YTB’s Annual Report (YTBLA.OB) came out last week with a 15% increase in total revenue for the year of $162.5 million, and an increase of more than $7 million travel commissions. This during a very difficult year not only for the company, but the entire economy. If you keep up with financial data and the Annual Reports of late, you would be hard pressed to find a company that is thriving in the current economic climate. Taking the time to look around the industry right now, (and this is just the Travel Industry) you find a net loss of $121 million for Avis/Budget, even worse for Hertz who lost $1.2 billion in Q4, the MGM Mirage lost $1.15 billion, Expedia, the third largest Agency in the country took a hit for $2.76 billion, and Joystar who is now bankrupt showed up with $535 dollars in cash.

About the only good news out there for Agencies right now is the life vest thrown their way by the new Administration with $15 billion in stimulus money in the hope that this will be enough to keep those still around alive. Unfortunately it was to little too late for Joystar, and Cruise Value Centers, while a report late last weekend documented that Liberty Travel closed 4 of it’s 7 Maryland locations, (closing 31 Liberty locations in all) Safe Harbors Travel Agency was also hit with layoffs, and AAA of the Mid-Atlantic is reducing its staff’s hours.

So with all this doom and gloom surrounding how tough things are right now, anybody want to take a stab at the reason for YTB’s $4.5 million loss?

Because it’s MLM.

I kid you not, and apparently there are people who are very serious that it’s the “flawed business model” that has placed YTB in a very vast and growing list of companies that are attempting to survive these very troubling economic times. (And some wonder why I don’t get wrapped up in all the fuss any longer.) When you’ve been reading the garbage on the internet about YTB for as long as I have, you develop an immunity to the venom thrown your way. The negative speculation never ends up the way critics predict, and I don’t see any reason why I should start now with the type of track record they have. Before YTB’s 2007 banner financial year, YTB endured criticism quarter after quarter that they wouldn’t make it into the next year…then the next year…and the next.

And apparently all eyes are on YTB as we’re at it again via the direction of a “going concern” letter that was issued by YTB’s Auditors in it’s Annual Report. Would it surprise you that “going concern” letters are becoming more commonplace with companies like DayStar Technologies, and General Motors, with others to follow according to Greg Milmoe, a partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom? That’s not to say that a company that gets a “going concern” letter is doomed to bankruptcy. Sanyo turned things around late last year, along with Eddie Bauer who worked through the doubts and stigma associated with such an opinion.

A letter such as this is part of an Auditors job, to provide it’s professional opinion on the health and viability of company, and it’s up to the company to follow that direction if they want to remain solvent and in business. We’ve seen a number of changes in the way YTB has done business with drastic cuts in spending with the illumination of CRTA Trainings and opting for First Class On-line Training. Another notable absence this year was Coach’s Birthday Bash in which expenses usually sore into the millions. The company has also shored up capital reserves, evidenced by major cutbacks in the second half of the year, such as a halt to the building project at the Home Office.

Other changes involved the elimination of non-current inventory, which resulted in one time losses of $3.0 million due to the legal issues the company is facing at this time. But the word “pyramid scheme” keeps popping up even with a company statement that has been in front of everyone viewing YTB for the last couple of years that you pay for a Travel Agency (the product) not the opportunity to recruit as a Rep. There are those who either aren’t intelligent enough or simply want to ignore this fact of two separate companies. Personally, it’s hard to ignore the separation when you’ve received two separate 1099’s since the very beginning to hand over to your CPA come tax time. One 1099 is for the travel you sold, and one for the team building you’ve done.

Yet the spin is to mesh the two together, and that everyone is paying money to recruit, recruit, recruit, because there’s a phobia about building a team of people to work with that’s reserved only for the Direct Sales model.

Direct Sales is a model the founders of the company know very well, and have been successful in for close to 30 years. It’s amazing how failures that are more than 3 decades old come to the surface in an attempt to prove some point that Coach isn’t all that smart or can’t be trusted as a business man. It’s as if the mentoring by A.L. Williams in the early 80’s never existed as a lesson on how to build a successful business that produced a team of agents with annual sales of $2.5 billion during a 20 year career with what is now known as Primerica. It’s hard to fathom how anyone can skip over two decades of success, but we are talking about MLM here, and for critics you never focus on the successes, only the failures in order to keep everyone in line with their own perception of reality.

