The Issues Are....

Over the past few days, the comments have taken a turn for the worse. I apologize for that, but I doubt there would be much discourse if I required everyone to register to post a comment. I would appreciate keeping on the issues.

And in case anyone has forgotten, I will lay them out once again and explain my position as to why the MLM model does not fit with travel.

1. The travel suppliers are getting the short end of the stick. From the numbers available, it is evident that the people in the program are not about selling travel. Yet they are big on taking industry discounts and FAM trips. These have a cost to the supplier. When a supplier like Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Globus, Apple Vacations and so forth offer a FAM trip, there is a cost to them. It is a gamble that they will in turn get a ROI by having the agent sell a trip for them. This is not happening. According to a YTB presentation--in September the RTAs earned $1.4M in commissions. This equates roughly to $14M in sales. At 134,000 RTAs, that is $104.47 per RTA. The comeback will be there were not that many when the travel was sold. Legitimate rebuttal. Let's say there were only 12,000 RTAs when the travel was sold. Still only equates to $1166 in sales per month. The MLM TRAs, CTAs, Reps or whatever you want to call them, are selling MINIMAL travel and most likely (as was proven by Steve Perrillo) selling it to themselves.
2. The consumers are getting the short end of the stick as well. Set aside the WBAL-TV issue for a moment--there are rogue people in every industry. But when someone is looking to invest (and a vacation is indeed an investment) in a vacation, they have an expectation. They expect to have as seemless of an experience as possible, have few problems, get a good value for their money, and if possible have an advocate on their side should something not go as planned. Does the MLM model provide this? Absolutely not! The experience is not seemless as there are entirely too many steps to go to to plan the vacation. If a personal opinion is needed, it is rarely accessible, and when it is accessible, the consumer is now dealing with a minimally trained RTA that may not know the difference between Panama City and Panama City. I cannot speak to the problems encountered in the MLM process, but if it is like ALL travel, there are likely to be problems at some point out of the control of the RTA. What is the MLM answer? To call the vendor and hash it out. Again, tha vast majority of RTA websites do not have any contact information on them for YTB or the RTA. Furthermore, the numbers on the RTA site are "insider" numbers for travel agents and are NOT designated for consumers. And value for the money--maybe and maybe not. I venture to say that the pricing is competitive to any other means--but where is the value? Where is someone to advocate for you? Where is someone that can guide you? Where is someone that has invested in years of training? Where is someone that has the experience?
3. Finally, the industry is getting the black eye. YTB is bringin on an average of 500 RTAs per day (according to independent RTA claims). At that rate, in a year, they will have infused more "agents" into the industry than were EVER working in the industry. Talk about diluting the pond. But the issue that stretches across all three issues is here. They have said you can come "from Yale or Jail", "Penn State or the State Pen"--this is true. One man convicted for investment fraud was released from jail and ran right to a travel MLM. In every industry, there must be some sort of professionalism. From where I stand, that is not a requirement to get in the MLM program. Look at YouTube. Attend a trade show and admire the green t-shirts that proclaim "I got here for free. Ask me how." Watch a presentation. Watch them harassing and soliciting clients at resorts and on cruise ships while they are abusing supplier perks. They have single handedly taken a profession and are well on their way to reducing it to the lowest common denominator. And quite honestly, that is frightening.

The entry into travel is alluring to many. It is sexy. It is happy. Everyone likes to do it or talk about doing it. Sort of like sex. It does not require you to maintain an inventory. Traditional MLM programs find inventory, lack of appeal to a mass market, and unsexy products to be a liability. So travel seems like a good fit. But as all of the numbers support--the MLM business in travel is not about travel at all. It is about bringin in more people to rent a website. Travel is the product (and remember why it is appealing) to keep the MLM programs just on the side of being legal. Look at earnings--not dollars but earnings...who earns more in the YTB program? Reps or RTAs? Where does the income come from? Renting sites and selling programs? Or selling travel? The answer is obvious.

If the MLM companies would admit what they are, we would be a long way to solving this dispute. They are not in it for the travel. If the suppliers would realize this, the dispute would be solved entirely.

I have said it before, I can set up an eBay store in a few minutes and I can buy gold rope chain from a distributor. That does not make me a jeweler.