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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Over the years I’ve read how my travel training is sub-par simply because I’m involved with YTB. In all the years I’ve seen those comments I’ve wondered two things.

One…how in the world would anyone outside of YTB even know what kind of travel training is available to those involved in YTB?

And two…can CLIA, TAUniv.com, TheAcademy.com or supplier specific training be any different from what other host agencies are able to acquire?

In my weekly newsletter I write each week for TSO’s, a good portion of that newsletter is dedicated to the subject of travel training. When I see folks like CLIA, Travel Agent University, The Academy, and a number of suppliers and vendors who promote training courses and webniars, it makes me wonder if I’m missing something. Are the Traditionalist getting something through osmosis that I’m not? It’s especially interesting when these trainings are live (like CLIA’s this summer) how this happens.

I consider myself somewhat observant and a smart enough guy. How this specialized training and knowledge has slipped past me all these years is very odd. It could be a case of more mud that’s thrown up in the hopes that it will stick for anyone who is looking into becoming a Travel Agent. If you find it via Google, it’s got to be true right? The tag line here is: because it’s YTB, somehow, you just can’t get the same type of quality training because it’s MLM. 

Truth be told, it’s not the lack of training that’s available in this industry that’s the problem. The problem for those that are caught up in all the “issues” with YTB is that the individuals involved in our company don’t appear to have any interest or care to participate in the training that’s available. What we have come to understand over the years however, is the “issues” are more or less “illusions”. Remember, the mud thrown up is to make it look like the majority care only about “recruiting”. Yet, the last two years of Income Disclosures document a very small number recruit. (Fact is, about 10% actually do.)

So what’s available to the other 90% who got involved with YTB?

When writing a newsletter like mine, a key to it’s success or failure is knowing what your readership likes. What pushes thier buttons. A big reason why I put so much travel training information in my newsletter is because my readership responds to it. I not only track, but I pay close attention to open rates and click rates to see how effective my information is. (It’s all part of proper marketing and building trust.) Every week, without fail, travel training consistently ranks very high in clicks.

For example, I mentioned CLIA’s TrainingFest which will tour 12 cities this summer. While I’ve promoted this in my newsletter for several weeks now, each week this live course for Cruise Counselor Credits ranked extremely high from my readership. (Out numbered 2 to 1 over any other piece I wrote the first week I promoted it.) They, like me, have a keen interest in learning and growing in the travel industry.

In addition, new 2009 CLIA applicants are required to be enrolled in, or to have achieved a designation (ACC, MCC, ECC, ECCS) in CLIA’s Cruise Counselor Certification Program. Attainment of an ACC designation requires a program of mandatory and elective training options as well personal cruise experience, shipboard inspections and 25 cabin sales within the two year enrollment period.

What about Travel Agent University? US Airways is offering a Vacations Specialist Course this week through this program that looks to be the same course offered to Traditionalists. These “home-study” programs by the Education and Training Division of Travel Agent Magazine offer a wide variety of programs and courses for anyone interested in learning about destinations and suppliers. There are dozens of programs and courses to choose from within this particular training program. Since these courses are designed by the staff of Travel Agent Magazine, again, I can’t imagine a special course just for YTB, and another for Traditionalists.

Another high click rate the past two weeks have been Apple Vacations and their Agent Academy now in year two of the program. These 10-unit educational course on selling Apple Vacations expands on what we learned in year one. Of course, those who are new to YTB and Apple Vacations have an opportunity to take year one, and then move on to year two in order to get you up to speed. I can’t imagine how or why Apple Vacations would have one course for Traditionalist and another course for YTB.

We can’t forget OneSource from Princess and Cunard either. This Travel Agent Training center is most likely the strongest from any supplier in the industry. (At least ones not offered through programs like Travel Agent University or TheAcademy.com) I’ve heard many times over how much others have learned through this course, and how the curriculum found there can lead to more cruise sales across the board.

And of course there’s YTB E-Campus. While E-campus appears to be an exclusive YTB training, it’s not designed by YTB at all. Instead, we left that up to the most respected and well known trainer in the industry, Dr. Marc Mancini. Dr Mancini and his firm are the creative force behind some of the best-known and most successful training programs in the business including training programs for CLIA, AAA, and NTA. While there has been quite a bit of speculation that all 10 courses would never be rolled out, YTB is currently in need of one final program, (Course 110) to complete the entire library of training.

E-Campus is a considerable investment for our TSO’s who desire to become “Travel Agents”. Word is with the completion of this 10 course series, we’ll be able to drop the “R” from “Referring Travel Agent” and be considered “Travel Agents”.

There will always be a few stragglers who simply won’t accept anyone involved in YTB as “Travel Agents”. You need to keep in mind that these are the same people who won’t accept YTB as a seller of travel period. If they want to get caught up in the myths and spin surrounding a company like YTB, I’d simply allow them to do so. What I’d recommend instead is getting yourself plugged into something like my newsletter to keep you up to date on the abundance of travel industry training available.

You’ll quickly learn that the industry is an “equal opportunity trainer” and most suppliers, training centers, and specialized courses offered in this industry could care less about who you might be tied to as a Host Agency. It’s apparent to me that there’s an abuandance of training available if you simply know where to look.

PS - If you're involved with YTB, sign up for our FREE Newsletter. As a Website Owner or Website Seller, we'll keep you up to date with all the latest news, acquisitions, and developments with YTB.

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After a busy week last week, I was doing some reading in some of the Trade Journals. I came across several articles in Travel Weekly concerning Agent Issues that I found interesting.

The first that caught my eye was an article about the ARC Accreditation Mark and the VTC (Verified Travel Consultant) Mark, which accredited travel agents, can use to promote their ARC credentials to consumers and suppliers.

I found the Accreditation interesting several fronts. First, you may recall, that IATA terminated YTB’s Accreditation back in November of 2007 for violating its standards. Why YTB was singled out for doing exactly what any other Host Agency has done, is yet to be answered by IATA’s U.S. agency commissioner, James Johnstone. Any Outside Agent dealing with a Host Agency has the IATA’s numeric code either on file or on their ID Cards.

After reading this article I wondered if YTB’s ARC number was back up after winning its bid to keep the number that ARC assigned. (Not assigned by IATA) I checked to see if YTB’s numeric could be accessed from the Check Code page. (If you know the number, you can input it here. I’m not at liberty to post it for you.)

Second, it’s been said that IATA is the “be all and end all” when it comes to verifying and accrediting Agencies, however, I have to question why IATA’s new policy of eliminating paper tickets, which goes into effect in just a few days, (June 1st) doesn’t effect US Agencies? Could it be that U.S. Agents settle through ARC, which continues to process paper?

While ARC continues to thrive and grow, IATA continues to make waves in what has been deemed as “unfair competitive advantage” of agents by refusing to deal with them when e-tickets are not an option in for Canadian Agencies. (Sound familiar?)

On another front, I know many of you have enjoyed the Training Seminars and Webinars available by our vendors and suppliers that I post in my free Weekly Newsletter. Many of you have gained valuable information from CCRATravel in recent months, and I’m sure you will be pleased to see that Net, Preferred, GDS, and Promotional Rates will be increasing to include not only more than 70,0000 Hotels, but Car Rentals with Avis and Budget.

I’m sure an overview should be available soon on how to capitalize on this expanded service available in your Travel Portal.

One last note before I head out today. June is Carnival Month for YTB and next Thurday’s training call will feature both President and Co-Founder of YTB Travel Network J. Kim Sorensen and Mike Julius, Regional Vice President of Carnival Cruise Line on Thursday June 5, 2008.

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

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