Yes, you read that right – it’s not some sort of typo. (Which I’ve “heard” I’ve been known to make. ;-P)

I hope you were paying attention to our newsletter earlier this spring when we promoted the Viking webniars and trainings. It’s going to come in mighty handy when talking to clients and booking this very profitable niche.

I’m not a big fan of river cruises personally. (More of an ocean going cruiser myself if I had my choice.) However, my parents truly enjoy this type of cruise experience, and have booked several river cruises with BandBVacations.

What makes this type of cruise experience attractive is the constant scenery change and the historical significance many of the ports of call provide.

Viking announced this week that they will be paying commissions on every part of their cruise experience. As a result that means more money for you as an agent. Kind of sounds backwards after all these years I know, but it’s true!

Therefore, it would be wise to offer up Viking as a viable option when this type of experience is selected.

One word of caution however: Because you’re part of an MLM, you can’t promote Viking as an option ethically.

Say what?!

Sorry, but it’s one of those double standards that we have to put up with because of the fears, phobias and illusions our traditional agents have about us. We only do it for the money – we’re not looking after the best interest of our client.

See, last year I made the “mistake” of writing about how I tend to promote lines that offer better commissions over others. If all other things are equal, I’ll most certainly offer something that pays a higher commission as a result. It’s just smart business.

Not everyone understands “business” however, and I went round and round in the comments section of this post with a commenter who just couldn’t grasp that concept because it’s MLM, not traditional business. Traditional Agents picked up on it as well, and laid claim that I wasn’t looking out for the best interest of my clients.

Now that the shoe is on the other foot however, it appears that “travel agents” don’t have a problem “promoting” one line over another.

Very strange how that works – but it’s just another example of the double standards we have to put up with in order to keep these myths and rumors about MLM being something less than legitimate alive in their own minds. It creates drama and controversy for them, which keeps them from looking at their own shortcomings.

Like I’ve said many times over, the truth always has a way of coming to light. ;-P

Anyway – this is a really good deal from Viking, and found the Press Release here:

LOS ANGELES (June 8, 2010) – Viking River Cruises, the world’s leading river cruise line, today announced that effective June 9, 2010, it will implement a new, industry-leading commission structure: Viking will pay commission on every aspect of a client’s booking—from cruise and air to shore excursions, port charges, taxes, fees, travel protection plans and more. With a decade-long tradition of innovation, Viking River Cruises now leads the travel industry—including its river cruise competitors and all ocean cruise lines—with the trade’s only fully commissionable program.

“This unprecedented commission policy was developed with input from leaders in the travel agency community, and it is very simple,” comments Torstein Hagen, Chairman of Viking River Cruises. “If an agent sells a Viking River Cruises itinerary, they earn a commission on all of it. Our partners will be paid for everything they sell.”

In addition, to the industry-exclusive payment on air, port charges, taxes and fees, Viking will offer many other commissionable upgrades—such as Premium Economy or Business Class air upgrades, beverage packages, gift orders and more—to make the most out of the guests’ river cruise experience while increasing the agents’ profit from the reservation. Unlike other river and ocean cruise lines, there are no exceptions. The new commission program will apply to all new 2010 and 2011 bookings, and Viking will continue to pay commissions 29 days prior to departure.

There you have it folks – a vendor who actually wants your business by offering you more commissions. What a concept!

Like I said, it’s a great little niche when you find the right clients who enjoy this type of cruising experience. Profitable, and very easy to service.

Keep up to date with our newsletter, we’ll keep an eye out for more trainings from Viking to help you get up to speed if need be.

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I had this scheduled for Friday, but with so much attention on our good friend Andy Cauthen, I decided to bump this back until today.

That being said, this may not be “news” for many who follow the industry closely, but I still wanted to offer up how I perceive this news. For those of you who know poeple who always look at things in a negative light, you might consider making a push to contact these people now, before Carnival’s 5% price increase goes into effect on March 22nd.

