Looks as if we have another company in our industry who has had enough of the games being played in the Travel Industry. Paul Henderson, CEO of Pro Travel Network, wrote an open letter to the industry on Friday which Travel Weekly picked up.
I have to hand it to Mr. Henderson, he’s got spunk!
Now I don’t agree with everything, but unlike the Traditionalists in our industry, I’m not going to split hairs or point out “what’s wrong” simply to belittle a message that I do agree with. (A nice trick that I’m sure Paul understands all too well.) The minor points shouldn’t overshadow a strong message that I, and I think most Travel MLM’s can stand behind, although I’ll allow everyone concerned to form their own opinions.
What I like best about this message is that it’s clear that like YTB, Pro Travel Network has no intention of going anywhere and there are a few in the industry would be better off finding a way to co-exist so they can get back to working their own business rather than spending the time they do pointing out what needs to be changed in ours.
Here’s the problem as Mr. Henderson see’s it; there are no guidelines to follow, or legal precedence to go by that gives anyone a stamp of approval to call themselves a “Travel Agent”. Now I know that there are those who have voiced their own set of rules or guidelines, but when you look at what they say and compare it with IATA, CLIA, ARTA, PATH, and OSSN, you end up with WTF. Or better stated, a melting pot of ideas without one clear leader that defines the role of “Travel Agent”.
In an industry that has “self service” companies like Travelocity, Orbitz, Expedia, and Priceline that enables anyone to book just about any type of travel they want without the aid or service of a “Travel Agent”, (to the tune of $45 BILLION annually no less) you might be asking yourself why some feel that they need to protect this title the way they do. Likewise, the airline industry started this whole mess when American Airlines cut commissions and offered up self service to the masses back in the late 1990’s. So what “qualifies” John or Jane Doe to book an airline ticket themselves? What kind of qualifications are required by John or Jane to order cruise documents, a hotel room, a car? None. Zip. Ziltch. Nadda.
In defense of the “professionals” who are beside themselves, many were brought up in the industry much differently than it is today, and many have been members of the industry much longer than many of us “newbies” who only have a couple of years under our belts. However, it’s ludicrous to try to compare this profession to say…a Doctor. You can’t order and do heart surgery yourself like you can a cruise and I seriously doubt you ever will. But that’s the way it is in this industry. People simply make up their own set of rules and stories in an attempt to rid the industry of a model they clearly love to hate, but at the same time clearly can’t grasp.
Case in point is Joystar. Mr. Henderson like myself clearly understands that Joystar was never a “Card Mill” or an “MLM”. (I told you that back in October of 2007) But I don’t know if Mr. Henderson understands Bill Alversons connection to TravelMax which was an MLM and simply followed him over to Joystar because many believe once and MLM’er ALWAYS and MLM’er. (Part of the ignorance we deal with.) Nor does it explain companies why Cruise Value Center closed abruptly a few month ago who was also not an MLM. In addition, the small number of RTA’s that I can count on one hand who cut YTB out of the mix and booked directly with a supplier only to walk off with the money (out of more than 300K who have been involved) there are hundreds more in the traditional arena who are caught and prosecuted doing the same thing. But like the issues surrounding what makes anyone a legitimate “Travel Agent”, those stories are simply ignored and fingers are promptly pointed back the direction of MLM.
The problem in this industry IS MLM according to some, and they spend an incredible amount of time and effort in their own personal missions to save everyone from the evil MLM’ers who never have and never will be successful. (By the way, that would include yours truly. ;-P) It appears that Mr. Henderson also sees right through the smoke and mirrors of this illusion…
Neither are all MLMs bad. What a ridiculous notion. Who says they are? Those who have never had success in it or see it as a threat to their models? Or those who use these bashing techniques as promo for their previously unrecognized companies? Travel is a 7 Trillion industry, so I hardly think competition is the issue. MLM has just become another “buzz word” created to label those we don’t like. Is there anyone today that sees Mary Kay as a bad business model? Warren Buffet owns Pampered Chef. Is there anyone out there who hasn’t eaten from Tupperware? Avon is a household name. So why can so many traditional companies such as American Express, etc., sell a home-based agent product, with training and accounting tools, support, etc., but if an MLM does it, it is no longer a valid product? Come on!!!
So how can we judge any travel-related MLM, as good or bad. If they book lots of travel…they must have cheated. Or we take their number of agents and divide into travel revenue to show that each agent only booked or earned this or that, as if that means anything. I was taught as a child that less than 20% do over 80% of the work. If an MLM agent takes an unwarranted FAM….oh my God, the end is near. So we spend hours picking apart one another’s business, instead of addressing the real issues of concern…that perhaps a bad company has exploited. Fix the issues, the exploitation goes away.
There in lies the both the problem and frustration that so many of us have concerning these critics who have entirely too much time on their hands to dream up and concoct the blogs, forums, and posts that they do. If you actually look at the real issue, you have to look inward and admit that YOUR model is flawed, and some just can’t come to grips with that idea.
Once again, we have another solution to sit down and talk about the issues face to face.
I would love to sit in on the panels or boards to help defend, not MLM nor card mills, but fairness. To look at what is fair. Let’s face it, most travel agents don’t book $1,000,000 per year. Since only a few even hold the IATAN card, that means most book far less than $50,000/yr. Many thousands are part-time. Does that make them less qualified to make a booking? So this must be researched and carefully thought out, debated and discussed. But, I do believe all bad agencies and hosts should be terminated, but we must first, as an industry come together to create what guidelines allow for that. Otherwise, we must stop pushing rules that do not exist!!!
I have no idea if Mr. Henderson’s response to our critics has anything to do with this or not, or if he even knows about the “witch hunt” that’s brewing for yet another look at MLM’s at the end of the month, and I’m afraid that no one from the MLM industry has been invited to participate. Instead, we can look forward to even more spam that gets promptly deleted when it arrives in our “in box” with the nonsense both of us have apparently been bombarded from some very irate and frustrated people.
I couldn’t agree more that until the industry starts looking at a clear definition of “Travel Agent” the intense energy spent by these critics to warn everyone do more harm, and cause more confusion for everyone involved. But like my alcoholism, these traditionalists need to take a hard look at themselves in order to do that, and I see no signs of it I’m sorry to say. Meanwhile, I’ve seen plenty of MLM’s change, adapt, and respond to the issues going on in the industry, and that shows strength, not the weakness as some like to spin.
Overall Paul, what the MLM’s need to do is walk the walk and given time, the traditionalists in the industry will exhaust themselves, especially at the pace their going. Like the Mary Kay’s, the Tupperware, the Avon’s, and the Primerica’s of the MLM industry, time will prove that our model DOES work with the proper management behind it. (As proper management is key for any business model.) I’m afraid that you’ll be hard pressed to find anyone at this point who is willing to listen to your ideas on the other side of the river, which they call “da Nile”. I agree it’s frustrating, it’s sad, and it’s extremely unproductive, but there’s really not much anyone can do to help until they’re willing to admit that we can help.
From where I sit, they’re just not ready and I can’t see any clues that they ever will.
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Doug & Ronda Bauknight
AKA: TravelPro
Travel Agent / Networker
Phone: 678.458.5812
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