Over the last week I’ve seen a number of comments that “the writing is on the wall”. Oddly enough, none of the writing documents the 20 years with A.L. Williams, the Travel Weekly Power List, the membership with the DSA, the investments into both SAP and Convergentware, cruise sales with both Carnival and now Princess later this week, (be on the lookout here about Princess here later this week) and a the new print on demand site with Mailpound that was announced at Red Carpet Day last week, in front of 1500 passionate TSO’s.

Maybe because what they call “writing” is nothing more than graffiti designed to cover up what I’m actually experiencing with the company right now. That’s what graffiti is designed to do, to show evidence of decline.

We certainly have our work cut out for us in cleaning up the graffiti all over the internet right now. It’s time consuming, it’s uncomfortable, and one always needs a shower after dealing with such toxins. That’s why I don’t like to get wrapped up in it any longer. Like everything else that the company has had to deal with, time and natural progression will wash much of it away when you take the right steps and make the right choices.

In these tough economic times, only the strong will survive. With so many eyes and focus right now ONLY on YTB, it’s hard for some to take the blinders off and see the entire picture. Challenges come in many different forms and YTB has certainly had it’s share of challenges. It’s what you learn and how you adapt to the challenges that can make a person and a company stronger. When you take the proper steps to answer the chanllenges, there is very little anyone can do to when you reach the other side.

I know it’s hard for some to see that other side because the end is near according to some. Stuck in a forest of trees that keep falling all around them.

Me, I just keep my eye on the light I see off in the distance because that’s what I’ve been taught by every mentor I’ve ever come accross in my years of this experiance we call life.

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.

PPS - Subscribe to the Just Picture It Now RSS feed, (including e-mail) for all the latest posts and updates found right here!

Learn How To Become A Travel Agent

Book Your Travel & Vacations With

Do You ZamZuu?

Be very careful. You could blow me over with a feather right now.

I heard rumor that the words “I apologize” actually appeared on a blog, by the blogger himself. I’m very glad that the person who forwarded me this information told me to sit down, because I think I might have hurt myself if I wasn’t sitting.

Don’t get too excited about this miracle however. The author is still waiting on some sort of company press release concerning YTB acquiring American Destinations, Inc. in order to make all this believable. I don’t know if a Press Release will be released but once the DVD that was shown at the Regional Travel Training in Richmond and the 16 page catalogs are available from our back office, I’ll post John’s PO Box for any of you who care to send him a copies.

I don’t know how much time it will take for any type of press release or documentation to materialize to settle this acquisition for him, but I wouldn’t worry about it. If I were him, I’d talk to YTB or ADI Executives directly, but apparently that is not an option he chooses to accept. It could resolve the issue, and what fun would it be not being able say, “here’s mud in your eye” in attempts to slow us down and keep people from finding out the truth?

The truth always materializes, always. So I wouldn’t get too worked up about the naysayers not coming to grips with YTB is doing or not doing.

From what I understand, John is busy trying to verify my post about Candi May on Tuesday. I wanted to call Candi yesterday, but she was spending time with her Grandkids, and didn’t want to bother her. I’ll catch up with her later today.

By the way, I’ve decided to delete the comments attached with Candi’s post. The purpose of the post was to show that there are traditionalist’s in the industry who find YTB not only viable, but attractive. Instead, the comments turned into a shouting match from one side of the fence to the other.

My bad, and I apologize if it offended anyone. I’ve been growing tired of all the justification, accusations and speculation being thrown around all over the internet. With the Annual Report, investor interest, the upgrade to the OTC, and our new Board of Directors being named, the rhetoric and mud slinging seems to have just gotten worse, not better.

Not surprising. All the news last month moves YTB in a positive direction, and it’s showing our critics signs that YTB is planning on sticking around.

Just keep the main thing the main thing and don’t worry about helping those who don’t appreciate what YTB is doing. The numbers are very few and with all the documentation from last month alone is enough to focus on.

Make it a great day!

Thanks for the post John.

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.

PPS - Subscribe to the Just Picture It Now RSS feed, (including e-mail) for all the latest posts and updates found right here!

Learn How To Become A Travel Agent

Book Your Travel & Vacations With

Do You ZamZuu?

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!”

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.

PPS - Subscribe to the Just Picture It Now RSS feed, (including e-mail) for all the latest posts and updates found right here!

Learn How To Become A Travel Agent

Book Your Travel & Vacations With

Do You ZamZuu?