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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After looking around the internet the last few days, I’ve come to the conclusion that not much has changed since I went off on my Super Bowl run. While it was nice to get away, move off in another direction, take a break and actually enjoy myself, I see that some are still stuck in a rut. While there is always something going on in this industry, there are certain people you can count on for dragging their feet, kicking and screaming bantering about the same ol’ same old.

If you’ve been following the industry with me, we know how much turmoil is going on in the industry right now. Sure the economy has a lot to do with some of the issues going on and only the strong will survive. (Some might even thrive in this environment.) Back in November Liberty Travel decided to close a number of it’s poor producing Agencies, and while it’s CEO is adamant about leaving on her own terms, Cathy Pelaez will resign at the end of the week. Mid November Cruise Value Center closed it’s doors overnight, leaving cruise customers without a lifeboat to rescue them. And Friday will also be the last day of full operation for TripTailor and Vacation 59, as Sabre closes it’s wholesaling business.

US Airways posts a $220 million loss, Continental reported a loss of $96 Million, and JetBlue lost $49 million. Car Rental companies are being sued after filing bankruptcy and with the credit crunch slashing new car orders. Royal Caribbeans profits fall 98%, and Starwood drops by 46%.

Joystar is yet another black eye in the industry these days after it’s Agents file a petition for “involuntary bankruptcy”, and cruise lines have to fight courts in order to switch bookings to other Agencies so the agents can actually get paid. And while both myself and Travel Weekly wrote about an agent who broke into IHG system, stealing more than $163K in hotel bookings, we find yet another North Carolina Agent who stole some $512k from NCL, and $70k in chargebacks from Blue Sky Tours.

So what’s the problem you might ask?

Isn’t it obvious, it’s MLM.

It never ceases to amaze me how some people can be so obsessed about an issue that they can’t gain a proper perspective of the entire industry. MLM is the only model that has any type of issues like we have referenced above and if they rid the industry of this pariah, everything will be hunky dory once again. Depending on their mood, or possibly what position suits them at the time, they will either proudly accept or deny the role of “MLM Expert”. If challenged or called out by someone such as myself about how little they know, they deny it, as referenced in the comment section of my ariticle concerning IHG last week.

“I never professed to be an expert except in my own travel business.”

I have no idea who John is trying to kid here. He’s been attempting to tell me how things are since October 2007 here on this blog, while both myself and time has now shown that his comments some 16 months ago were certainly proven wrong. Along the way, we’ve seen posts like “Black Gold”, and one of my favorites from the industry itself, “The Cookie Jar”. And through it all, he just keeps coming back for more embarrassing moments while his followers hold him up in honor and appear to be proud of his antics of flipping the bird to Christians, and having links to other blogs with explicit titles and a niche subject matter concerning animal intercourse.

Pure class if you ask me.

What’s even more astounding is how blind the industry is concerning how clueless, foul and dirty this man is. As sad as it is, the industry does consider him an expert. I have not yet decided or figured out if the industry is either proud of his antics, or just so desperate about their own situation, that they simply look the other way when he strays out of bounds like he does. (Based on what I’ve come to know about cynics and zealots, I tend to favor the latter.)

I’m only aware of one blog, board, or forum that John doesn’t have something to say about either YTB or MLM. That one forum would be WAHM and based on the subject of Work at Home Mom’s, I’m thankful that he at least knows his sexual orientation. However, the rest of the internet is fair game for this snake as he slithers all day long from site to site, and posting and promoting his hideous blog. This promotional tactic of linking back to his blog he uses, is ridiculed as sleazy when someone like myself would do the same, but for him, he’s obviously above reproach since his cause if more important than mine or YTB’s.

And now, oddly enough, just after denying his self proclaimed expertise, he’s elevated his own mind to writing about the MLM model in both TRO and getting his buddy George Dooley to post an article in Travel Agent Central. The basis of the article is not an actual warning about supporting MLM’s but the “hidden costs” of dealing with MLM’s.

