Here is an update on the growth of YTB from Coach and Scott. I am not sure when it was recorded, but with the references to the holidays, I assume it is very recent. Just a few observations I noticed and wanted to point out.
- I did not count the number of times, but I believe the word "travel" was only uttered once. At about 2:50 when Scott says. "..yes, we book a bot of travel, but..." and then continues on about how the strength is in recruiting more people to buy travel agencies.
- The entire 5 minutes was about recruiting--not selling travel, yet the big "T" in the logo was right between the two of them.--your TRAVEL biz. But you don't hear too much about that do you?
- I felt that the whole presentation was from a defensive position. Yes, they are recruiting and getting more people to join the ranks, but I wonder what the attrition rate is now. I suspect this is a number that is VERY difficult to obtain. Just from the attitude in this video, I have to think it must be substantial. It was repeated over and over that "everything is ok". Well, Captain Edward John Smith also said that as well.
PAY NO ATTENTION TO THE LITTLE MAN BEHIND THE CURTAIN!
And I think that there is a line in there that is also very apropos as well:
DOROTHY: ...you're a very bad man!
WIZARD: Oh, no, my dear -- I'm -- I'm a
very good man. I'm just a very bad Wizard.
I'm not sure I understand what's wrong with YourTravelBiz being promoted by it's founders to sell more travel stores while also promoting YTB Travel to sell more travel. There's seems to still be a misunderstanding as to the various business models YTB operates.
ReplyDeleteJohn said, "I watched this several times this morning and I kept thinking to myself that it is eerily similar to that turning point in the Wizard of Oz when the "wizard" is uncloaked to reveal that he is not all that he was made out to be."
ReplyDeleteYou watched this several times??
lol! lol! You ARE from the land of Oz!
PAY NO ATTENTION TO THE LITTLE MAN BEHIND THE CURTAIN!
This makes no sense at all. There are no similarities here Oz boy.
JF, Dorothy is calling you. You need to make the journey to the Emerald City and receive what you are lacking! (a brain, a heart and courage, respectively). lmao!
Oh my! That's good!
ReplyDeleteYTB Reps/RTAs continually try and convince the professional agents that they are selling travel. Yet, Coach in this video, makes reference to selling travel one time. His focus is on recruiting more people. It seems obvious to me, the business model is not that of a travel agency, but a recruitment agency.
ReplyDeleteWow...so that's Coach, the CEO...I hadn't heard him speak before...like anonymous above, I too am lmao.
ReplyDeleteAnon said, "It seems obvious to me, the business model is not that of a travel agency, but a recruitment agency."
ReplyDeleteWell, then read this and you just might change your mind. THIS IS HUGE!!! HOT OFF THE PRESS!
YTB International Partners with Shanghai Spring International Travel Service for Exclusive 2008 Olympic Tour Packages
Alliance May Provide More Tours Than Any Other Travel Agencies
December 12, 2007: 04:56 PM EST
WOOD RIVER, Ill., Dec. 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- YTB International, Inc. ("YTB" or the "Company"), a provider of Internet-based travel booking services for travel agencies and home-based independent representatives in the United States, today announced an exclusive partnership with Shanghai Spring International Travel Service to market and sell tour packages to the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. The packages will be available from YTB beginning on or before January 11, 2008.
In an effort to provide more tours to China for the 2008 Olympics than any other travel agency, YTB and Shanghai Spring International Travel Service, the largest privately owned travel agency in China, will offer exclusive 7 to 11 day tour packages and tickets for the Summer Olympics in August 2008. Through this strategic partnership, YTB's Referring Travel Agents (RTAs) are positioned to benefit from Shanghai Spring International Travel Service's dominant position within the Chinese market, and pass these savings on to their customers. YTB's customers will recognize value not only in terms of cost savings, but also in terms of the exclusive access to sold out events, attractions, and hotel accommodations.
"We are excited by our partnership agreement with Shanghai Spring International Travel Service, and welcome the challenge to become the largest tour provider to the 2008 Summer Olympics. Our RTAs have the resources needed to rise to this challenge, and we are confident that we will be able to provide our customers with the most professional service at the most competitive rates," stated J. Kim Sorensen, President and CEO of YTB Travel Network. "The Olympics remain the preeminent sporting event of our time, and serve as a major draw for travelers around the world to visit new destinations, and to enjoy live competitive sports. We look forward to providing our customers the opportunity to partake in history, as China holds its first Olympics."
