Nearly 11,000 Referring Travel Agents attended the YTB annual National Convention in St. Louis, MO. I was very proud to have a number of team members who attended a weekend of recognition of the past year’s high sales achievers, providing team building ideas, inspirational and motivational seminars, future plans, and several major announcements. The first two days of the Convention, we had the opportunity to select from 132 business classes at YTB University. These classes were taught by field leaders, corporate staff, and outside professionals. The information was invaluable enabling all of us to learn from the best of the best.

When the General Sessions started Friday morning I was blown away by the amount of people who were in attendance, but even more so by the dynamic stage complete with a cruise ship and what appeared to be a life size commercial airliner which hung above a runway. The atmosphere was certainly electric right from the start.

Did I say several major announcements? Right from the start, the company released major bombshells at every General Session all weekend long, starting with our new personalized booking engine to include more features that myself and our clients have requested. We have a new, state-of-the-art cruise engine, and also added several niche sites that will appeal to travel customers. Fell free to check out our new Golf Site, Flowers Site, and YTB Weddings page which can be accessed through the Extras tab on the home page along with YTB Cars which was also launched in July. Additional specialty sites are being developed and will be available soon to include skiing, adventure, and extreme travel custom pages.

Our new Marketing website has been completely revamped and launched with a spectacular new look and tons of new features to better assist us in our YTB business! You can read recent BizReports and hear the latest Conference Training Calls without have to have access to our Back Office. Check out the new high resolution “Take a Look at YTB” video located in the center of the page! This has been a surefire way to interest prospects in hearing more about this great company.

RTAs just starting out now have the capability to purchase health care insurance with no questions asked! In addition to our Directors who build teams, now any RTA who earns $25,000 in travel commissions in a 12-month period will qualify for fully paid health insurance with Blue Cross Blue Shield. Commission level must be maintained to continue to receive this benefit. Now the company will provide both team builders AND Travel Commission builders equal benefits in both Health and Life Insurance. By the way, the Life Insurance Policy was also increased from $100,000 to $150,000 for our Directors.

Effective January 1, 2008, new requirements will be in place in order to qualify for a YTB Referring Travel Agent credential card. RTAs joining as of January 1, 2008 must sell a minimum of $1,500 in travel before applying for the RTA credential card. RTA’s who wish to qualify for CLIA credentials must sell a minimum of $2,500 in travel in order to carry this prestigious credential. Renewal credentials will not be required to meet this qualification. (Annual testing and fees with CLIA still apply for all RTA’s)

YTB’s famous Bill of Rights has now been amended to add even more protection. In addition to our residual commission, YTB now protects all Rep commissions and bonuses.

YTB is in the process of getting “Cleared for Takeoff” in Canada! The company will announce during Coach’s Birthday Bash a firm CANADA GO LIVE date, which will be sometime between January 5th and January 20th, 2008. YTB will schedule a Kickoff Canada meetings within 30 days after the GO LIVE date. I’ll keep an eye on upcoming BizReports for the latest news for our neighbor to the north! (Beauty eh?”)

YTB is also introducing a twice annual publication all about TRAVEL! “Fun and Travel” magazine discusses travel trends, features preferred vendors, and reviews the hottest travel destinations. It will be available at the Funshine Travel Trade Show in Orlando, Florida to be held Friday and Saturday, October 5-6, 2007. More information on pricing and availability will be published in upcoming BizReports and I’ll be sure to let you know.

YTB is also looking to help the “Traditional Travel Agents” fight back. I know for example most Travel Agents still in business today focus on the Luxury market. Cruises, All-Inclusive packages, Tours and such. I also know loyal clients often call for airline, hotels, and car rentals that are not productive use of time. Because they are loyal clients Agents can now send clients to the internet to book their day to day travel themselves through a private label YTB Booking engine tied to the Agency. Agents can now take back some of the commission lost to airlines and those big on line booking engines. You may have heard of them, Travelocity, Orbitz, and Expedia? For a set period, RTAs credentialed by another travel agency can qualify to become a YTB Referring Travel Agent for only $49.95. We will waive the initial $449.95 start up costs! This offer good August 17 through midnight CT December 2, 2007.

RTAs will also have an opportunity to sell a one-year subscription in a Two Fly Free program for a $300 fee. This will allow for free airfare from select cities when purchased in conjunction with a 7-10 night hotel stay (international destinations are also available). In a recent comparison on a trip to Hawaii for a group of six, savings of over $10,000 could have been realized using this program. Two Fly Free program details are being finalized and this program will be available through the RTA booking engine. I’ll watch upcoming BizReports for more details.

Two new DVD tools and books where introduced as well, “Coach’s Playbook” and “Circle of Champions”. “Coach’s Playbook” is a 55-minute DVD and booklet showing you how to effectively build your business, created by the founders, Coach, Scott, and Kim. This includes YTB business fundamentals, the key to understanding the YTB compensation plan, and an inside look at how YTB began and the passion behind it. “Coach’s Playbook” will be included in the Toolbox welcome kit for all new RTAs. The “Circle of Champions” DVD and booklet features the stories of the Top 12 Million Dollar Diamond Ring earners. They share you with what this business means to them as they invite you into their homes and families. “Circle of Champions” booklet also included in the Toolbox welcome kit for all new RTAs.

Our new 131,000 square foot Home Office being renovated is going Green! The building will meet the goals of the 2030 Worldwide Challenge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the building by 50%. It will be built on new construction standards called LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) The LEED Green Building Rating System is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high performance green buildings. We are also working to buy a large swath of nearby land, currently a cornfield, along Route 143, and wants to build a hotel and conference center and perhaps more office space, total land owned will be more than 59 acres.

Think it’s been a good summer? You bet it has! From the looks of it, it’s going to get even better as we continue to execute our business plan and continue to take the industry by storm. There is little doubt YTB is the current leader in the Networking Travel Industry, and from what’s been laid out before us, there is little evidence that this will change. We make no bones about the fact that our goal is the be the #1 Travel Agency in the world, and it’s good to see signs that we are rapi
dly moving in that direction.

If you’d like help get us to our goal, we’d love to have you! Feel free to pick up the phone and call us or simply leave your information on our automated lead capture page so we can call you on our dime at www.justpictureitnow.net.

As in Just Picture It Now, you too can be a part of this incredible company and industry.