It’s a been a topic of conversation for some time and try as they may they keep on promoting this bogus notion that YTB costs them money. The problem with this idea is that one of the sheep that follow John actually works with a supplier that’s offered on YTB’s booking engine. What’s comical about this relationship is that the employee that works for Pleasant Holidays calls himself “No Moron Here” but he keeps on contradicting what John is attempting to promote. It’s fun to read and I wrote about what his employer has told him in the past about his own misconceptions and fears about our company. We got a glimpse of what suppliers are actually saying behind closed doors some time ago. For as much whining this guy does about MLM’s he was told point blank that he didn’t have a say in who his employer does business with.

“The MLMs don’t bring in enough business to worry about them.”
“We don’t treat them the same way as our traditional agencies.”
“We will take their bookings (money) and supply them our product.”
“Stop worrying about them.”
“You are not to discuss the MLMs with the agents or agencies.”

Since his misconceptions have been cast aside, he lowered himself to forming relationships with other zealots who are just as clueless, angry and bitter as he is. The problem however, is that once again, he’s given incredible insight concerning the truth about supplier and MLM relationships. Take a look down towards the bottom of the comments section and what this employee from Pleasant Holidays wrote.

I guess a buck is buck and when they don’t have to put any money into YTB, they can still scrounge a few bucks off the so few bookings you morons place.

So while John attempts to convince everyone that YTB costs suppliers money, a supplier himself provides a rather unique Freudian slip and let’s the cat out of the bag that suppliers don’t hire YTB, suppliers don’t provide Co-op advertising to YTB, and suppliers only pay YTB for what YTB produces. That’s my friends is a model that suppliers NEED in an economy such as this, and the smart suppliers that actually get that concept such as Carnival Corporation, Globus, Trafalgar, MSC Cruises, Apple Vacations, Disney, and many other preferred suppliers reap the rewards of our business model. I can’t remember the last time Pleasant Holidays was even mentioned in a Travel Compass, a training call, or at Funshine. They do sit on our site, but nobody pays any attention to them because nobody from the company is promoting their features, advantages, and benefits. In all honesty, how much would it cost the company to get on a conference call the we provide, or hop in front of a camera for a video that we produce?

But no…they would rather spend thousands with a bunch of struggling Agents who demand co-op dollars in order to promote them with no guarantees of any return of their investment, when one call, or webinar would drive traffic and sales to help thier bottom line costing them virtually nothing.

I know this type of promotion from John frustrates many of you in YTB with the false claims and misrepresentation of our company and our model. I don’t know why he does it either, but you have to take it with a grain of salt, and be thankful that the truth about our model is known by the suppliers that not only understand our model, but support us. For those who don’t, they end up on the sidelines like NCL and eventually end up looking for answers somewhere else, when the diamonds in the rough are right under their noses.

Some may never get it, but with the Convergentware upgrade released late last year, some already have and many more will realize very soon just how powerful our model really is. As YTB continues to expand this solution to cruises, tour opperators, and other offerings with direct connections, trust me, thier eyes will be wide open and there will be very little anyone can do to promote otherwise.

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This stinks on several levels. I had planned on writing about my Pittsburgh Steelers who have safely touched down in Tampa for this weekends Super Bowl and with “Media Day” scheduled, I wanted to write about some of the lesser known “characters” with the team. I have no idea if Jeff Reed will show up on NFL Network or ESPN or not, but if you do a little research, you’ll find a fun guy, who also likes to play practical jokes.

I still have most of the week to write about MY Pittsburgh Steelers, but for today, I have an update on the Travel Industry, more specifically Joystar which I wrote about a couple weeks ago. I’d also like to clarify some things that I’ve read out there on the internet to help separate fact from fiction. It astounds me that people either don’t know how to read, or don’t know how to research.

