Wow, so many rumors going around it is hard to determine what is what. I guess the only thing to do is wait a bit and see what pans out and what does not.
Over the last week, have heard the following:
- YTB is buying Sabre (I actually heard that one two weeks ago and it took me a week to be able to type it once I stopped laughing)
- YTB is buying Commerce Planet (more believable as their stock is literally at pennies and they already have an active FTC investigation going on them)
- Coach flew to Dallas and convened all the Directors (not corporate ones) to discuss these acquisitions. (Why non-employees would be involved in these decisions is beyond me)
- Coach flew all the Directors (not corporate ones) to Headquarters to discuss these acquisitions. (Why non-employees would be involved in these decisions is beyond me)
- That the copyrighted, never allowed to change because it is on file with the Attorney Generals in 50 states and the District of Columbia is going to be changed once again
Who knows, but if you are looking to follow the scoop, it appears the inside track can be found on The YTB Travel Blog and Just Picture It Now.
It is always amusing to see what is tossed out there in the world of travel. I guess we sit tight and wait and see!
The copyrighted compensation plan guarantees that your income can never be taken away from you. It doesn't prevent the compenstion plan from being changed.
ReplyDeleteJohn said, "I guess we sit tight and wait and see!"
ReplyDeleteYeah good idea John, I'd wait this time. We don't want it to be another egg-on-your face Candi May story again. No sir.
I heard that YTB may purchase Orbitz. I don't remember where I heard that.
ReplyDeleteRod, you're as bad as John hanging around too many rumor mills.
ReplyDeleteThere seems to be a lot of rumers about YTB. That's the way they like it! Keep your people guessing, keep them so interested that they don't see any real facts, and don't expect them.
ReplyDeleteRod said..."I heard that YTB may purchase Orbitz. I don't remember where I heard that."
ReplyDeleteHahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!
John, Doug, All,
ReplyDeleteShouldn't RTA's and TTA's band together for a cause against a major issue that will simply drive (no pun intended) many of us out of the travel business?
In case you haven't noticed Morgan Stanley is predicting $150-a-barrel oil!
Right now, the Dow is down 300 points!
Should our goals for the future remain BAU, bashing one another..or something else?
My concern is no longer MLMs and Travel: A Bad Mix
it's...
Fuel Prices and Travel: Bad for Business
John/Doug, don't you think it's time to start attacking this evil rather then all of us taking pot shots at each other?
Can we turn this blog around into something more positive? It's serious people, we are looking at $6 and $7 dollars per gallon soon. If that happens will "MLMs and Travel: A Bad Mix" dominate our thinking? I seriously doubt it. Again think about it. What will your concern in life be when you pay $7 at the pump. What about food? Everything is tied to oil.
I'm very serious and concerned about my travel business and I hope the rest of you are as well.
My best wishes to all of you.
YTB cannot solve the problem of the TTAs
ReplyDeleteThe TTAs cannot solve the problem of the MLMs.
The democrats cannot figure out how to unite their party
Yet somehow you figure Doug and Jon and their silly blogs are going to solve the fuel crisis?
Newsflash, there was a fuel crisis in the 70s and there were travel agencies. It was a tough time for sure but the strong survived.
Will MLM survive it? Time will tall
The US pays the least amount for a gallon of gasoline than anywhere in the world. And as to the price, there's nothing a blog can do about it except to suggest you sell your YTB stock and buy into oil/energy stocks.
ReplyDeletePeople will stop flying because the ticket price is too high. The cruise ships are charging fuel surcharges and admission to theme parks is down. Tighten your belts and get used to it. Joe Cheapo who wants the lowest fare for everywhere will not travel. I see this as an opportunity for a TA and a problem for online sellers. A website cannot explain value/cost or offer suggestions can it?
MLMs and TRavel are a bad mix, but since travel is not their focus, and recruiting is, maybe website sales will take the hit before their travel sales do.
Cancel your website and buy a scooter.
I'm not in the least bit worried about the cost of fuel as it relates to my business. A very small portion of my clientele would have to cancel or not plan a vacation because of fuel surcharges or even the price of a plane ticket - at least 90% of my clientele is high-end. People who have money, always have money. My business - gross and yield is way up over last year.
ReplyDeleteI don't chase the people who are bookig CCL and Apple. They're the ones who will put off travel this year.
CTA in MD
CTA makes a good point. Also, while fuel will rise, this will force many other suppliers to drop pricing to lure visitors.
ReplyDeleteI think you forgot a couple other very important rumors John.
ReplyDelete1. John bought Travel Weekly.
2. John is heir to the KFC fortune. I thought that was pretty funny.
3. YTB is a travel agency. Also a riot.
Just think, each time I book on my YTB site, I save $30 to $100 by avoiding a TTA plus $'s back on comission and savings with discounted hotel rates. As CTA in MD stated, I'm not in the least bit worried about the cost of fuel as it relates to my business thanks to YTB. Now, where do I want to go on my next FAM trip?
