This email was received the other day and still, as always, there is nothing about selling travel, just about the perks....sigh...
Spelling and grammar aside, this is the crux of the issue. I have said it before, if you want to rent websites, call yourself a Website Renter. Stop with the travel agent stuff--referring or otherwise. It is deceiving on many fronts and from this email, it still appears that YTB is doing NOTHING to control the messages being sent out to the masses. Do you think it is a coincidence that Canada will not allow you to call yourselves "agents"?
From: We Pay For Travel <WePayForTravel@verizon.net>
Date: Mon, Mar 3, 2008 at 11:02 AM
Subject: Complimentary Accommodations for 2@Vacation PTY
To: escapeartist@gmail.com
You are Invited As MY Guest to a VACATION PARTY
Attend our Vacation party and Receive up to $400 in Complimentary
Accommodations for 2. Just mention where you saw this invitation at the
VACATION PARTY and receive a 3 day 2 night hotel stay
Las Vegas, NV, Orlando, FL, Anaheim, CA, (Disney Land Area), Atlantic City,
NJ, Cancun, MX, Myrtle Beach, SC. We will be adding more location soon.
Don't Book Your Next Vacation or Travel Without The Benefit of This
Information?
NEVER PAY FULL PRICE AGAIN
Learn how to:
Get Paid To Travel,
Access Perks Only Available To Travel Professionals,
Make all your travel almost 100% Tax Deductable
Turn Vacations into Tax Deductions,
Turn the Power of "Travel" & the Internet" into Income for You and Your
Family,
Earn 60% Travel Commission everytime Family Members, Friends, Co-Workers
book their travel on YOUR site.
and... MUCH, MUCH MORE!
WE NOW HAVE 3 LOCATIONS
Appetizers will be served
Tuesday, 7:30 pm
Don Quijote Restaurant
344 Bergen Blvd
Fairview
__________________________________________________ _______________
Thursday, 7:30pm
Donn Pomodoro Ristorante
70 Hackensack Ave
Hackensack NJ 07601
__________________________________________________ _______________
Saturday, 7:00 pm
Sukie Park's
475 Main Street, 5A
Fort Lee
MUST CALL OR EMAIL TO RESERVE A SEAT
201-482-4286
JakePenaTravel@verizon.net
We will be serving appetizers.
To Learn More about this program go to:
www.JakePenaTravel.com and look at the online presentations
__________________________________________________ _______________
If you don't want to be my partner then be my Customer
For all YOUR Travel needs go to: http://ytbtravel.com/JakePenaTravel
Email: JakePenaTravel@verizon.net
First off, the invite mentions lots of benefits about becoming an RTA. Again, you can't tell me that you got into the travel industry without the "perks" of the industry being a selling point for you. With that said, YTB is and always has done something...ALL marketing has to be approved by YTB legal, unfortunately many people do not submit the invites and other correspondences to ytb legal.
ReplyDeleteThat invite was probably ok because it doesn't guarantee perks, it mentions that you can "learn how to access perks"
And again I say, that is likely one of the reasons, if not the top one why most TAs got into the industry.
Funny, there was no special legal code at the top of the email. I was told that all promotions needed the YTB code at the top.
ReplyDeleteCan you send it to legal and post their response back for us to see?
The address I believe is legal@ytb.com
Yes, getting some perks was one of the reasons I became a TTA - however, I knew from the start that it would take lots of hard work to EARN those perks - and that the amount of perks given to me would be in direct proportion to the amount of work I put into the business.
ReplyDeleteI believe that many that join YTB, especially due to the way that it is promoted (such as this email), expect to get TA perks while doing little or no work at all.
John, You just don't get it! It's all about choice.
ReplyDeleteWe all have choices now that we didn't have many years ago. We can shop at the mall or buy it online. We can hire an accountant to do our taxes or buy a software program that will walk us through it step by step. Here's the biggest choice of all - book travel through our own web page or someone elses.
I just had a recent booking for a hotel in Southern California. I nice mid sized family hotel with excellent reviews. Out of curiosity I thought I would see how much "Fred the Funjet" guy would charge. Guess what - the hotel isn't listed - can't book it through your site. Now talk about choices. Like I've said you are beginning to be one of my best selling features. Now I can prove that others don't have as much to offer!