First, InterContenential Hotel Group (IHG) has won their suit in U.S. District Court against Joystar and a judgment has been ordered for $179,000. In a report filed by Travel Weekly, who by the way got it right, states that it was one of Joystars Agents, not Bill Alverson or Joystar themselves who committed the offense. (The Agent was a former IHG employee who hacked the IHG system.) You may be asking why Joystar is even involved if that’s the case. Well, Joystar became more or less an accessory when they failed to return $115,000 of the $163,000 that was claimed improperly. If Joystar would have done the right thing and returned all he commissions, they more than likely would have gotten a slap on the wrist, and charges would have landed solely on the Agent. (The commissions were charged to go to the Agent and his wife.)

In another case Joystar sought more time to prepare its response to an involuntary bankruptcy suit filed by a group of agents. Joystar owes individual Agents thousands of dollars in unpaid commissions. 85 agents have submitted sworn statements about money they are owed. Thus the word “involuntary” in front of the word bankruptcy. You might think that all bankruptcy should be considered involuntary, and many I’ve seen comment on this apparently don’t know the difference. True involuntary bankruptcy occurs when an individual or organization is made bankrupt at the request of their creditors, in this case the Agents who have filed the petition. In the case of Chapter 7 involuntary bankruptcy the debtor will be required to liquidate their assets in order to pay off their creditor.

In other words, the agents themselves are forcing Joystar into bankruptcy, and when assets are sold, they are the ones who get paid. If you didn’t catch the last paragraph in Travel Weekly’s report on IHG, if the petition is won, and judement is made forcing JoyStar to file bankruptcy, both the Agents and IHG become “judgment creditors”.

And finally, three major cruise lines — Carnival Cruise Lines, Holland American Line and Princess Cruise Lines discussed how to handle pending commissions and bookings still on the books. In filings with the court, the cruise lines had said that they needed the stay lifted so clients can make final payments on cruises so that they can take those cruises. The cruise lines’ court filings said that they also want to be able to transfer current bookings to individual Joystar agents themselves, withhold payment of commissions to Joystar and to pay commissions to agents once their clients have made final payments on their cruises or once the passengers have sailed. In court, lawyers also discussed putting those commissions withheld from Joystar into an escrow account for a short period of time, as well as logistics for transferring bookings from Joystar to the booking agents.

A long term solution should be address concerning this mess on February 10th.

Bill Alverson was present, and asked for a 20-day extension to prepare its response to an involuntary bankruptcy filing. Judge Raymond Ray, the presiding judge, gave them a three-day extension, and the next hearing in the case is set for Thursday.

At this point, it remains up in the air if I’ll report on this Thursday or Friday. it’s not that I don’t care about what happens here, but I do have more important things on my mind at the present time. ;-P

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In all the years I’ve been cruising, I have never seen prices better than they are right now. What’s even more amazing is that when fuel surcharges hit about 9 months ago, prices were never higher. So why the HUGE drop?

Simple…supply and demand.

I’ve known for years, (even before I ever got involved with YTB) that there are certain times of the year that prices are better than other times of the year. For example, starting in August, through November you can find by far the best fares going to the Caribbean. A couple things happen starting in August that cause sales to slump. One is the school year starts, and most families have already taken their summer vacation, but more importantly for the Caribbean is hurricanes and the fear of being stuck in one during a cruise.

What most people don’t realize when it comes to hurricanes and cruise ships is that Lines keep a very close eye on what’s going on, (they do have all the modern amenities to track weather patterns) and can steer clear of any danger. We were in the Caribbean during Hurricane Lenny in 2000, and again during Hurricane Francis in 2004. Both times, we were diverted away from harm, and during Francis, we ended up out at sea for a couple extra days before is was safe to come back in.

Can you imagine? Stuck on a luxury cruise liner for 6 days with nothing to do but eat, sun, swim, massage, and gamble at the craps table? I use this video all the time for anyone who thinks their going to be rocking uncontrollably out at sea during a hurricane. People just don’t realize that the likelihood of being stuck in one are slim to none.