ReplyDeleteTraveling? Why pay a travel agent $30 to $100 more in fees for that airline ticket when you can go on-line and book it yourself and help fight cancer too! Click on this link...National Foundation for Cancer Research
OleScorekeeper :>)
BTW, for clarification NFCR is not my site. I prefer anyone desiring to book travel please book it on the NFCR site.
ReplyDeleteOleScorekeeper
Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteCTA makes a good point. Also, while fuel will rise, this will force many other suppliers to drop pricing to lure visitors.
I believe rising prices will force drinking drivers off the road. Comes down to which is more important to fuel, youself or your car?
Ole, You book all you want on your YTB site and pay higher then necessary prices. It's been proved time and again that YTB does NOT have the lowest pricing because YTB does not have all the vendors.
ReplyDeleteBNA - FLL on YTB 348.00
BNA - FLL by me 311.00 in includes my fee
20jun-27jun 08.
If you and a select group of 'warmies' want to pay more than necessary...go for it!
Have a good weekend. And be careful out there.
Ole,
ReplyDeleteMaybe you can take that $20-$100 and get a education. That would be "commission". But you can from the pen so I wouldn't expect anything less.
Anywho.....the thing about these rising costs, YTB people are going to have to decide between a $500 and $50 investment a month or gas to get to their jobs. Or food, or anything else to live. It's a no brainer, if you can't make money with YTB and you need money for gas, YTB goes bye bye. And who in their right mind would sign up.
I can see it now..."Crotch has stated that the reason for YTB going under is due to the economic down turn", as he fuels up his jet and withdraws his money from the bank.
I beat Travelocity by 400.00 on a ticket to OKA. Just took a little brain power. Client way happy so I am too.
ReplyDeleteYou mean YTB might go ByeByeNow?
ReplyDeleteNot good news for travel agents.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90957062
Not good news for consumers. Travel agents don't make any commissions on the airline tickets. Maybe a fee, but typically no commission.
ReplyDeleteThis is old news. I know it was last week, but this has been coming for a long time.
Scam said,
ReplyDelete"Ole,
Maybe you can take that $20-$100 and get a education."
Dear Scam,
Here is my gift to you. It's only $30. If you take advantage of this offer..Writing Basics 101: Spelling, Grammar, Punctuation, Writing Structures..and apply yourself, I can promise you, your posts on this blog will appear to come from a mansion rather then a trailer park.
All the Best,
OleScorekeeper ;>)
The rumors are silly. YTB doesn't have near enough money for Sabre, or Orbitz..even if coachie sells his plane.
ReplyDeleteLets see Ole,
You book an airline ticket on your website, you get no commission, 99.9% of the airlines don't pay them. So you get $1 fee maybe. Then you book your discounted hotel rate thru who hotels.com? They are usually NEVER the cheapest. And you get your 5-10% maybe commission from them. So you've saved how much? Not much. When a TTA probably could have saved you (as proven) $50-$80 on your ticket, cheaper & better hotel, including the service fee. But I know how you hate all TTA's because some poor fool did you wrong. You just cannot admit that the websites are not the "best" in price.
John said..."Not good news for consumers. Travel agents don't make any commissions on the airline tickets."
ReplyDeleteApparently you didn't read the last three paragraphs of the article. This goes far beyond the consumers purchase of an airline ticket.
Travel agent Thomas Marks says.."As the months wear on, if oil prices stay where they are, you're going to see fewer and fewer leisure travelers."
Don't "leisure travelers" usually stay at resorts or at least hotels, condos ect?
"Business people will also be forced to cut back on travel, he says. Just as some vacationers decide to stay closer to home this summer, frequent business travelers may opt for a conference call instead of a face-to-face meeting."
Let's hope he is wrong.
OleScorekeeper
Per the NPR piece - you will see fewer CHEAP leisure travellers. The ones who want an AI vacation for two for less than $3k - not going to affect me - I rarely have a client with a budget lower than $5k. Those people are the ones who go to the internet and rarely to an Agent. To make money with then one has to do very high volume and provide very little service.
ReplyDeleteI had a client pay her final balance of $43k today. Yes, she's getting BIG service out of me but not because of the size of her trip, but rather because of the size of my fee - on top of a commission close to $6k.
CTA in MD
eddie said...
ReplyDelete"Ole, You book all you want on your YTB site and pay higher then necessary prices."
Sorry Eddie, I only use Expedia as a reference since YTB is 98% of the time as good or better regarding prices. That's a fact.
It's been proved time and again that YTB does NOT have the lowest pricing because YTB does not have all the vendors.
It's never been my contention that YTB has the "lowest pricing". That's a fact. We are competitive with all the consumer on line booking sites.
BNA - FLL on YTB 348.00
BNA - FLL by me 311.00 in includes my fee
20jun-27jun 08.
Here's what I came up with in a comparison YTB vs Expedia for the same itinerary as you chose using the same flight numbers.
YTB - $346.50
Expedia - $348.00 +$5.00 Service Fee
Eddie - $311.00, but unfortunately that can't be verified.
And, correct me if I'm wrong, your source is not available to the consumer to directly book on line.
If you and a select group of 'warmies' want to pay more than necessary...go for it!
