In one comment I mentioned that YTB collected $93 million dollars from their Reps and RTAs over the course of 9 months. I also mentioned that the commissions paid to these same folks only amounted to $64 million. There was a $28 million deficit.
One of the comments made is very telling about what this whole deal is about. Mind you, this person is claiming to be making $36,000 a month in income. Something that was prohibited from disclosing just a few short months ago. This person is also a Director with YTB with a substantial downline of people. I ask those that are in YTB or those that are considering joining, is this the person you want over you? I am sorry for the personal mention, but I feel it is important to demonstrate two things:
- There is not that much money in the program for most of the people
- The ones higher up on the pyramid are making money and are happy to do so off the backs of those that just joined. As long as there are people willing to pay $500 and $50 a month, this Director's bank account will continue to be the only number that matters!
Here is the comment as it was posted:
- Proud to be YTB said...
I'm making profit john... ME!!! also, there are RTAs and REPs who haven't done that much yet... but they will get there. Remember... there are new people joining every day. each person moves at their own pace. this is why those numbers you are showing really don't mean much. the numbers that do matter to me are the ones in my bank account.
(Note: someone wanted to know where it was originally posted. It is the 20th comment located here. And if anyone knows Blogger, comments cannot be edited, I can delete them, but not edit them)
JF . . . I'm also "proud" to be part of YTB as I have been an RTA for over 4 years. I'm a bit concerned about the official "PROUD" as I am really glad for his/her enthusiasm for YTB. I do not, frankly, agree with PROUD saying that he/she earned over $63,000 in travel commissions alone in the past year. A YTB RTA makes travel commissions two ways . . . from the sale of travel personally at 60% (of commissions) and a 10% override from the RTAs on their Power Team. There are definitely RTAs that are pursuing the travel side of YTB agressively. I only know of one YTB Director that has those kind of travel commission numbers and I'm sure she is not posting on this blog as "PROUD".
ReplyDeleteI am 100% behind YTB and love the company and the people on our Team. I'm concerned about putting out misleading information. To be making $63,000 from the travel side only of YTB in the past 12 months (and expecting that to grow to $100,000 by the end of the year) is a bit too much. I will give kudos to PROUD for his/her enthusiasm and I don't disagree with many of PROUDS posts, but if PROUD is a YTB Director, we don't need "poster material" for your next blog entry. And Directors receive profit sharing income from YTB . . . and I'm quite sure that YTB Corporate would not want the kind of comments that you posted on this entry to be comments that speak for all YTB Directors.
"...and I'm quite sure that YTB Corporate would not want the kind of comments that you posted on this entry to be comments that speak for all YTB Directors."
ReplyDeleteAnd to the crux of the problem - real Travel Agents don't want these sorts of comments to illustrative of who real Travel Agents are either - and quite a large number of the YTBer comments are embarrassments.....
"...real Travel Agents don't want these sorts of comments to illustrative of who real Travel Agents are either..."
ReplyDelete????
I think your sentence structure is an embarrassment if you claim to be a "real travel agent".
And for a little humor and change of pace, I found this travel company on the internet.
ReplyDelete"Rogue Travel is the oldest Travel Agency in Southern Oregon, with offices in Ashland and Medford.
Rogue Travel, offers a wide variety of services."
Hi, I'm your friendly rogue travel agent!
Yes, I did leave out a word...oh, well...at least I'm not off soliciting business while I'm on a cruise ship or walking into Travel Agencies trying to recruit into my down line!
ReplyDeleteYou say 'deficit' with a negative connotation (no surprise). As you should know by now, RTA's are paid 60% of the commissions and Power Team leaders are paid a 10% override. 60 + 10 = 70. 70% of $93 million is $28 million. YTB keeps 30%. So when you say 'deficit' you are really describing YTB's net of commissions received.
ReplyDeleteWhen you're on a cruise, you don't tell people you're a travel agent??? Why not?
ReplyDeleteDeficit, loss, call it what you like. The fact is that when you look at what YTB received from fees, sales, training and travel commissions and what they paid out to the Reps and RTAs, the Reps and RTAs (on the whole) lost $28M in the first 9 months of the year.
ReplyDeleteSorry if that has a negative connotation. What word shall I use? "You can sign up and have the opportunity to earn a fraction of what you paid into the program."
"You can sign up and have the opportunity to earn a fraction of what you paid into the program."
ReplyDeleteOr, you can go to work and treat it like a real business and make whatever your worth. Everyone gets to choose!
Interesting post from another blog.
ReplyDelete11/20/2007 6:33:38 PM
Hello,
I am just want to warn everyone if you ever here the name CHUCK KING stay away from this man he has taken $1,000's upon $1,000's from his Traverus team members. We trusted this man to help us build our team. Yes, he has been terminated from Traverus thank God. Chuck sent us an email 2 weeks ago telling us to send our credit card information he would give us a refund. Not happening, I just called his office phone number is disconnect and the website has been suspeneded.
I am so mad I lost 1k it just aint right. I just wanted to warn everyone if you ever see his name stay far away. He is the biggest con artist there is
and he will use his handicapp to make you feel sorry for him. He deserves everything he gets. I know some people lost atleast 5k and 10k. He mostly targets elderly people. (which I think is the sickest thing anyone can do).
Remember you have been warned:)
To your success
Sarah
Most people in my team have made back more than what they paid into the program within 3 months.
ReplyDelete"When you're on a cruise, you don't tell people you're a travel agent??? Why not?"