Today, just in case you haven’t heard, the media has been screaming for some time on how bad the economy is. Again there is fear that is keeping people at home instead of going out and enjoying a vacation. But because people are staying home, cruise lines, resorts, and hotel rooms are empty. I have team members in Vegas, and I was also listening to the radio a couple days ago. The airport is barren, with a small fraction of the traffic flying in and out of there than there was even 6 months ago. Las Vegas, rates are down in some cases more than 50 percent. Some of those four-star Las Vegas hotels that used to go for $200 to $250 are in the $80 to $120 range.

I was putting my newsletter together this weekend and wrote about Trafalgar who is offering 2009 Europe vacations at unbeatable round trip airfares to Europe starting as low as $459 per person (plus tax) for 56% savings!

Even Disney is offering gift cards or they throw in 3 extra nights with the purchase a 4 night stay. DISNEY!

The entire industry is offering deals in an attempt to intice people to come out of thier homes, and I’ve got to say, the smart ones are starting to take notice of the value that is out there right now. Vacations and trips that were totally out of reach a year ago are starting to fit into budgets and some (not all) are starting to pull the trigger.

Some deals are just too good to pass up, and I’ve been able to talk to clients who are starting to plan, at times more than a year from now to take some trips that are within reach financially. Other times, like my neighbor who asked about Disney just 4 months ago and found it too expensive, is now looking at the 7 night package for the price of 4 with her family. (It pays to have client profiles on file folks!)

I’m even looking at packages for desinations that were always places we wanted to go, but with prices so low right now, the timing couldn’t be better to start putting them on the books and saving thousands.

Opportunities never go away, they simply go to those who are smart enough to take advantage of them. For those of us in the Travel Industry right now, you’ve got some of the best deals out there right now.

With this hurricane concerning the ecomomy out there in the media, it’s your job to help clients understand the reality of the situtation. What thier being told isn’t nessasarily true, and the timing couldn’t be better to take that dream vacation and save thousands in the process.

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Remember the rumor late last year that a MAJOR supplier was going to send notice to a MAJOR MLM/Card Mill that they will be parting ways January 1?.

While a name was not mentioned, you certainly know the drill.

Who could it be?

Is the cookie starting to crumble?

Are suppliers beginning to see the light?

The same unsubstantiated and bogus claims and speculation that’s simply thrown out there to cast doubt. You would think a former journalist would know how to confirm information with a “reputable source“, but that’s not important when you need to squash a company and a business model you don’t agree with.

Turns out the rumor of a major supplier cutting someone in this industry off was true. But it wasn’t YTB.

Sorry.

If there’s any rumor or bad news going around the Travel Industry, YTB seems to always pop up as the one who it’s got to be about. If someone hears about downsizing, it’s got to be YTB, not Liberty Travel. If a company is rumored to disappear in the middle of the night without warning, it’s got to be YTB, not Cruise Value Center. If someones not paying their Agents, it’s got to be YTB, not Joystar.

While all three of these agencies have lawsuits pending in court, who is everyone is talking about?

YTB.

I guess it’s true that dogs don’t bark at parked cars.

Most recently the hope was that if a supplier is going to cut anyone off, it had to be YTB. o supplier was named a few days ago after a dot was left missing, (Omitted from a list along with dozens of other suppliers we do business with) which conveniently justified pinning the supplier where they wanted, on YTB. Even after myself and others questioned the validity, the rumor persisted, until it was finally squashed by the supplier themselves.

Now there’s a novel idea, instead of guessing, ask the source. Who knew?

News confirming the supplier/agent rumor came late afternoon first by phone, and then confirmed by a trade publication that Carnival has cut off Joystar in this absolutely hideous and embarrassing chain of events.

Because Bill Alverson has a ties to a failed MLM back in the 1990′s, you can bet your bottom dollar that this will somehow give MLM a black eye. For the record, I never considered Joystar an MLM, it’s just not the same structure, and I don’t know if anyone would be able to accept that it management that runs a company into the ground, (think Enron here) not a model.

