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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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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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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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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Did you get your “Welcome Package” late last week for Convention?

If you haven’t seen it yet, be on the lookout for it because they are being sent via US Mail to all who have registered. With the Convention right around the corner, we got our hands on a couple of the BOMBSHELL announcements we’ve come to expect every year. In years past things like website upgrades, medical insurance, and the Bill of Rights have been announced.

This year will be no different.

Although we’ve heard that YTB is running out of money, (a new rumor we saw this week after our phone system crashed for about an hour Thursday morning) we caught wind of some new enhancements to pay to the field for both Website Sellers and Travel Store Owners.

Late last year, our Board of Directors suggested that in order to preserve the solvency for EVERYONE in the company, and because a these bonuses were being paid regardless of qualification, the company put a hold on the Director Bonus Program. After many changes, cutbacks, and redistribution of other funds, the Director Compensation is back.

The New Director Compensation is as follows:

a. All qualified Directors, regardless of level, receive a $2,000 Director check on July 20 and August 20.
b. Beginning September 20 (and subsequent months), checks will be issued on the following schedule:

(1) Level 1 Qualified Directors – $2,000
(2) Level 2 Qualified Directors – $4,000
(3) Level 3 Qualified Directors – $8,000
(4) Level 4+ Qualified Directors – $12,000

In addition to the Directors Compensation, there will be additional compensation announced at Convention for qualified Coach’s Corner Members of a “10% Performance Bonus”. This bonus will include your entire organization to the next qualified Coach’s Corner Member. The additional 10% will include all commissions paid to your organization for both Aisle19 (shopYTB) and travel commissions.

Although the travel industry has been in a tizzy over what it claims can not be more than a two way split of commissions, (that being the Agent, and the Host) the industry has been unable to produce, and we have been unable to verify any documentation or legal precedence that requires commissions be split only two ways. (In other words, it’s one of those “unwritten rules” in the industry.) Therefore, similar to the “$50 Bonus” we now receive that replaced the “$50 Reimbursement” of our web site fee with maintaining 6 additional Travel Stores, we will once again pay the “10% Override” in travel sales as a “10% Performance Bonus”.

The company realizes that it needs to incentivize team training and education when it comes to travel. This field training got YTB to where it is, (the 25th largest Seller of Travel in the Nation) and YTB is determined to reward those how help others learn and become successful sellers of travel.

Speaking of Travel Sales, would you like to learn how you can earn 100% commission on tavel? While we don’t know the exact details at this time, you will find out at Convention how to apply and train to receive an additional 30-40% on all your personal travel sales to with a 100% Commission Contract. We have also been told that as a Coach’s Corner Member, if you or anyone in your organization upgrades and qualifies for the 100% Commission Contract, your “10% Performance Bonus” will still be paid from those contracts.

The Franchising option we are currently working on for YTB also gave way to a new program that will allow a payment plan to get started as a TSO for $99.95. Website Sellers who sell this plan will receive 20% upfront and receive even more commissions over the 7 month installment plan by the new TSO. Associates who refer anyone to this plan will also receive their $50 for their referral.

There have also been many questions about the Aisle19 program and when the commissions will be paid. These are the “Downline Commissions”, not the “Cash Back” you have already received from personal purchases.

Aisle19 will officially change to shopYTB during the Convention and the commissions will be paid as follows:

a. January-March site owners 50% commissions will appear on the July 25 travel check.
b. January-March overrides will be included on the August 11 residual check.
c. April-current site owner 50% commissions will be in the August 25 travel check.
d. April-current overrides will be a part of the September 11 residual check.

While the process has taken some time, it looks to be “all systems go”, thanks to the fine work and co-operation between YTB and Aisle19.

Lastly, to answer your questions about bringing a guest to Convention, all you’ll need to do is accompany them through the registration booth at the America’s Center. YTB will have a convention bag and other materials ready for them! We are looking forward to seeing you and your guest in only 9 days!

Bring it on!

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Update: Traditionalists are now adding Delta to the list of “We don’t need no stinkin’“. As they have done back in the mid 90′s and turn of the century what one does, the others follow.

After reading the comments section once again, this time there does seem to be a good solution.

Drop airlines altogether and let them handle the service issues.

——————————————————————

When I saw this Travel Weekly article last week, I wondered if anyone else would pick up on this, and after going back this weekend and seeing over 300 comments, I think it’s safe to say that the CEO of American Airlines struck a nerve. I’ll get to the comments section in a bit, but first I’d like to highlight what could be the next move American Airlines may take to put a nail in more Brick and Mortar Travel Agencies around the country. It’s been noted elsewhere and even corrected here that American Airlines was the first to reduce commissions in the mid 90′s and finally eliminating them altogether early at the turn of the century.

Now in a very bold move…a pipe dream…a flash of insanity the CEO of American Airlines, Gerard Arpey sees a day when the roles are completely reversed to reflect Agencies paying for access to the American Airline product rather than American paying Agents to distribute their product. AA certainly needs to think of something to turn things around after a $375 million dollar loss and a 15% drop in revenue in the first quarter of 2009. Based on the reaction of so many Traditionalists, something tells me that American might be going from the frying pan into the fire with this idea of Agents paying American now, which for the moment has gotten more attention than YTB. (Trust me, that’s hard to do.)

When you look at the comments section of the article you find (yet again) a very bitter, angry, and demanding group who needed to tell this CEO that they don’t approve. Don’t get me wrong, there are a few well spoken and creative ideas mixed in among the 311 comments, but the vast majority of the comments are simply spouting off how angry they are at this idea of getting shafted once again by the airlines.

What’s surprising to me is that I found several comments (if someone wants to count how many feel free) in line with “We don’t need no stinkin’ AA” which is often thrown up as an excuse by YTB when it comes to RCL and NCL. A boycott of American Airlines appears to be the move most Traditionalists seem to favor to combat this “dream” as a united voice of “Well show you who controls this industry”. I for one found it interesting that the same terminology was used by many from the Tradionalist crowd as a way of making them feel important.

I also found it interesting that this CEO doesn’t know how the travel industry actually works. There seems to be some sort of magical algorithm in place that only Traditionalist know about in order to be accepted into the fold. In this case Gerard is made out to be some snotty MBA type who is paid millions off the back of the hard working foot soldiers who pay his salaries. (Agent themselves who promote and sell his product.) And while we’re on the subject of “wealth envy”, which is what this is all about anyway, Agents praise a bailout for themselves, which was finally passed after a second push, but it’s pointed out as nothing more than greed and wasted expense when it comes to the airlines.

When you lose $375 million in a quarter, they do have a point.

Honestly, some of the comments are extremely entertaining, while others make me wonder how some have been able to survive as long as they have. Still others beg the question why they’re still in the industry with all the injustice going on that makes them nothing more than victims. When margins fell below what I thought was acceptable to live off of in the Home Entertainment Industry, I got out and moved on to something else, while others stayed on to the very end when the company finally went bankrupt.

These are very interesting and difficult times in this industry, and I’m sure venting about such things like this make some feel better, but after looking at majority of the comments I have to question where any solution can be found to help any of these agents stay in business or be happy.

But as we have seen so many times before with YTB, the best answer to solve one’s problem is elevating your temper and spouting off with threats and empty promises. While I haven’t checked, like YTB, I suspect that none of Traditionalists actually own American Airlines, and this is a free country.

Unfortunately, all that is thrown out the window when you work in the Travel Industry. You simply don’t have the freedom to think about or choose to do things any different from the way some believe it should be.

Heaven help you if you do because like I’ve seen so many times before you’ll feel the rath of a very bitter and angry segment of this industry.

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