According to Carnival’s Press Release:

Carnival Cruise Lines is reporting record wave season bookings, with strong reservations activity for 2010 departures.  As a result of the strong booking volumes, a general price increase will be implemented effective March 22 for all summer sailings in June, July and August.

For the period of Jan. 1 through Feb. 21, 2010, bookings were at unprecedented levels for the line’s 22 ships which operate three- to 15-day voyages from a variety of convenient North American home ports.

Carnival President and CEO Gerry Cahill said, “We’re seeing significantly increased volume as consumers are taking advantage of the incredible value that a Carnival cruise provides. And while pricing hasn’t fully recovered to 2008 levels, we are increasing prices and will implement an across-the-board increase effective March 22.”

He said that the price increases will vary by departure date but will be up to 5 percent.

Cahill attributed the record booking activity to a wide range of factors, including strong travel agent partner support, targeted marketing initiatives, itinerary enhancements and the wide variety of close-to-home departure points.

Wave season typically runs from about mid-January through early spring and is traditionally the busiest, most important booking period in the cruise industry.

Carnival Cruise Lines is the largest and most popular cruise line in the world, with 22 “Fun Ships” operating voyages ranging from three to 15 days in length to The Bahamas, Caribbean, Mexican Riviera, Alaska, Hawaii, Panama Canal, Canada, New England and Europe.

Carnival also has two new ships on order — the 130,000-ton Carnival Magic, which is scheduled for delivery in 2011, and a sister ship set to debut in 2012.

For additional information on the Carnival vacation experience, contact any travel agent, call 1-800-CARNIVAL or visit carnival.com.

###

If by chance you’re thinking to yourself that I’ve lost my marbles over a price increase being “good news” you’ve missed some very key components to Carnival’s message.

Bookings are not only up, but at unprecedented levels. Yes, Carnival made many moves over the last year that helped attract customers, and I don’t want to discount how that played a major role. Cruise customers have seen some very attractive prices in the industry over the last year to 18 months, which some say they’ve not seen in over a decade. Now that the economy is turning around, travelers are once again booking vacations for the upcoming summer season. Because demand is high, the prices therefore go up.

To me, this is another sign that the travel industry is on the mend and it’s good for everyone who works in this industry.

I remember talking with George Dooley this summer before the Convention and the interview we had together. We were talking about how it took one and a half to two bookings to make the same amount of commission in years past because of the lower prices to attract customers. Our total number of booking was in fact up in 2009, but we didn’t reach the same level in commissions from years past due to the lower prices. We worked harder for less money.

It’s good to see prices on the rise again in that regard.

Could the price increase backfire on Carnival? Possibly – but even with a 5% increase, the lines pricing is still below other cruise lines who offer the same itineraries. What’s going to be interesting – or something to look for – is if other lines follow suit. I’m sure Cruise Industry is at least considering a similar move, and those that are showing the same unprecedented levels certainly will announce a price increase in the near future. Those that do, will be the ones to watch as the industry leaders showing the strongest bookings thus far in 2010.

For those that want the bargain basement prices, still have time over the next couple of weeks. If you have some loose ends and quotes out there now, as we do with Carnival, you’ll want to follow up with those people before March 22nd. That is, if you want to offer value to them as an Agent.

Take this as a sign that the industry is following right along with the economic recovery we’re seeing in other sectors – and recovery certainly is good news. Demand is up, and people are looking to take vacations this year.

It’s a much needed “wave” of revenue the industry needs right now.

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Do You ZamZuu?

One thing I absolutely LOVE about YTB is the way this company figures out a way to pay out more money to the field. If you’ve every heard Coach or Scott speak, or had an opportunity to speak with them one on one – you’ll realize that they’re “Reps” at heart. When you spend 20 some years as Reps like they did with AL Williams, the feeling doesn’t leave you.

They’re unlike any CEO – President or Executive I’ve ever seen. You take one look at them on the street and you’d never know their net worth. They look – act – and befriend you just like anyone else. Average people at best.