*If you'd like to check the hotel out it's West Inn and Suites in Carlsbad, CA.
And as far as the perks go - I have expected from the beginning that suppliers will begin to clamp down on everyone who claims to be a travel agent. But I think that will take time and in the mean time some will take advantage of the loop holes. But the great thing about YTB is they are accomodating their business with policies that encourage selling travel so we aren't being loop holers, such as requirements to even receive YTB credentials now.
If people aren't making money in YTB they are not trying to be in the travel business and their get rich quick scheme isn't working. My gosh, how many lazy people get fired daily in the traditional job market for not working hard enough?
Have a great day.
Nothing much has changed at YTB, and probably never will until coach sells up and moves on. It's focus is selling websites and whoever sells the most, wins. Travel sales and perks are just carrots to entice the prospects. YTB's revenue numbers proves this true.If it were any other way, this blog would not exist.
ReplyDeleteThe correct address to YTB Legal is legalsupport@ytb.com
ReplyDeleteAnon said, "I believe that many that join YTB, especially due to the way that it is promoted (such as this email), expect to get TA perks while doing little or no work at all."
ReplyDeleteThe e-mail didn't say get TA perks while doing little or no work at all. You did.
The post is a continuation of John scraping the bottom of the barrel to come up with "fresh" anti-YTB rhetoric. It has been happening frequently as of late.
ReplyDeleteJohn said: "as always, there is nothing about selling travel, just about the perks....sigh..."
What?
What part of the following is not about selling travel:
Turn the Power of "Travel" & the Internet" into Income for You and Your Family . . . Earn 60% Travel Commission everytime Family Members, Friends, Co-Workers
book their travel on YOUR site.
and... MUCH, MUCH MORE!"
Need a new pair of reading glasses, John?
How do you write off your taxes, if your one of those RTA's that doesn't actually help anyone, and just refers someone to a website? Your not travelling to better your career, as you don't really have one. How do you write a home-based business, if your actually not doing anything but sending people to a website. Not being sarcastic..just really want to know.
ReplyDeleteI actually work from home. 8am-8pm everyday in my office actually selling travel on a GDS..so I know what I can/cannot write off..so was just wondering.
LB - the selling of travel is at the bottom of the list! Just like it is at the bottom of the list of priorities in YTB!
ReplyDeleteEarn 60% Travel Commission everytime Family Members, Friends, Co-Workers
book their travel on YOUR site.
and... MUCH, MUCH MORE!
The only requirements from the IRS is that you show "pursuit of a profit" and keep proper records.
ReplyDeleteI recent IRS ruling in court went in favor of some home business owners. This couple was only able to show that they worked 45-60 minutes a day, 4-5 days a week with their home business. The court ruled in their favor and that ruling set a precedent.
Most people spend more time than 5 hours per week. With YTB, since selling the websites is part of our business, our time is averaged between the two. The process of selling a website also encompasses some of our travel. And many of us don't solely used the website for our travel bookings. We do contact vendors from time to time for prospects or customers . . . naturally a fraction of what a traditional TA does.
It all works. And we have quite a few CPAs on our Team that agree with what we do . . . enough to own a YTB business themselves.
LB...consult your back office for the 2007 Income disclosure and you will see that you are again wrong.
ReplyDeleteTHe vast majority of YTB Reps spend less than 5 hours on their business.
As a matter of fact (assuming the sheet YTB distributed is correct) 99.64% spend 5 hours or less.
cruise one - John said that there is "nothing" about selling travel. Not true. Just needed to correct the YTB expert.
ReplyDeleteEvery company has a business model. Just because you don't agree with YTB's model, it doesn't negate the fact that it works. And works quite well.
Ruth Chris Steak House and McDonalds both sell beef. They are both successful companies in the food service industry. Their business models are miles apart.
Traditional TAs sell travel with the high touch, personal service. YTB sells travel on the internet. Both are TRAVEL . . . just different business models.
" I actually work from home. 8am-8pm everyday in my office actually selling travel on a GDS.. "
ReplyDeleteThat's a shame.
12 hour days - yuck!
I work 2 or 3 hours a day and golf the rest.
Amazing what leverage can do . . .
Tom
LB, a better analogy would be McDonalds and Blockbuster. Both rent videos, both sell ice cream. Blockbuster does not claim to be a fast food joint, and McDonalds does not claim to be a video store.