The YTB and Shanghai Spring International Travel Service Tours will include round trip air to and from China via Los Angeles, Four Star accommodations including tips, baggage fees and taxes, daily meals, guided local tours, and admission from two to four Olympic events based on package and event preference. In addition, the YTB and Shanghai Spring International Travel Tours will also include safety insurance for visitors to China.
Shanghai Spring International Travel Service was founded in 1981 and started Spring Airlines in 2004, and currently operates eight aircraft traveling to 28 destinations in China and will be adding nine new airplanes to the fleet by 2009. The company is currently the only travel agency that owns and operates an airline in Asia.
"We chose YTB International because we wanted to work with the best Internet travel agency in the U.S. and one that would have access to thousands of potential customers," said Jenny Hu, Deputy General Manager of Shanghai Spring Tours. "YTB's high standards and great reputation, combined with their innovative business model, made partnering with them an easy decision."
Shanghai Spring has successfully purchased event tickets more than six times the number of any other purchasing agent or travel provider worldwide. In addition, Shanghai Spring has also reserved more hotel accommodations than any other agency to date.
To get more information on YTB's Olympic packages, e-mail travelinquiries@ytb.com.
About YTB International
Recognized as the 35th largest seller of travel in the U.S. in 2006 by Travel Weekly, YTB International, Inc. provides Internet-based travel booking services for travel agencies and home-based independent representatives in the United States, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands. It operates through three subsidiaries: YourTravelBiz.com, Inc., YTB Travel Network, Inc., and REZconnect Technologies, Inc. YourTravelBiz.com division focuses on marketing online travel agencies through a nationwide network of independent business people, known as 'Reps.' YTB Travel Network division establishes and maintains travel vendor relationships, books travel transactions of online travel agents (RTAs, now numbering over 135,000), collects travel commissions and pays sales commissions. Each RTA sells travel through a personalized Internet-based travel website. The REZconnect Technologies division builds online reservation systems for suppliers within the travel industry. For more information, visit http://www.ytbi.com/investor.
About Shanghai Spring International Travel Service
Founded in 1981, Shanghai Spring International Travel Service has been engaged in diverse business activities, including travel, hotel, flight, conference & exhibition, sports & games, real estate, trade and transportation, etc. Spring International Travel Service is the first ICCA (International Conference & Congress Association) member in China. Spring International was appointed as the General Ticket Agency of 2004 F1 Shanghai Grand Prix of China. Persistent and concerted efforts by its more than 3,000 staff members (including tour guides) coupled with entrepreneurship have made it possible for Shanghai Spring International Travel Service to increase its asset value and sales revenue at an annual rate of 30% to 50% in the past years. Since 1994, Shanghai Spring International Travel Service has been doing so well in domestic tours that it has been commended as the No.1 travel agency in domestic tours in the country by China National Tourism Administration for 13 consecutive years. Shanghai Spring International Travel Service has established a network of branch offices in 33 major Chinese cities and 55 retail outlets in Shanghai and the surrounding areas, totally linked up by Internet. Seven overseas branch offices have started doing business in other countries around the world, with the U.S. being the most promising market with the announcement of YTB uniting as their exclusive U.S. partner.
Wow..if Scott doesn't have scam artist written on his face I don't know who does. What a pompous ass.
ReplyDeleteHrmmm if your number one, you would have to wonder why they would be trying to defend themselves. Of course recruiting is important...no recruiting equals the end of the pyramid.
This is the first time I have ever heard of this tour operator!!! Are they USTOA? Do they have any accolades other than YTB? I wish you'd stop saying YTB is the 35th largest whatever by Travel Weekly. Those were self reported figures that even Coach could not attest to. Use the SEC numbers and remember, no matter how often you say it, it does not make it true. I'll stick with a known TO for my China packages, you can keep SSS.
ReplyDeleteEddie said...
ReplyDelete"This is the first time I have ever heard of this tour operator!"
Your going to hear a lot more about them too! Here are some noteworthy aspects about this company.
