Just Picture It Now

Thursday, October 30, 2008

What The "Bleep" Is Going On?

I’m kind of scratching my head these days wondering what in the world is going on with YTB.

I’ve been told that the California Attorney General will be shutting YTB down, and I would assume that means my days with the company are numbered.

If you look at this logically or from a legal standpoint, California can only prohibit YTB from operating in their particular state. This notion that Jerry Brown and his office has the power to shut the entire company down is nothing more than wishful thinking. Illinois, on the other hand, does have to authority, and while they are cooperating with California, we are coming up on a 3 months without any further word or action from the Illinois Attorney Generals Office.

Some are still holding on to hopes that they will. Of course these are the same people who are looking for the FTC to come around, even after the ASTA was told to go pound sand back in 2005.

Meanwhile, “back at the ranch” YTB has been rolling out marketing materials and upgrades like there’s no tomorrow. (Like that play on words don’t you…”no tomorrow”.) We’ve seen new presentations both on line and off line within the past week. We’ve also seen a brand new Travel Training Course, which enables those of us who care to, to earn 70% of the agent commission paid to YTB.

Now late last night, I see that the company has upgraded its marketing site with a brand new look.

While I’m not 100% positive about this, and I could be mistaken, I believe this is yet another “reactionary move” as our critics like to call it. It wasn’t enough for California and other critics that YTB had a marketing site that looked like all the other REP sites out there. It didn’t matter that there was never any possibility for someone to join the YTB as a REP from the main YTB Corporate domain (ytb.com) the company needed to make a clear distinction between what belonged to Corporate and what belongs to the REP’s and RTA’s out in the field.

I also have to wonder if the home office flipped the switch yesterday in honor of one of YTB’s favorite critics. While there was a post yesterday on the blog that finally came up with something to spin about the new killer presentation, (although he did say it was “great”) he did lead the rest of the flock right to the YTB main domain that this new site is hosted on.

Leave it to him to break this kind of upgrade.

For the record, the home office isn’t done. I’m really not at liberty to discuss here what’s in the works, but we’ll all find out soon enough from the proper channels.

One last note; and it’s on a more personal level, but has to do with all these upgrades going on. I’ll be upgrading myself within the next few days. Exactly what that is, I aint gonna tell you just yet. I’m at liberty to do so, but just want to keep you in suspense. ;-P

You’ll just have to check back in the next few days to find out.

PS - If you’d like to keep up to date with all the latest news, acquisitions, and developments with YTB feel free to sign up for my FREE Newsletter. Just like here, it’s loaded with food, water and sunshine to grow your YTB business.

Doug & Ronda Bauknight
AKA: TravelPro
Travel Agent / Networker
Phone: 678.458.5812

Learn How To Become A Travel Agent

Book Your Travel & Vacations With

Travel Reservations: 1.800.243.4450
RTA #24635

Labels: YTB International, YTB News, YTB Upgrade

Posted by TravelPro at 5:22 AM | Permalink

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

A Royal Proclamation...In PINK!

Would it surprise you that the most viewed news article last week in Travel Weekly was YTB’s new franchise model? (As well as the most e-mailed story of the week.) What seemed to be flying under the radar last week due to all the YTB news was the second most viewed story of the week concerning Royal Caribbean budget cuts.

According to sources mentioned in Travel Weekly, RCCL was looking to cut payroll by 10% and asking staff to reduce expenses. A Credit Suisse Bank analyst confirmed that Royal Caribbean would also implement “broad based, shore side expense reductions of up to 25%”. If you’re thinking “layoffs” you’re right on the mark as a Miami News Station made the “Royal Proclamation” late last night that the Miami based company handed out some 300 Royal Letters in pink Monday afternoon with 100 positions already vacant totaling 400 job cuts.

Not surprising since after yesterday’s closing bell, Royal Caribbean released numbers showing a 34% decline over 2007 second quarter numbers and more information on its cost savings measures. Seems investors have seen this coming for some time as RCL stock has plummeted from $43 per share to a 5 year low of $19.16 per share just last week.

The company announced a significant cost savings initiative that is expected to reduce spending by approximately $125 million annually.

"Too much of our profitability is being eroded by the increase in fuel prices. This is unacceptable and we are evaluating everything we do to find ways to do it more efficiently and effectively," said Richard D. Fain, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "While our brands continue to attract premium prices even in this difficult environment, it is imperative that we find ways to reduce our costs."

Hey! Here’s a novel idea you’re more than welcome to steal from the current #1 Cruise Line in the World! Looks like Royal Caribbean is in need of even MORE Travel Agent Support to offset these Royal Pink Slips.

But I regress. Instead they are spending Lord knows how much on more Direct Response TV ads “Starring You”!