But there is nothing average about how they take care of the field, giving those that are motivated by sales – be it travel or team building – the Founders of YTB create every possible avenue they can think of to put money in the hands of those who want to go out and get it. If it’s too hard, they figure out a way to make it easier. If not enough are qualifying, they change it or enhance it. One segment goes down – they create another segment to compensate.

It’s always been about how much money they can pay out to the field. YTB is constantly tweaking – enhancing – making it better, easier, and more lucrative for anyone who is willing to go out and get it.

Honestly, it’s been so lucrative, that it’s gotten us in trouble. California assaulted the company with it’s hideous claim of being a “gigantic pyramid scheme” in an attempt to end the companies existence. When you pay out 70% of what cames in instead of the 10% average the travel industry pays – that’s going to garner some attention.  What do we hear all the time from the critics? “All the money is in the recruiting” right?

Well, yes – and it’s not hard to do when the travel industry pays out a max of 16% and you pay 70%. Duh?!

What’s so amazing to me is that even after the assault from California – not only did the Founders protect the compensation, but they enhanced the comp plan for new IMR’s, (Independent Marketing Representatives) cutting the requirements in half in order to get to the bonuses into the Power Team quicker. As a result, what once took twelve sales to get your first $1000 bonus – now only takes nine sales.

As a side note: For anyone who’s thinking of the 60% rule where 40% of the nine couldn’t be both Reps and TSO’s. At most three of the nine (33%) would actually qualify as both. (If that) After seeing this rule in action since the settlement, it’s been nothing more than window dressing and never been a factor in anyone’s organization. I know it can be a real chore dealing with all the ignorance surrounding Reps, Affiliates, Associates, TSO’s and IBC’s. In this case ignorance enabled the company to settle with California and agree to terms over a perceived issue that ultimately had no consequences in compensation. California nor anyone outside of the company truly knows how teams are built, nor how many are actual “recruiters”.

In this case – a critics ignorance truly is bliss. ;-P

If that wasn’t enough, Convention came and the Founders not only increased the Travel Commission Contracts, but created contracts up to 100% commission, with full life and health benefits. It’s still unmatched in the industry when you factor cost, benefits, and percentage all in one. I’m still waiting for a legitimate contender to beat these contracts. Instead, I get excuses about not being allowed to offer insurance to non-employees. Even better – that only ONE person qualifies for the insurance in the entire company. (While the income disclosure lists BOTH the Affiliate and RTA categories with individuals who exceeded $25K annually.)

For the true lovers of travel – you just can’t beat these contracts in the industry.

Let’s not forget the $10K Challenge for the newcomers and the mentoring money for the veterans who are helping them. I’ve never seen something so simple and easy as handing out one DVD a day and collecting a name and e-mail. To spend $4 in tools and training per DVD and turn it around for a profit of $29.33 per DVD just for collecting a name and e-mail address is also unmatched in business. (More about how to do that is found here.) For the mentors, there’s additional money for training, and if you do your job correctly, there are overrides on all product sales from each business center.

Are you beginning to see how much money is available for anyone who wants to go after it? These aren’t some impossible, unreachable goals here. (Unless you can’t ask someone to watch a DVD.)

Well hold on to your hats folks – because Coach, Scott and Kim did it again.

Remember the interview and article Travel Weekly wrote over the weekend about Scott and Noah Mantos up in New York? Nadine quoted Scott saying the company would roll out new features and it’s vision for the future in Las Vegas in January.

Part of that vision was announced this week on a Directors call and it’s a Christmas bonus like no other I’ve ever seen.

Some of you need more than 6 sales to earn a $1,000 Leadership Bonus because of fall off. You know, the people who bought a Business Center who quit after two months because they couldn’t figure out that it takes additional training and work. (It’s always been part of this business.) Well, the $1,000 Leadership Bonus is no more than 6 sales away. Yep, the company is going to reset everything just before Christmas so you can get a bonus.