1. - Shanghai Spring International Travel Service, is the largest privately owned travel agency in China
2. - The company is currently the only travel agency that owns and operates an airline in Asia.
3. - Shanghai Spring has successfully purchased event tickets more than six times the number of any other purchasing agent or travel provider worldwide.
4. - Shanghai Spring has also reserved more hotel accommodations than any other agency to date.
5. - Spring International was appointed as the General Ticket Agency of 2004 F1 Shanghai Grand Prix of China.
6. - Shanghai Spring International Travel Service has been commended as the No. 1 travel agency in domestic tours in the country by China National Tourism Administration for 13 consecutive years.
7. - Branch offices in 33 major Chinese cities and 55 retail outlets in Shanghai and the surrounding areas.
8. - Seven overseas branch offices have started doing business in other countries around the world.
9. - Shanghai Spring International Travel Service has united with YTB as their "exclusive" U.S. partner.
Shanghai International Travel?
ReplyDeleteShIT?
I'd seriously reconsider this partnership!
Here we go folks. The jeliousy comments are just begining to flow! I love it! Keep em comming, were on a roll now! lol
ReplyDeleteJohn: There you go again. I would not matter if our leaders rebated every dollar your conventional travel agents stole from unspecting travelers, (almost traveled), You'd still find something sinister about it.
ReplyDeleteI also read your post on that other travel bum trying to ride on the coat-tails of our company.
FYI if I had called to call you an A-hole and I did not, I would have left my caller ID on so that I could take the credit for it. Besides if that was all the caller said, No slander case there.
Nearing $1 Billion in sold travel is not selling travel? Get Real!
RobertsResorts.Net
One way to see if a company is really heathy or not (especially when it is internet based) is to look at it's traffic statistics at www.alexa.com . I just looked up ytb... and it's been on a downward trend all year...
ReplyDeleteSee for yourself at http://www.alexa.com/data/details/traffic_details/ytb.com
That's a good point Spike. But you must get the domain correct. It's YTBTRAVEL.COM who's network is ytbnet.
ReplyDeleteThe traffic rank is: 12,903
That's AMAZING!!
John...what's yours rank?
Amazing? The only reason they get the hits they do is because of the news coming out. Had it not been for the news I wouldn't have know what the hell YTB was.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous said...
ReplyDelete"Amazing? The only reason they get the hits they do is because of the news coming out. Had it not been for the news I wouldn't have know what the hell YTB was."
And ain't that WONDERFUL! Thank you news folks, JF. Thanks to you all who have helped us get the word out that YTB books travel!!!
John . . . In all of your research about YTB, you certainly know that there are two companies under the umbrella of YTB International. One is YTB Travel and Cruises and the other is YourTravelBiz.com
ReplyDeleteThis video is available on the YourTravelBiz.com back office. It is a separate company from YTB Travel and Cruises. YourTravelBiz.com is all about recruiting and selling the travel websites. That is exactly why you are not seeing travel sales promoted because the back office is for REPS (travel website sellers) ONLY . . . not RTAs. There is a separate area called the YTB Travel Portal that deals with the travel side of the business.
I will agree that the quality is not great and certainly not what you normally see from Lloyd and Scott. They both returned from multiple days and meetings on the road the night before only to do that quick video clip. They headed the next evening for LA for a 9 day trip to China for R and R.
Shanghai International Travel?
ReplyDeleteYou are trusting a Chinese Tour Operator? OMG! They are sending toys with lead in em over here, they have sweatshops with little kids working like slaves and they are displacing people in Beijing to build Olympic Venues and let's not forget about the people along the Yangtze they are screwing over. Their human rights record is abysmal as is their environmental record! And you are trusting a Chinese tour operator! LMAO!
Poor Little Judy said, ""You are trusting a Chinese Tour Operator?"
ReplyDeleteSure, they have a great track record!
Judy said more, "OMG! They are sending toys with lead in em over here, they have sweatshops with little kids working like slaves...."
Oh Judy, are you sure this travel TO is doing all that?? lol!!!
"and they are displacing people in Beijing to build Olympic Venues and let's not forget about the people along the Yangtze they are screwing over. Their human rights record is abysmal as is their environmental record! And you are trusting a Chinese tour operator! LMAO!"
Judy, hahahah, you are a real idiot.