Unfortunately, Agent support may not be so easy since it was also reported here that Royal Caribbean gave their existing Travel Agent base the Royal Shaft back at the beginning of June by increasing commission thresholds. While I was “told” by the knowledgeable Travel Agent community I’ve come to know and love, that this was no big deal, I found story after story of Agencies feeling truly shafted. Jim Mazza, COO of Oyster Bay, NY-based TRAVELSAVERS urged them to reconsider. He continued to say “we don't feel that it was in the best interests of the travel agent community.” Mazza was also quoted in another Trade Publication “Given the implications of the current economy, isn't this the perfect time for cruise suppliers to strengthen, not diminish, their relationships with travel agents?"

Vacation.com’s Steve Tracas, president and CEO expressed disappointment with Royal Caribbean's move and reaffirmed the value of travel agents to Royal Caribbean and the industry. CEO Tracas also was quoted “This is certainly a conflicting message compared to some of their more recent communications to the agency community."

One agent, who asked for anonymity, told Travel Trade, "This change is especially punitive to smaller agencies that will be hurt the most. Large producers don't care about a $1.5 or even a $3 million threshold because they are above that anyway. Many of the literally thousands of agencies that barely make 11% now are dropping to 10% and, no, a few hundred dollars doesn't seem like much but the psychological size of the cut is huge."

"The bitterness goes very deep and several producers in the $1 million range that will be affected are already moving share to Princess," according to this agent.

What ever happened to that promise back in October when Royal Caribbean said they were done with Travel MLM’s and only going to kiss and hug REAL Travel Agents? What happened to the standing ovations all over this country from the Travel Agent community who were behind Royal Caribbean 100% and promised they were going to take this industry back?

Now that Royal Caribbean has been out at sea all by itself the last 9 months they’ve sprung a leak and cries of “Man Overboard!” are being heard down in Miami and the Wichita, Kansas call center.

To be fair, fuel costs ARE a big reason for these cuts, but you’ve just GOT to wonder what a company like YTB, who booked some $414.5 Million in travel in 2007 could have done to help save at least some of these jobs. Remember, our suppliers don’t pay a dime to YTB unless YTB produces a sale. There are no marketing expenses; there’s no Co-op Advertising, there’s just more than 100,000 web sites out there that could be pointing friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers to their ships, which quite honestly are very nice.

With a capacity of some 5400 passengers on the new Genesis Class ships being built and on order, maybe bigger at this point isn’t better. Like it or not kids…YTB is the PERFECT model right now to fill up all those new ships they have coming out. You take a look at Carnivals earnings, and now Royal Caribbean’s and despite both having to struggle through the same fuel costs and economic troubles, one has YTB and one doesn’t.

It’s just one of those things that make you go Hmmmmmm.

Royal Caribbean has scheduled a conference call at 10 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time, Tuesday, July 22, to discuss its earnings. This call can be heard, either live or on a delayed basis, on the company's investor relations web site at http://www.rclinvestor.com/.

PS - If you’d like to keep up to date with all the latest news, acquisitions, and developments with YTB feel free to sign up for my FREE Newsletter. Just like here, it’s loaded with food, water and sunshine to grow your YTB business.

Doug & Ronda Bauknight
AKA: TravelPro
Travel Agent / Networker
Phone: 678.458.5812

Learn How To Become A Travel Agent

Book Your Travel & Vacations With

Travel Reservations: 1.800.243.4450
RTA #24635

Labels: Card Mill, Layoffs, RCL, Royal Caribbean, Travel Agent Issues, Travel MLM, YTB News, YTB Travel Network

Posted by TravelPro at 5:45 AM | Permalink

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Walk Softly, But Carry a BIG Stick!

It was mentioned on Coach’s Saturday Morning call that this “consideration” of Franchising was meant to be a “Soft Rollout”. However due to all the focus and obsession right now squarely on the company everyone is talking about, there was nothing “soft” about it. When Coach said “soft rollout” I honestly laughed out loud, and I immediately thought about what I learned in school many, MANY years ago when I did a report on Teddy Roosevelt, and remembered the phrase “Walk softly, but carry a big stick”.

With all the attention, talk, and accusations concerning a proposal that hasn’t even been officially released, let alone outlined, manuals produced, training implemented, pricing arranged, and compensation laid out, it makes me wonder what all this fuss is about.

At one exact moment last week, 10:21AM on Tuesday, July 15th, an 8-K Regulation FD Disclosure was filed with the SEC. A Directors call followed with Scott Tomer informing our Directors of this filing, and a Press Release was issued Tuesday afternoon with our "consideration" of franchising.

I feel it's important to updated and inform you about this proposal from the PROPER sources. Scott has agreed to share a Directors Letter in the Biz Report and I want to make sure you have this communication directly from Scott.