But it gets better. Whenever you earn a Leadership Bonus, the sales associated with that Bonus will be locked away. No more replacing the sales that fall off from any previous Bonus. (And you know how that works when you get into the high teens and twenties.) This works exactly the same way as it currently does at 30 sales BUT NOW it happens at 6 sales. And as extra incentive – all sales made after October 31st will count toward your next Bonus. If a Site Owner makes a $99 payment and it is one of their first four payments, it will count as .25 toward the current bonus. All sales made prior to November 1st will not count toward any Bonus unless they are one of the 6 that count for your current Bonus. Those sales will count toward the $10,000 Bonus.

The program is good through the first quarter of 2010. (Maybe longer.)

That’s one heck of a Christmas bonus – because you’re in control of it!

I’ve read that Coach, Scott and Kim are evil con men. Just this week as a matter of fact in the comments section of Nadine’s article in Travel Weekly. (That oddly enough is masquerading as a “press release” because critics need more excuses to be angry and bitter.)

Sure doesn’t look that way to me – how ’bout you?

So what do you say? Make your list – check it twice, and go show someone how they can earn a $1000 bonus this Christmas!

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Do You ZamZuu?

Scott Tomer was in town a couple weeks ago and I had a chance to sit down with him in a small group setting the night before the Saturday training. One of the other members of the group asked the question “Why don’t we [YTB] hand out more travel awards at Convention?”

What Scott told us, was the idea of Travel Awards did come up for Friday’s afternoon General Session at this years Convention. If you recall, Friday afternoon unleashed the industries best commission contracts and benefits in the industry, the upgrades for “Steals and Deals” and the enhanced Great Escapes packages for both Travel Store owners, and clients. With Friday afternoon dedicated to Travel it just made sense to offer Travel Awards. However, when they called the travel leaders in our company to ask if they would be at Convention, every one of them said “Yes, I’ll be at Funshine.”

The “Convention” our travel leaders were talking about begins today at the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center. Funshine provides two days of seminars and a trade show floor with some 60 or 70 suppliers who are soliciting their products and services for your clients next vacation.

Funshine will also hold a General Session tonight to hand out awards for our travel leaders who have produced significant travel sales. There will be other upgrades and announcements; one of which is a new “skin” with additional features which you can get a feel for from with our Golf site. (Sorry, couldn’t hold back on this one, but since it’s already live…what the heck.)

The trade show floor of course is free, and those of us who have completed the Marc Mancini’s E-Campus series of courses also receive a complimentary upgrade to all the seminars offered by our preferred suppliers. (We also get to call ourselves “Travel Agents” and are upgraded to a 75% commission contract without quotas after completing the E-Campus courses.)

Here is a list I was able to obtain from the Home Office of the seminars and descriptions.

American Destinations
“Significantly grow your YTB Business with Educational Student Travel” Content for beginners and experienced agents alike.
ADI specializes in all-inclusive, multi-day group tour packages with an emphasis on Educational Student Travel.  YOU can have a hand in shaping our Nation’s youth and work toward your YTB $5,000 Matching Travel Commission Bonus!

Carnival Cruise Lines
(Friday) “Getting Started Selling Cruises – What you really need to know” – Beginner
(Saturday) “Super Sales with Carnival Cruise Lines” – This all-inclusive seminar will touch on the keys to great success selling cruises.  It’s a must attend event! – All levels are encouraged and welcome!

CCRA
“What’s new with CCRA”   This seminar speaks to those mostly already familiar with their product but they would love to include anyone wanting to learn more about who they are.
We will show you how to book hotels and other services – make more money and save time!

CLIA
“Cruise Vacations: an Introduction” This seminar is 3 hours and worth 15 CLIA credits once you have passed the test.

Collette Vacations
“How to make the most money in Travel Today!” For all levels of experience.
Deluxe escorted tours to all 7 continents, door to door transportation from the passenger’s home to the airport.  Our unmatched cancellation waiver protects your passenger.

Costa Cruise Lines
“Have you seen Costa lately?”  For both beginner and experienced agents.
Costa, Europe’s number one cruise line, offers an experience that is delightfully different in service and cruise.  In an atmosphere filled with love, laughter and La Dolce Vita.