For the record, Carnival is not terminating Joystar because it’s a “card mill”, Carnival is doing what right for the Agents who booked their clients with the cruise line. Joystar has not and is not paying it’s agents their commissions owed them. Those who were with Joystar and now with another host can move future bookings, if they have not been paid in full, to the other host “upon written authorization of the traveler”.

I’m still attempting to put together a legal liability due to an involuntary bankruptcy petition that was filed on January 2nd. From what I understand the liability in this “involuntary bankruptcy” could land on Carnival if they continued to accept bookings from Joystar. If true, (and I’m still attempting to verify at the time of this writing) we could see other suppliers follow Carnivals lead terminating Joystar from future bookings. “Involuntary Bankruptcy” is not all that common and I’m sure there are links out there, but I don’t have the patience to understand “legal talk” right now.

Just don’t be surprised if you see more suppliers make this move.

Because I’ve written about Liberty, Cruise Value Center, and now Joystar issues in our industry, I’ve received both e-mails and phone calls from former Liberty Travel employees, Cruise Value Center clients, and now Joystar Agents who simply don’t know what to do. Clients with Cruise Value Center are the easiest to direct, as long as they have a booking number, but Liberty Travel and Joystar appear to be in a real quandary right now. What’s frustrating for me is that very few seem to care. These Agents, especially Joystar, have had income suddenly cut off.

Agents with Joystar have been without commissions since September and are struggling right now to come up with the money to fight for what’s owed them. If you’d like to help or if you are one of the Joystar agents that are owed commissions, you can find information here.

Maybe it’s time to start looking at and taking care of some of your own?

Author’s Edit: It appears that Norwegian Cruise Line has also ceased doing business with Joystar as just reported in TravelPulse. Effective immediately, “The company will no longer accept new reservations from Joystar or any of its affiliated agents,” an NCL spokesperson said. “NCL will continue to service existing Joystar reservations booked prior to Jan. 5, 2009.”

In another developing story, Wheel of Fortune has also gotten into the mix after a sister company of Joystar, VacationCompare.com, failed to provide the prizes to Promotion Consideration, who arranges prizes for game shows like Wheel of Fortune.

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I happen to be out of town, (without internet access!) but enjoying the Holiday with family none the less. I decided to schedule something for today before news became old news next week. First and foremost however, I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, and although at the time of this writing, presents are still wrapped under the tree, by the time this is posted and you are reading, I’ll be enjoying gifts my kids had made for me, and of course finding what Santa brought.

That being said, don’t think for a second that there isn’t something to talk about over this extended Holiday weekend.

Are you kidding me? This Industry?

While the jury may be out if some made Santa’s “Naughty” or “Nice” list, after what I’ve been reading the last several months, it’s time to bring this “Naughty” Agency to the forefront after a year long hiatus.

Back in October 2007 this blog gained considerable notoriety after tackling the issue head on concerning Royal Caribbean who terminated its relationship with no more than four Agencies. Two of those agencies came to light very quickly and the industry outrage on the internet concerning “Card Mills” came to a head.

Although it’s been documented that Royal Caribbean did in fact terminate four Agencies, Lisa Bauer, VP of Sales with Royal Caribbean at the time, skirted the direct questions asked by Travel Weekly concerning just who these Agencies were. To this day, there has been nothing to verify, although there has been plenty of speculation, any more than two Agencies. That being of course YTB and the other being Joystar.

Other than YTB, I can’t think of another Agency that has been the target of more controversy than Joystar. If you look at the founders history, you’ll get a better understanding to just why, and I did document his exploits with the first Travel MLM (TravelMax) back in the mid 1990’s. It looks as if both Bill Alverson’s and Joystar’s issues have not subsided, but in fact increased a year later.