Now just why would Scott have to do something like this? Amusingly enough, and Scott addresses this specifically in his communication, about our competitors and skeptics who make inaccurate, deceitful, slanderous and outright fraudulent statements about YTB. This obsession with YTB is so consuming, that by 10:27AM a post was up on a blog stating that YTB has turned its back on RTA's. (Note: only 6 minutes after the SEC filing!) Likewise, as soon as the Press Release was issued it was commented on a financial forum that the stock would crash , and one brilliant critic posted Scott's letter in it's entirety on another Anti-YTB thread incorrectly assuming that this would cast doubt instead of clarifying our direction in becoming a dominant player in the Travel Industry.

This company can’t sneeze without someone painting some negative spin about it.

With the stock price actually rising following both days of outrageous claims and spin, we can't help but laugh at the egg on the face of these obsessed critics who think they have YTB all figured out. Clearly the scare tactics used to distract and worry those of us in YTB didn’t take hold or we just didn't care to listen.

I mentioned some of my reasons why on Friday, but I also like Scotts reasons, and I’d like to document them here as well.

"We became a publicly traded company in 2004 and the skeptics said we would never make it. People said we were crazy to introduce a Reps' "Bill of Rights" at the 2005 "Your Time to Build" national convention. It was unheard of in our industry. No one had ever guaranteed earnings for its Reps prior to the 2006 "Business of Champions" YTB convention, but that didn't stop us from introducing the Success from Home Magazine program with its $6,000 Guarantee. We became members of the Direct Sales Association in 2007 and added the "First Amendment to the Bill of Rights" at the "Cleared for Take Off" National Convention to the dismay of our detractors."

Here is what you need to know about this consideration before the coin has even been tossed to guess heads or tails, and this comes DIRECTLY from Scott Tomer and no one else. I figured here is as good of place as any to get the truth out about what’s in the works, and what we have to look forward to.

"We know how to recruit, build a sales force and sell products and services using the direct sales or network marketing approach. We are convinced this is the best marketing system ever created and we are ABSOLUTELY COMMITTED to continuing the use of this system with YTB. While there will be changes to the process as it relates to the sale of franchises, the downline genealogy and network marketing division will remain intact."

"We believe a franchise model of our existing business will be easier to comprehend and more readily accepted by the general public. Since franchising is recognized as a traditional business model in virtually all developed countries, YTB's timeline for global expansion will be accelerated."

"We anticipate everything that currently exists for RTAs will be in the franchise model and any additional products offered through the franchise will be available to RTAs should they elect to become franchisees."

"If RTAs elect not to become franchisees, they will be able to continue with no change to their status with all income opportunities and privileges they currently enjoy."

You can clearly see that this is not all the doom and gloom that some would like you to believe. While there are questions yet to be answered by many, I’m confident they will be answered in time. If the program even launches, it won’t be until next year, so we have plenty of time to get our ducks in a row, take the proper time, and make an informed, educated business decision. Honestly, I don’t think 6 minutes is ample time to base a decision on much of anything, let alone an opportunity like the one proposed.

Thank you Scott for stepping up and making this available to us to answer the plethora or questions and accusations that are out there on the Internet. Scott Tomer is a clear leader and one of three Founders in our company. It would not surprise me to see as a result of this announcement and the way Scott handled it, to see a report that Scott Tomer is now being nominated for President!

Can you imagine? Scott Tomer, from President of YTB International, to President of the Untied States!

Roosevelt who?

Editors Note to the goofballs who would like to take this idea of Scott being President seriously: Be our guest! We’d LOVE the publicity and also love to show the world just how gullible you critics really are.

PS - If you’d like to keep up to date with all the latest news, acquisitions, and developments with YTB feel free to sign up for my FREE Newsletter. Just like here, it’s loaded with food, water and sunshine to grow your YTB business.

Doug & Ronda Bauknight
AKA: TravelPro
Travel Agent / Networker
Phone: 678.458.5812

Learn How To Become A Travel Agent

Book Your Travel & Vacations With

Travel Reservations: 1.800.243.4450
RTA #24635

Labels: Franchising, Network Marketing, Scott Tomer, Travel Agent Issues, YTB International, YTB News

Posted by TravelPro at 6:20 AM | Permalink

Monday, June 02, 2008

Looking for Food...

There’s been a lot of talk all over the internet about what was going on last week at the Directors Meeting in Dallas. It’s so funny to me how things are just thrown out there as speculation without any regard to being accurate or even remotely realistic. While I know that we in YTB have been accused of making unsubstantiated claims in the past, most of what I’m seeing these days comes from the other side.

What’s good for the goose must be good for the gander right?