Globus Family of Brands
“Globus Family of Brands; Product, Groups and Marketing” Balanced for beginners and experienced agents.
With more than 400 vacations to over 60 countries worldwide, the Globus Family of Brands offers a variety of travel styles to fit anyone’s budget or desire.

Holland America Line
“How to understand & sell Holland America Line, including in depth training on our Alaska vacations”  Balanced for beginners and experienced agents.
We invite you to sail with us and discover a world of elegant, mid-sized ships, award-winning service, intriguing onboard enrichment programs and sophisticated five-star dining.

Honeymoon Wishes
“The Honeymoon and Destination Wedding Market is still growing – Learn how to be a part of it.” For both beginner and experienced agents.
Clients can have any part of their honeymoon as a wedding present!  Earn commissions form their gift registry and market your business.

Pleasant Holidays
“The World of Pleasant” For both beginner and experienced agents.
Since 1959, Pleasant Holidays has sent over 9 million travelers on dream vacations.  Pleasant Holidays features hundreds of specials and value-packed vacations.

Princess Cruises / Cunard Lines
“The World of Princess Cruises” “The Legendary Voyages of Cunard Lines”
Escape completely with Princess Cruises to over 350 destinations and 105 unique itineraries.  Show your clients the world!

Silversea Cruises
“Selling the World of Silversea” Learn the value of selling an all inclusive luxury product and earn higher commissions. For both beginner and experienced agents Silversea Cruises is recognized as an innovator in the luxury segment, offering guests large-ship amenities aboard five intimate vessels, Silver Cloud, Silver Wind, Silver Shadow, Silver Whisper and Silver Spirit – all designed to offer an atmosphere of conviviality and casual elegance.

Steps of Paul Coastal Cruises
A unique cruise line navigating through the lands of the Bible, the Steps of the Apostle Paul and the Holy Lands.  Fundraising plans for your church groups.

Travelocity Partner Network
“Travel, Travel, Travel – Trends, Industry Knowledge and more” For both beginner and experienced agents.
A division of Travelocity, the industry leader in offering scalable and private label online travel solutions.  It builds your brand, not ours.

Travel Guard
Travel Insurance… How it benefits you and your customers
Travel Guard Insurance Regional Account Manager Nancy Mallek from Stevens Point WI, is curious if you know how easily you can increase your revenue by recommending travel insurance.  Join us for an informative session that will help you sell more.  Learn various tips on how to sell, why your customers should purchase, and ways to overcome objections.  Plus, everything you want to know about what is covered in a travel insurance policy.

Other suppliers who I don’t have course descriptions for but will be at Funshine to educate TSO’s who want to learn include Epic Tours, The Mark Travel Corporation, Worldwide Golf Vacations, MSC Cruises, Cunard Lines, Worldwide Tours, Inc., and Carey International.

When you take a look at the list of seminars above and then compare it to the Home Based Agent Show and Conference in Atlantic City in a little more than a week, it’s shocking to see how a single company like YTB can attract a similar segment and number of suppliers for its conference. I’d also be willing to bet that YTB will provide a larger crowd for Funshine compared to the Home Based Agent Show designed for an entire segment of the industry.

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. 

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Do You ZamZuu?

If finally happened. I woke up this morning and checked my blog stats only to see “Steve Mencik linked here saying, “Provide me documentation of just one Host, one Age …”

It appears that someone finally had the guts to stand up and discuss an issue that I’ve been asking the industry to respond to for a month now. Congratulations. However, since Steve (the author of the post) doesn’t know how to link properly, we’re bringing the challenge I offered up to the industry, called “Open Mic” night” back up. If you came here from No Travel MLM’s, you would have found an article on Brian Tracy, not the challenge. I know how easy it is for our critics to get sidetracked with irrelevant and scandalous matters.

In addition, I find it interesting that we already have one of the infamous excuses from the other side and change to my challenge. Personally, I take issue with that because I didn’t ask, nor am I looking for excuses. I asked about solutions from other Hosts.