ReplyDeleteThe ONLY reason YTB is selling travel is because it keeps it legal. Without it, you are an illegal pyramid scheme. Your interest, as evidenced in your financials, is on recruiting people and having them pay more money to the company and the upline. Travel is a pesky side business to keep the Tomers out of jail.
It is also a pesky side business that you needed to buy to do business in Ontario.
So why travel? Of course you know that...it is popular, most people like it, it has a "sexy" image, and so forth. But come on now, no one really sees this for anything more than it is -- a loose attempt at "legitimizing" your pyramid scheme
With all due respect to YTB, there is no way to know how much time RTAs or Reps spend with their businesses. They are independent contractors and it has to be an estimate. The earnings figures are accurate, but the time spent would have been based on a survey and there is no way to prove it.
ReplyDeleteI talk the minimum 5 hours/week with my Team. Many spend much more than that.
Tom
ReplyDeleteThats by my own choice. Not because I HAVE to. In busy season I work more, in slow season I work less. Again, my choice. Right now I am dealing with 2 groups of 400 people each to Panama...so yes I'm putting in more hours..but its worth it :)
The simplest device for creating leverage is the lever. A lever is a stick which rests on a fulcrum near one end. When you push the long end of the stick down a long ways, the short end moves a small distance up with great force. With this device a man can easily lift several times his own weight, but cannot lift it very far. Other common devices that achieve leverage include the wrench, various pulley arrangements, a jack, and hydraulic brakes.
ReplyDeleteNot all levers provide leverage.
Glad you have jack, Tom.
John - You sound exactly like the traditional Life Insurance "experts" who were all worked up back in the 80's and 90's when A.L. Williams came along and sold insurance . . . and changed the industry.
ReplyDeleteEveryone said that A.L. Williams was a pyramid and all Art Williams was interested in was making his millions. The "traditional" insurance agents whined that is was not fair for these part-time agents to sell insurance to their customers.
A.L. Williams went on to sell billions of life insurance. Regardless of the naysayers who did everything they could do to discredit them, A.L.Williams stood the test of time.
And guess what, John . . . they recruited agents like crazy and they made a ton of money on the MLM side of their business. And they sold billions of dollars of insurance.
Your whole anti-YTB MLM premise is old, recycled news. Had the internet been the medium it is today back in the 80's and 90's, you would have fit in well with a blog:
MLM AND LIFE INSURANCE: A Bad Mix
LB--if it is such old news...don;t bother reading it. You know it all so why bother and waste your time. Surely there is someone within three feet of you that you can pitch isn't there?
ReplyDeleteHonestly, one less reader is not going to make a difference.
I'd like to say we would miss you but...hey
Cruisin_Man, I don't think that going through the dumpsters at your trailer park is classified as working 2 to 3 hours per day while the rest of your day is spent knocking a beer can around with a stick is classified as golf. Did your lottery winning neighbor have the courtesy to at least buy you a new set of wood steps for your single-wide? How's that insurance scam going? Still looking for the big news in USA Today.
ReplyDeleteInteresting how you avoided my analogy, John.
ReplyDeleteYou enjoy your buzz words and phrases about pyramid schemes and insinuating that Scott and Coach are one step from jail. Reminds me of the Iraq war protesters. Lots of buzz words that get press, but little substance.
Not even close to being a "pyramid scheme". The ratios of customers to RTAs puts YTB on solid ground.
And if $500 million in travel is "pesky" in your eyes, I think there are suppliers that appreciate our business and would disagree with your premise.
500 mill in travel sales? Care to document that?
ReplyDeleteeddie -
ReplyDeleteThe final numbers will be published soon. Probably will exceed 500 mill.
Sorry to ruin your day.
"And if $500 million in travel is "pesky" in your eyes, I think there are suppliers that appreciate our business and would disagree with your premise."
ReplyDeleteWhen they can produce $500 that is just for sales of cruise, packages, and air tickets ... hell will freeze over.... $500 mil in travel sales means no monthly fee for the website, no fees for trainging, no payment for brochures, no fee payment to CLIA, no flower slaes, car sale referrals, etc.... Just sales of travel - we all remember how they at one point last year said they had $226 mil in travel and had to revise down because so much of that was not travel.