While you found nothing concerning any new issues on this blog, there has been plenty to write about concerning Joystar a year after being terminated by Royal Caribbean. In addition, no less than three headline news stories broke back in October of 2008 concerning the Host Agency. One, October 9^th, reported that Joystar failed to pay commissions owed to its independent contractors along with laying off 14% of its staff. Later in the month, on October 23^rd, it was reported the CLIA revoked Joystar’s Membership for not renewing its Seller Of Travel License with California. (Although it appears that SOT’s have been made current as well as its association with CLIA.) The very next day, October 24^th, it was reported that InterContinental Hotels Group filed a federal lawsuit against Joystar for claiming more than $163,000 in improper commissions.

And some think YTB has problems?

Actually, that’s what a small group would like you to believe as they obsess over anything they can drum up to cast fear and doubt because they’re convinced the YTB “model” is flawed…doomed to collapse. (Yet the “model” started to take shape over a century ago, and still standing tall.) Part of drumming up anything these poor folks can think of is this notion that after more than a year of inactivity, suppliers will again take up the cause of these Agents and Associations and start terminating relationships with Agencies critics simply don’t agree with moving into 2009.

One of the favorite ploys of critics is not implicating YTB directly, but word posts and threads in a way that gives them an out if egg is then thrown back in their face. Naughty for sure after reading comments, as there appears to be no question just who they hope the Agency is. Just one of the dozens of posts I sent to Santa this year for the “Naughty List”. As they wait to see if the rumor is true with gleeful anticipation, Santa more than likely coaled the entire lot of them for lack of good cheer.

I never like this type of speculation and rumor. It’s far too easy for hearsay like this to come back and bite you when documentation squashes the rumor you’re attempting to spread. Especially when you find out that the rumor started in an attempt to point the finger at one host, was initially about an entirely different host.

It appears the glass slipper that some are attempting to slip on YTB belongs to Joystar.

Agents are using the Joystar community board to voice their complaints. One posting dated Dec. 17 claimed Carnival Cruise Lines was prepared to cease doing business with Joystar if the agency did not make good to agents. When queried about the posting, Carnival declined to comment.

To be fair, there is nothing to substantiate ANY rumor that Carnival or any other supplier for that matter will be terminating anyone. Instead, I would look at the last year and ask just how many suppliers terminated its relationship with any Agency in 2008.

Of course that answer is Zip…Zilch…Nada…not one.

Yet there are some who still want to hang onto this small glimmer of hope that suppliers might come around. If the rumor is true about Carnival terminating its relationship with Joystar, can you blame them? (That would be “No”.) It’s been documented that Carnival believes these Agents, no matter what host they’re associated with are the life blood of their sales force.

But how much would you want to wager, that if Carnival does terminate Joystar because its failed to pay the commissions owed its Agents, the speculation will be that YTB is next in line? It’s what some will do I’m sure in order to restore this whole fiasco about suppliers “getting it” to surface yet one more time. I know that sounds irrational, but you have to understand the anger and resentment that creates such illogical thinking. Just accept that this is another small thread critics reach for in their attempt to pin someone else’s misfortune to YTB.

With the news out Tuesday about Joystar being down to just 5 employees and the thousands of dollars in commissions owed its Agents, I have to wonder if Peter Stilphen, (a pompous and overzealous Joystar critic who’s been plastering both Bill Alverson and Joystar for years) will be having a Merry Christmas this year?

I don’t know if there will be anyone really posting about this over the Holiday’s or into next week for that matter. I guess I’ll have to check and update you when I get back first of next week.

In the meantime, I’d like to enjoy my time with family and finalize some goals I have moving into 2009 while I have some time away from the internet and all it’s trappings.

It will be interesting to see what 2009 will bring, and while there are some who claim to know what’s going to happen, take some time to do what a couple of my favorite mentors have taught me over the years.

“Don’t believe a word you hear, unless you can verify it on your own to be true.”

Which I suppose is one of the reasons why people like this blog so much. Instead of spreading rumors and hearsay about what they’ve heard about or read about somewhere else, without a single shred of documentation to back it up, they come here for documentation and truth.

That’s why I’m on Santa’s “Nice List”.

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