Steve has thrown one of the major benefits for him and other Travel Agents out the window for one of two reasons. One, because he, like everyone else can’t grasp YTB’s two distinct business models. Or two, because he knows that the insurance offered to TSO’s is an offer no other Host has. Therefore, the insurance issue is thrown out the window because he wants to mix the two opportunities.

Tisk – tisk – tisk.

Rules are rules guys, and YTB’s Medical and Life Insurance is a very distinct advantage of the TSO (YTB Travel Network) compensation program that I can promise no one else is able to offer. YTB has offered this benefit for two solid years now, exclusive of the Director program from YTB Marketing. Because no other Host has been able to figure out just how to do this with independent contractors we’re told it can’t be done?

Don’t think so.

The Medical and Life Insurance offered by YTB Travel Network does not require the recruitment a single solitary soul in order to obtain the Insurance. Period. The process of mixing both our Director Program and our Travel Agent Program not only a lame excuse but a cop-out so they can appear to have somewhat of a level playing field.

Sorry gang, but no can do on throwing it out the window. Since a “Travel Agent” would not be required to become a Director, (i.e. recruit a single person) and the insurance benefits are granted strictly via annual travel commissions of $25,000 or more, and not recruiting, the insurance stays right were it is.

To clarify further for everyone here are the commission contracts and the levels that anyone, including Steve, can achieve as a TSO with YTB Travel Network.

*Excludes shopYTB commissions. (Remember we only need “Travel Agents” here.)

*Upon reaching the 80, 90 or 100% commission level, Site Owners will receive company paid group health insurance as well as one-time bonuses of $2,500, $5,000 and $10,000 respectively.

*These one-time bonuses are only paid when a Site Owner reaches the 80, 90 or 100% commission level for the first time.

So bring it on kids. Provide me documentation of just one Host, one Agency, one single Brick and Mortar that:

• Offers 80%-100% commission contracts.
• Pays cash bonuses of up to $10K when you hit performance levels for travel commissions earned.
• AND completely covers the cost of your Medical Insurance and provides a $150,000 Life Insurance policy.
• AND do it for less than $500 start up and $49.95 per monthly overhead.

And I’m not looking for excuses why it can’t be done. Fact is, it HAS been done and it’s not my problem or issue that YTB came up with it first leaving the rest of the Hosts in the dust.

Gang, if you were smart, and I know you are, instead of fighting this, you’d join. $25K a year for a traditional travel agent or anyone else with the experience and knowledge that Steve has would be a walk in the park. I would imagine $100K would also be attainable for Steve and his colleagues.

Unless you can come up with another host who can do all this…you’re leaving all kinds of money and opportunities on the table.

So stop beating around the bush, stop coming up with excuses and provide the documentation I asked for.

Otherwise you’ll get nothing more than – “Thanks for sharing”.

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Do You ZamZuu?

A couple of weeks ago I put out a challenge to the industry to find a better opportunity than YTB regarding price, compensation, and benefits. It’s not surprising that I’ve had very few takers. I already knew the answer.

Here are the requirements that I’ve asked everyone to follow:

Just one Host, one Agency, one single Brick and Mortar that:

• Offers 80%-100% commission contracts.
• Pays cash bonuses of up to $10K when you hit performance levels for travel commissions earned.
• Covers the cost of your Medical Insurance and provides a $150,000 Life Insurance policy.
• Give me that “hat trick” for less than $500 start up and $49.95 per monthly overhead.

I’ve seen a handful of answers from those associated with Nexion, Travel Planners International, and over the weekend, CruiseOne.

While I have no problem with any of these Host Agencies, (I’m sure they’re all very good) none of them match what I have with YTB. Travel Planners for example can offer 100% commission (after two years) but lacks the bonuses and medical benefits I’m looking for. CruiseOne does offer the medical benefits I’m looking for, but I’d have to pay for benefits, along with a hefty $10K for the privilege of being aligned with them. (Where YTB will pay me $10K for producing.)