One has to wonder why the stock is right now at $0.85!!! I mean with such high numbers, it should be way up .....
The day is not ruined, the final number will be published soon.... So you cannot document the statement as I thought. Is this another Tom Coleman prediction? Remember...it's travel sales, not magazines, brochures, training, membership fees or website rentals, cars, flowers or Coleman stoves (do you get a discount on those by the way?) We'll see LOL too funny!!!
ReplyDeleteeddie -
ReplyDeleteLet's see if I can figure this out. YTB has not yet released the total figures. I'm good, but I'm not good enough to hack into YTB's computer system to give it to my wonderful TTA brethern.
But then again, when the figures are released, you won't believe them anyhow.
They will be good enough for Travel Weekly, but not good enough for old Eddie.
You got it right, lb. If your figures are anything but travel sales then they don't count. Sell some china this weekend. that should help.
ReplyDeleteWow! We're back on this again??? John has absolutely nothing more to find that's anti-YTB, so he's once again picking on an invite???
ReplyDeleteWell, there is absolutely NOTHING wrong with this invite. The person did mention at the bottom:
"If you don't want to be my partner then be my Customer
For all YOUR Travel needs go to: http://ytbtravel.com/JakePenaTravel
Email: JakePenaTravel@verizon.net"
All the info was clearly trye. He did not say that you will tax deduct all your vacations 100%. He said ALMOST 100%! There's a big difference, but you fail to see that! If you take a family vacation, and YOU engage some work into it, then YOU can tax deduct YOUR part of the vacation.
Why am I even going over this again? John, you are going around in circles here... LOL!!!
BTW... invitations do not have to be approved by YTB. The presentation used does! There's another big difference there!
Every year YTB has been in business, we have DOUBLED our TRAVEL SALES over the previous year! Yes, I said TRTAVEL SALES! This DOES NOT include any sales on the marketing side!
ReplyDeleteYes, the numbers are right! We are #35 in world travel and #11 in Leisure travel!!! This is from doing what folks???
Answer: SELLING TRAVEL!!!
By the end of this year, I believe that YTB will be #17 in world travel, and probably #6 in Leisure travel. (estimated guess).
Now a question for the TTAs:
According to Travel Weekly's polls, where do you rank on the travel list? Did you even make it on the list?
Proud--where did you PERSONALLY fall on the TW list? Not YTB, you personally?
ReplyDeleteI would venture to say that EVERY TTA on here sells at least 10 times what you claim to sell.
And many work for AMEX, AAA, Carlson, Omega, and others that using your logic would put them far ahead of YTB
#2 is the number I fall in. CWT. And from what I hear they might even surpass Amex for the #1 spot this year. :)
ReplyDeleteProud...welcome back. glad you are still wrong...
ReplyDeleteYourTravelBiz.com does not support or condone the use of Unsolicited Bulk Email (spam) to solicit prospects for any YTB business. Proposed email materials must be approved by the legal department before use.
This form may be downloaded from the Download link at the top of your Back Office page. To register, simply print the form, read and agree to the Terms and Conditions, sign and fax back to 618-659-9591. You will then be directed to submit your proposed email materials to legalsupport@ytb.com for approval.
If we should receive a complaint which proves a violation of this Spam Policy has occurred, the offending representative may be subject to termination.
I do not believe that email was requested. As a matter of fact, I know it was not!
If you need the link for the above policy:
http://www.yourtravelbiz.com/bizRep/BizReports/BizReports_2006/Bizreport_04-28-06.htm
35th largest in travel sales has been proven wrong, but YTB will continue to spout it because it appeared in print. They must certainly believe everything they read. Too sad.
ReplyDeleteThen go report it to YTB John... if you feel so strongly about it.
ReplyDeleteHow do you know it was in first contact? How did the RTA/REP get the e-mail address to send it to? Evidently, the person gave it to him/her. This gives permission to the RTA/REP to send this information.
You are so full of it John!
Again, John is proven WRONG!!!
Proud it is not my job to report it to YTB. It is YTB's job to ensure their people are in compliance.
ReplyDeleteIt was in first contact, and inclusion onto the list was requested.
The fact that someone gives you an email address doe NOT give you permission to solicit someone. Check up on your Can Spam Act!