Some are so hard up that they will throw out anything just to keep people busy talking about YTB. What’s so amusing to me is that people post on message boards and forums asking “What’s going on?” like any of these people who frequent there have any clue as to what’s going on. I’ve actually grown numb to just about anything I read on the Internet these days on such forms and message boards.

One of the funniest comments I read was that there are plans for YTB to purchase Sabre. For those who don’t recognize that name, you may recognize the funny little Roaming Gnome who advertises for one of their brands. It’s amazing to me how something like this is just thrown out there like fish food and to watch the schools of starving fish feed on in the frenzy they do is hysterical.

So I figured I’d help those of you who are having problems finding out what’s true and what’s not at about the only place you truly count on these days for accurate information.

• Slowed Growth – Current economic uncertainty, and rising fuel costs have contributed to recruiting sales slowing industry wide. According to the DSA Data Tracker Survey released on May 19th, sales industry wide are down 13% overall, while YTB only experienced a drop of 7%, Q1 of 2008. If you look at the industry trends over the last several years, you will see that this slowing is nothing to be overly concerned about, and we certainly can’t be concerned about any trends being set from one quarter of date. I do believe it’s important to note that while the entire industry is slowed, YTB’s growth is stronger than other markets and companies associated with the DSA.

• $50 Bonus – I’ve seen the “wording” changed several times over the years concerning the $49.95 web site fees and having six personally sponsored people on your team. The FTC has issued a revised Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on the Business Opportunity Rule. To ensure that there is no confusion about the $49.95 fee that RTAs pay for website hosting and maintenance, after an RTA personally sponsors six other RTAs, as long as those RTAs remain active, the sponsoring RTA will receive a monthly $50 bonus.

Now, what's the difference? The primary difference is in the language used. We no longer say that "the $49.95 monthly fee will be reimbursed" because YTB needs to make it clear that the monthly maintenance fee will still need to be paid monthly and that everyone is paying this fee. (If everyone is paying the fee then there nothing “multi-level” about it.)

• 10% Override – YTB Travel RTAs no longer need to become Certified by attending a YTB CRTA class before being able to receive the 10% override in their Power Teams. Now the 10% override will be paid automatically based on travel booked by the people in their Power Teams. Again, this comes directly from the “Business Opportunity Rules”, so YTB needed to change.

• 50% Match - YTB REPS now qualify the same as YTB Travel RTAs for the 50% match. In the past, before a person who was a YTB REP could qualify for the 50% match, they would have to personally sponsor four RTAs instead of three because they (themselves), were not an RTA. Now, YTB Travel REPS will qualify for the 50% match simply by sponsoring three RTAs. (Again, Business Opportunity Law.)

• Absolutely No Solicitation – Fam Trips or any other trips that are taken as part of YTB Travel is to learn about your product NOT for solicitation to join YTB. To do so is strongly frowned on in YTB Travel and in the travel industry as a whole. In other words, YTB Travel RTAs are admonished to never use FAM Trips, Cruises or any trip where they received travel insider benefits, to advertise or recruit their business. If it is discovered that a YTB Travel RTA or REP is guilty of this behavior, they will be in jeopardy of losing and being permanently barred from the YTB Travel business.

And you if I catch you doing so, I’ll personally take you out back and shoot you.

No exceptions.

That’s about all I’m at liberty to release to you publically at this point in time. I know that everyone was expecting “major announcements” last week. Honestly, after reading all the “hype” out there, I was too.

I was looking forward to owning Sabre, but I guess it was all a bunch of hype. Who knew?

I will speculate this for you if you really want something. YTB does have something in the works and its driving Coach nuts. You may have seen or heard some of his calls recently and he’s chomping at the bit to let the cat out of the bag. It’s my understanding that our Legal Department and our Board of Directors has either a long hook or one hand on the electrical cord in preparation to pull the plug just in case Coach begins to spill the beans before we have all our T’s crossed and I’s dotted.

With so much focus on our company right now and people digging for information and reporting every step, every move we make I’m actually kind of pleased that the company has been so tight lipped and holding their cards very close to the vest lately. Of course, not having anything doesn’t seem to matter to some people. They’ll say just about anything these days just to throw something out there to talk about. I guess that’s what happens when you have nothing better to do with your time. (Like ohhh, selling travel to all those devoted customers they claim to have.)

If you’d like to keep up to date with all the latest news, acquisitions, and developments with YTB feel free to sign up for my FREE Newsletter. Just like here, it’s loaded with links and documentation for you to share with clients and prospects alike.

Doug & Ronda Bauknight
AKA: TravelPro
Travel Agent / Networker
Phone: 678.458.5812

Learn How To Become A Travel Agent

Book Your Travel & Vacations With

Travel Reservations: 1.800.243.4450
RTA #24635