I do like and did find the payment option in Travel Weekly’s CruiseOne article interesting. If you can come up with $2500 down payment, you can finance the rest through a third party to complete the remaining amount owed. I have no idea what the interest rate or terms would be for something like this, but I can promise it will end up costing a bit more than the $9800 flat rate price to get started the old way.

I also liked Dwain Wall’s comment on the current influx of new blood into the industry in the Travel Weekly article.

“We’ve seen an influx of interest from very bright, passionate, entrepreneurial people who have been laid off from another industry or are working presently, but challenged to produce the initial CruiseOne Franchise Fee,” said Dwain Wall, senior vice president and general manager of CruiseOne. “We want to eliminate any barriers to success for people who show such strong potential and offer a stimulus plan, of sorts, to help aspiring entrepreneurs seize the moment and start their own cruise travel business.”

YTB found the same challenge for bright, passionate, entrepreneurial people as well, and came up with a $99 plan to get started. (You can find more info on the $99 plan here.)

To me, it’s all about risk verses reward. If you truly want to align yourself in the travel industry and see if this is something you want to do, why pay more for inferior compensation and benefits?

I’m just asking…

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Do You ZamZuu?

Last week, I had the pleasure of being interview by George Dooley in Travel Agent Central. What made this even more of an honor was finding out that George is an admitted fan of my blog and my perspective of YTB. I found him honest, fair, and genuinely interested in my side of the story.

George is also a reporter.

Part of the job of any good reporter is to provide both sides of a story. Think Fox News here…”Fare and Balanced”, right? I can’t knock George for providing an alternative view about YTB, but I have to ask why in the world did he have to pick one of the most narrow minded, self absorbed, and damaged critics in the industry to speak for the other side?

John Frenaye and I go back for almost two years now, and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to correct, clean up, or otherwise call John out for not getting things right. Like most self professed “experts” John continues to take a singular quote or comment and attempt to dazzle the reader with what he feels are important facts and figures in order to distract everyone from what is really going on.

His current response to my article is no different.

John, 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 industry. (Mind you, both interviews can be found in a “travel publication”.) But as we’ve seen so many times before, we have “travel agents” who can don the cap of Legal Counsel, Financial Auditor, Stock Broker, Travel Supplier, Business Consultant, and Better Business Bureau at a moments notice; all in an attempt to make you look away from the real story and guide you in a direction more in line with their own limiting beliefs.

You need to remember that this is the same guy that said Coach and Scott would call it quits – one who speculated that California could achieve it’s goal of shutting YTB down – that called the amended class action “powerful” – and an individual who forgot to check with Peter Jensen if he was in fact leaving YTB!

If you have this much egg on your face in one month’s time, wouldn’t “tough minded” begin to look more like “simple minded”? I mean good grief, what is it going to take to finally wise up and start living in the real world instead this fantasy land? If it weren’t for the constant reactions to what YTB is doing, he’d be a just some average John Doe without much else to do.

But John has provided some good comic relief through the years and this article is no exception. I don’t know if he’s aware of this, but one of the first points John attempts to make in the article actually links to the “ungainly monster of 39 pages containing 133 paragraphs” that didn’t pass muster under federal standards. We all know by this time how the Honorable Judge Murphy reprimanded Counsel concerning this case for being nothing more than redundant, immaterial, impertinent, and scandalous. But John, the BBB, and various other critics have decided to ignore the reprimand, and still use this failed class action in an attempt to provide a “powerful” message?

If it works for you John, be my guest. But the rest of us will more likely side with the Judge who actually knows the letter of the law in this case and called a spade a spade here.

Furthermore, the other link reports that Jerry Brown brought an end to an “elaborate pyramid scheme”, yet YTB just finished up one of the most meaningful conventions I’ve ever been a part of. We now have valuable tools that in years past have proven substantial and something the entire field has been asking for. While John wrote yesterday on his bog that the $6000 guarantee didn’t work, YTB’s RTA numbers soared from 20K to 122K during that program release. If it were me, I’d be more concerned about YTB regaining it dominance, rather than focusing on thinking that it’s over for YTB.

