the critics who tried to tell us that it was Coach, Scott, and Kim selling off the shares seemed to have disappeared. Now that they understand it was a Traditionalist, [Michael Brent] who was selling off and profiting, the silence has been deafening.)

If by chance I have not done an effective job of answering your questions significantly, please feel free to visit either our Investor Relations site or you can download an FAQ concerning the stock split here that was provided to investors at the time of the split for additional documentation concerning any questions.

Subscribe to Just Picture It Now for additional announcements and details!

Doug & Ronda Bauknight
AKA: TravelPro
Travel Agent / Networker
Phone: 678.458.5812

Learn How To Become A Travel Agent

Book Your Travel & Vacations With

Travel Reservations: 1.800.243.4450
RTA #24635