I'll be glad to pay your claimed $35.50 difference just so I don't have to tolerate some call center order taker who probably will just screw up my itinerary anyway. No thanks Eddie..keep the change..McDonald's is on me. ;>)
OleScorekeeper
Traveling? Why pay a travel agent $30 to $100 more in fees for that airline ticket when you can go on-line and book it yourself and help fight cancer too! Click on this link...
National Foundation for Cancer Research
Dear Grammar Police aka OleScorekeeper...
ReplyDeletePrior to trashing someone for poor grammar, it is recommended that yours be in better shape. It is similar to the old axiom, people who live in glass houses should not throw stones.
Dear Scam,
Here is my gift to you. It's only $30. If you take advantage of this offer..Writing Basics 101: Spelling, Grammar, Punctuation, Writing Structures..and apply yourself, I can promise you, your posts on this blog will appear to come from a mansion rather then a trailer park.
All the Best,
OleScorekeeper ;>)
The word you are searching for is "thAn". ThEn refers to a time. ThAn is a comparative.
But I like the idea of living in a mansion. Have you become the new Cabana Boy at Coach's place? I hear it pays better than YTB!
I'm no call center order taker Ole. I am just very very good with air bookings. So would you be if you knew where to look, but that takes experience and you have a few years to go to catch up to me. And really, since you don't care, why bother trying? I don't do McD's but thanks for the offer.
ReplyDeletePS The nfcr would rather you book your travel with AA.
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If you are planning on taking a vacation please check out my web site Visit: http://www.yourcapturepage.com You will see that 90% of the time they are less expensive than Orbitz, Expedia or Travelocity for the exact same thing.
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Who cares if it isn't true?
John said, "Prior to trashing someone for poor grammar, it is recommended that yours be in better shape. It is similar to the old axiom, people who live in glass houses should not throw stones."
ReplyDeleteOleScore, in his defense said, "Oh Johnny. Are getting your nickers all in a twist over a silly typo? And "trashing someone"..SCAM? Is that even possible? I mean..c'mon Johann, OleScores just trying to show some kindness. I began with, "Dear Scam,
Here is my gift to you." Then I closed with, "All the Best". And honestly, I just want old SCAM to be at his best as he attempts to transfer his thought's into words for the benefit of his readers."
Now on another topic you said, "...I like the idea of living in a mansion."
Don't tell me you DON'T live in a mansion yet John. I'd expect that and more from a crackerjack columnist and former PMSNBC travel-babel contributor. LOL!
Anyway, have a fun weekend John. Maybe we can dig each other for grammar qlitches next week.
Olescorekeeper ;>)
"Fuel Prices and Travel: Bad for Business"
ReplyDeleteTell the Chinese and the people of India to go back to riding their bikes and quit sucking up the oil then....
YTB recruits those who are on welfare, out of jail, stay at home Moms and others and promises them they will make millions in the billion dollar travel business. Most of these RTA's buy into. They really can't afford the fees YTB charges but they keep paying waiting for the big payout. Kinda like going to Vegas and keep feeding the slots waiting to hit pay dirt. And now YTB RTA's who couldn't afford the fees in the first place are whining their business is going down the tubes because of high fuel prices. Meanwhile, you have sleazeball CEO running around in a corporate jet that just sucks oil by the minute. Do you RTA's not see something wrong with this picture?
ReplyDeleteIf you can't afford to pay Crotch and support his jet habit get a real job and get out of YTB. Quit being a sucker and paying out $$$ and chasing a dream.
Yes, oil is high. May get higher. People will still travel. Value and service will keep them coming back. Not some cheesy website.
DumbYTB, that was pretty stupid stuff. Pour yourself another why don't you.
ReplyDeleteDumbYTB said...
ReplyDeleteYTB recruits those who are on welfare, out of jail, stay at home Moms and others.
So Dumb, are you on welfare, in jail, a stay at home Mom like Travel Lisa, or some other type of loser craping your pants moron? By the way, have some YTB Learjet JP4 fuel exhaust for breakfast tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!
Anonymous said... By the way, have some YTB Learjet JP4 fuel exhaust for breakfast tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteA jet for a company that is in the red. Great move on YTB's part. How much of your fees went to pay for that jet?
So Dumb, are you on welfare, in jail, a stay at home Mom like Travel Lisa,or some other type of loser craping your pants moron??
ReplyDeleteWTF is that supposed to mean. I'm a work - at - home mother. I make more then many RTA's will dream of making as a TA.
"So Dumb, are you on welfare, in jail, a stay at home Mom like Travel Lisa, or some other type of loser craping your pants moron? By the way, have some YTB Learjet JP4 fuel exhaust for breakfast tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!"
ReplyDeleteI hit a nerve with you RTA losers. And, you can't read either it's dump not dumb. LOL!
BTW-I make 6 figures and am not a moron. I would be careful who you call a moron.
As to the Jet everyone knows that is a poor investment. Companies in the red don't have one....
I hit a nerve with you RTA losers. And, you can't read either it's dump. LOL!
ReplyDeleteAs in "take a dump"?