As we’ve heard so many times before the real phobia surrounding YTB is the “Recruiting”. John and others continue to pound this dead horse mixing the recruiting revenue with travel revenue.

“It does not take a rocket scientist to figure it out,” Frenaye said. “Their entire income is based on the sign up fees and the continuing monthly access fees to the cloned privately labeled Travelocity booking engine. For a stark look at the numbers, the TSOs have paid (sign-ups and monthly fees) a total of $283,513,046, or over a quarter billion dollars since 2006 and during that time have earned a total in travel commissions of $39,999,552. Not the greatest return on investment if you ask me.”

Rocket science?

After all this study – all this time, energy and focus on YTB he still can’t grasp that Hotels.com, Trav-Tech, Apple, Pleasant, Travel Impressions, Collette, TicketsNow, and RCI among a host of other suppliers isn’t offered through Travelocity. But he wants you to think that what YTB offers is nothing more than Travelocity to make him and his pals feel better. In addition it’s not YTB’s responsibility for the pour commission percentages producing only $40 million ($55 million to YTB) from over $1 billion in gross travel sales in a three year period. (Based on verified gross sales found in Travel Weekly in 2006, 2007, and 2008) More to the point, John’s upset the he missed out on his free Rep position with YTB, and cashing in on selling “replicated Travelocity booking engines” for a piece of a $200 million pie paid to other Reps just like him.

If you’re going to look at numbers, it’s wise to look at ALL the numbers. By placing $1 billion in gross travel sales in the “travel category”, and $200 million paid in the “Rep Category” those that have figure this out know that evens things out a bit. Or at least know that John’s concerns certainly don’t mix when it comes to pitching the sad, sad story of MLM’s and Travel.

For folks like John, it’s all about the model being flawed. “Very few” as he states make it in this industry, simply because it’s MLM.

One of the fist articles I ever wrote was about Roger Bannister breaking the 4 minute mile. Like Roger’s story, John is telling you it can’t be done. I’m here to tell you that it can. Because people like me, Candi May, Von Nickleberry, Nick Pagano, Rick Ricketts, Jeanie Sharpless, Tim Dominey, and hundreds of others have done it, what gives anyone the right (or the gall) to tell you that YOU can’t? If they’ve proven to be successful, wouldn’t it be wise to followed the same path we have, in order to obtain some level of the same success in this industry?

If you want John to protect you…that’s your choice. But I have to warn you, from experience, he’ll turn on you at a moments notice to slap you upside the head for not doing it exactly the way he wants you to.

John doesn’t see YTB competing favorably as a franchise because Royal Caribbean, NCL, and Perilo have decided not to utilize YTB’s massive sales force. John ignores that YTB is already is competing as a lowly MLM with year over year growth from #35 to #25 in just three years. The question isn’t if YTB’s going to compete, it’s when Royal and NCL decide they need to compete.

But because John and the others have never been able to accept any amount of actual Travel Sales, it perpetuates the myth that YTB is inferior. In order to prove his point he takes the TSO income disclosure statement stored on his own server to lay claim that only one person can make $25k. Maybe he should take the time to pull the PDF again to see that both an Associate at the 60% contract level has earned in excess of $25k, and an RTA at the 70% contract level has earned closed to $27K. Only one has exceed the $25K mark? Fact is, he doesn’t know how many have actually earned over $25K, but it sure sounded good for the purpose of his story. My question is how TSO’s are now encouraged to push from say $20k to $25K to earn the additional 10% contract, bonuses, and fully paid medical and life insurance that I can promise you the “other” hosts would not provide.

If you don’t think a travel professional might be swayed by fully paid medical and life insurance, for the same contract or better, with additional performance bonuses to boot…you’re dreamin.

But as we’ve seen John quoted so many times before “I just don’t get it”?

At least he got that right. But it again begs the question why George had to use this simple mind to react to a the articulate message brought forward during last weeks convention in St. Louis.

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