Everyone is laughing at you!! LOL!!
This is a really good film. Oscar candidate? My favorite scenes:
ReplyDelete(0:17) The old man preping for "Coaches Corner Cult". Wow! A cult? I'm so shocked.
(0:30) The old man talking up the 60K increase. But wait, the other man states it's only 60. More fuzzy math?
(1.07)
bad press?
press?
not bad press?
not good press?
just press?
NOT NICE PRESS!!
I laugh my ass off every time these guys talk about "Your Business".
Really, this is all quite sad. YTB taking advantage of uneducated and poor people looking for belonging and easy money.
Welcome Tom Coleman...good to see you again!
ReplyDeleteAnonymous has left a new comment on your post "Pay No Attention To The Little Man Behind The Curt...":
Poor Little Judy said, ""You are trusting a Chinese Tour Operator?"
Sure, they have a great track record!
Judy said more, "OMG! They are sending toys with lead in em over here, they have sweatshops with little kids working like slaves...."
Oh Judy, are you sure this travel TO is doing all that?? lol!!!
"and they are displacing people in Beijing to build Olympic Venues and let's not forget about the people along the Yangtze they are screwing over. Their human rights record is abysmal as is their environmental record! And you are trusting a Chinese tour operator! LMAO!"
Judy, hahahah, you are a real idiot.
Everyone is laughing at you!! LOL!!
Dear Mr. Roberts Resorts,
ReplyDeleteI think you hit the wrong blog. The nasty name calling one is over at travel weekly. This is the anti-mlm blog.
I couldn't care less about how much in sales YTB is doing, because it's had zero impact on my business and will continue to do so.
I am not sure what it is that you are trying to accomplish over here. You seem to be using this blog as your personal crusade against John and other traditional agents like myself. Again, this is an anti-mlm blog. It's exsists because there are a lot of people who believe mlmers are damaging the reputation and credibility of traditional agents. Why you would find it upsetting that there are so few comments in favor of travel mlms are beyond me.
By the way, I emailed your press release to the YTB home office and asked when it was they would be taking action against me. They didn't seem to know anything about it.
So, answer the question....is SSS a member of USTOA? Why would I place my clients trust and money with a company that none of us(including you) had ever heard of before yesterday? Because YOU say so? Not good enough. Again, I will use trusted relaible TO's for destinations such as China, and events such as the Olympics.
ReplyDeleteSeriously...how many YTBers are going to sell a package tour to the Olympics in China? YTB might as well have an exclusive contract for trips to the moon. You would have to be crazy to sign up for a trip like that thru a rookie YTBer with a webpage and some Chinese travel agency whose website is full of dead links instead of going thru a professional agency.
ReplyDeleteCoach and Smirky Scotty know this isn't going to be a big seller...it's just more hype to feed the new recruits...they don't want to tell them how much an average RTA actually earns from travel sales.
What I saw in the video is them saying everything is up, up, up...just not on the up and up...
IONTOP--
ReplyDeleteHere is my take on it. Very few "consumers" will purchase it. You are absolutely correct. However, you have 136,000 RTAs and more when you count Reps that are looking to make a gazillion dollars in the program.
All that is needed is a little COACHing:
YTB went on a limb doing this and it needs to be a success. The price is right, and as an RTA your price will only be $764 ($899, less 60% of the 25% reported commission). This is the trip of a lifetime that you can take you and your wife to China for $1500.
And when the world sees what we can do, people will be lining up to sign up and you will be in on the ground floor. I told you that vendors are lining up at our doors to do business with us..imagine what happens when we go into China.
If you had dreams of making $ million a year, you can toss them out the window if this is a success. With this program, you will be able to make $2 million or even $5 million.
I sold my house to buiuld this business for you, is $1500 asking too much?
And for the carrot dangling forever out of reach, there will be 30,000 that will step to the plate and nibble on it. And when you get 30,000 people you will get bragging rights. Of course it will not be disclosed that they were mostly RTAs or that it was on rebated travel, all we will see is that YTB sold 30,000 packages. Why do you think the RTAs cannot handle this on the websites--YTB wants the control of this!
And to lend some more insight to this, check out my notes on the blog from my meeting! They are extensive and wil likely be in several parts