ReplyDeleteBecause it is unprofessional to solicit other agents' clients ... and especially if you are on a FAM or a TA rate, you PROHIBITED BY THE CRUISE LINE from soliciting clients while on the ship.
If someone ASKS me what I do for a living I will tell them that I am a travel consultant. But I won't walk up to a complete stranger and say "Hi, I'm a travel agent, drop your current agent and book with me."
Hahahahaha. Chuck King. That's awesome! He was kicked out of YTB for misleading people and violating the Terms & Conditions.
ReplyDeleteWhen you're on a cruise, you don't tell people you're a travel agent??? Why not?
ReplyDeleteAnd if you are on a Crystal Cruise...you will have an unexpected and very expensive ride home!
When you're on a cruise, you don't tell people you're a travel agent??? Why not?
ReplyDeleteAnd if you are on a Crystal Cruise...you will have an unexpected and very expensive ride home!
So how much did it cost you to get home?
Hey John, I am not living off of the bleeding of my downline! Everyone had thw opportunity to make more and more money and become directors!
ReplyDeleteI do apologize for posting my income on this board, but I did it in the defense of YTB. John here says that those in YTB make absolutely NO money! I just had to prove him wrong.
No, I am not the woman you mentioned.... and no, i am not a woman.
I stand corrected on the commissions part. I started out by saying sales, and that is what I truely meant. somewhere along the way, I changed it to commissions.
ReplyDeleteI do apologize for that.
I will no longer talk about my income. john likes to twist it around anyway.
Let me also point out to you that YTB is NOT about screwing over your downline. YTB is about helping your downline build their teams. This is why when someone has a prospect, I help them bring them into the business. The SAME opportunity exists for EVERYONE!!! My downline can become a director like me... just as I can become a level 2, 3, 4... director like those in my upline.
IF YOU WOULD JUST SHUT UP AND GO TO A MEETING, THEN MAYBE YOU WOULD UNDERSTAND THIS BETTER!!!!!
Now I admitted that I was wrong with the sales/commissions issue. Why don't you admit that you were wrong with a lot of the topics you posted... instead of having me prove you are wrong!!!
My travel sales are in the $60K range and my commissions are in the 30K range. That's all I will say about income...
So let me get this straight. Someone claims to earn $63,000 in commissions and says they will earn $100,000 by year's end.
ReplyDeleteHe now recants and says it is $63,000 in travel sales. Which might earn him $4,000 in income.
Yet somehow, he still claims that his income is $30,000. Is he saying he is making 50% on travel sales?
And this is the "director" that is telling me how to read a financial report???
Cruise Lines do not allow you to solicit while on a cruise and very well may exercise their right to put you off the ship should they find out that you are?
ReplyDeleteWhy? For the very same reason that airlines don't want you to do it - fares vary based on when purchased, group rates, etc. and it is it maddening for passengers to hear that they paid more than someone else - they cruise actually does not want you to sell it for less, though it is your goal to sell the best price at time of sale to your client.
Of course, you may respond to the question of "what do you do for a living?" with the truth - "I am a Referral Agent for an MLM" or, if you are a real Travel Agent, you could say, "I'm a Travel Agent".
...or, "I'm in Marketing". That opens the door: "What kind of marketing?" "I set people up in a home-based business and show them how to make commissions on travel, and how to get additional tax deductions".
ReplyDeleteJohn, I made over $4000 off of 3 cruises combined! One was a 6 cabin cruise, 3 cabin and the last was a 5 cabin cruise. Now, I have booked a lot more for clients than 2 cruises.
ReplyDeleteLet me show you something:
Now taking an average, because some cruises cost more than others and reflect different sized commissions according to price...
a 2 person cruise (1 cabin) earns me $320. Multiply that by 14 total cabins sold. There's my total commission for those 3 cruises booked. The actual number came out to be a little less, but it was still over $4,000 in commission paid to me.
I am no longer going to talk about my total income, but this was just an example.
Hi
ReplyDeleteI wanted to let you know about our company. We sell 3 day 2 night travel certificates that are used by many companies as incentives. The cost is only 0.35 cents each and they come with your company name and website imprinted on the certificates.
http://www.increasebusinesssales.com
Think about using these for referrals or give them to customers/clients. You can sell them for a profit to your down-line.
The end user of the certificates has a choice of over 20 destinations to pick from. Take a look at the destinations at the website. http://www.increasebusinesssales.com
They pay a processing fee of $12.00 and the taxes on the room which is about $7.00-$12.00 a night depending on the location.
http://www.increasebusinesssales.com
I am one of the new guys in the company. And Im sure, just like in any business, there are those who are only looking out for themselves and their bank account. I have one of those in my command in the military! It doesn't matter where you go, or what you do, there are always those who only care about the almighty dollar. I, on the other hand want to help all my friends and family have a cheaper vacation that they can write off their taxes. All I care about it getting more from the government since they want to take more money from me. The home based business is the cheapest and easiest way to get under the umbrella that big companies have when it comes to taxes. All I ask from those is do some research, and stay away from the blogs. I did two months of research on the company before I joined. Make up your own mind, don't just do a google search and believe the first thing that pops up.
ReplyDeleteWhile this is a VERY old post, it deserves a comment. You may indeed be able to save taxes on your travel (it has not been tested or challenged by the IRS yet and the deductions, according to several CPAs, are sketchy at best.) But as for traveling cheaper...not with YTB. It has been proven time and time again that better pricing can be found almost from any OTHER source than YTB.
ReplyDelete