The Hidden Cost Of MLM

TO:  Carnival Cruise Lines, Princess Cruise Lines, Holland America Line, Disney Cruise Line, Walt Disney Travel Company, Globus, Trafalgar, VAX Vacation Access, Travel Impressions, Cunard Line, Seabourn, Collette Vacations, MSC Cruises, Costa Cruises, Apple Vacations, The Mark Travel Company & Brands, Travel Guard and the rest of the travel suppliers who deal with the MLM travel agencies.


RE:  Additional costs to deal with MLM

I bet you thought that offering a 16% commission and a few marketing bucks was a great deal to deal with an MLM when you started. I bet you are wrong. Have you ever taken a look at the hidden cost of dealing with an MLM? When reputation is everything in this industry, I am surprised that you all are willing to sacrifice your hard earned brand image. Please consider the following:

Are you gaining more clients? Or just discounting your product?

• The bean counters all see the dollar signs for the bookings. But it has been proven that most of the sales are to themselves. So it is logical to assume these MLM participants would likely have traveled in any case and purchased via a more reputable means. All that is accomplished here is to cheapen your product by discounting--something many of the suppliers themselves prohibit. The alienation of your sales force by doing so is a whole other discussion. Perillo Tours found out that 90% of their YTB bookings were for the agents themselves. Sort of defeats the purpose of hiring an "agent" to do your marketing doesn't it?
  

What's happening to your reputation?

• What happens when one of these untrained MLM participants makes an attempt to market your product? I am sure you have seen some marketing attempts--many have been highlighted on this blog. And do you really want someone trying to sell your product, when their goal is to sell them into their scheme so they can travel for free?
• What happens when one of these so called "agents" decides to collect almost $100,000 from high school seniors and run with it? While Carnival obviously had no responsibility in that matter, the cruise line's good name was certainly dragged through the mud.
• What happens when you do offer reduced rate travel and these MLM participants descend and are soliciting your full fare paying customers? What type of taste does that leave in your customer's mouth? And why do these MLM "agents" need to be continually reminded on how to be professional?
  

What's happening to your money?

• Cruise lines are becoming more and more dependent on onboard revenue for their profitibility. Has anyhone bothered to do a study of the amount of money the MLM clients actually spend on board as opposed to that of a traditional agent? What about the MLM participants themselves? I was on a Carnival ship in November and witnessed a MLM agent from Traverus bragging that they got the cruise for next to nothing, had weaseled out of tipping, smuggled in a lot of alcohol and soda, and brought insulated drinking cups to keep them well lubricated. With all that planning, I am sure a nickel did not make its way to Carnival.
• Sure you pay some of these MLM companies top tier commissions, but for that, one would expect that the agent does the lion's share of the work. Are the MLMs pulling their weight? Have you looked at the time your internal people spend hand holding and re-training the MLM participants time and time again? Is it really worth it to pay 16% commission? I recently heard that a major cruise line flew staff from Miami to St. Louis to answer consumer calls during YTB's recent Sail-A-Thon.  I suppose they did not want a repeat of the "service" handed out at last year's event. Honestly, it makes more sense to take the booking direct and not pay a commission at all.
  

How do your employees feel?

• Have you ever questioned your front line empoloyees about how they feel dealing with the MLM agencies? I have. It is not pretty. You need customers for sure, but you also need employees who are excited to work for you. Why not offer an anonymous survey and allow them to voice their opinions? 
• Ask your BDM's their honest opinion. I am sure you will be shocked. Be sure they know you want to know how they feel and not what they think you want to hear.
  

Do these "agents" know the product?

• On a recent blog post, a YTB Referring Travel Agent was insistent that a "tender" was money. While that is certainly a definition of tender, it is not the case in the travel industry. Most likely this agent is advising clients that while in George Town, Grand Cayman that they need to take money to get ashore.
• Speaking of the Caymans, the RTA that took off with the high school seniors' money--she advertised that the "boat" "docked" in "Grand Caymen". What impression is left on the consumer? And why are suppliers facilitating it?
• When Royal Caribbean made their move, most of YTB insisted that Lisa Bauer's promotion to the VP of the Hotel Operations was really a demotion for "dissing" YTB and that she was in charge of changing sheets in the pre-and post cruise hotels.  Seriously, I am not kidding.

Is the interference worth it?

• From what I hear, many suppliers have received subpoenas from the California Attorney General requesting access to many financial documents related to the current suit against YTB for operating an illegal Pyramid Scheme. While I am sure that all suppliers operate on the up and up, additional governmental scrutiny can never be a good thing.

It is obvious the cost is far greater than the commissions paid. The MLM "agents" are not earning their commission and quite honestly, your continued dealing with them is slowly but surely eroding your very own brand image. Royal Caribbean took a bold, brave step in 2007 by eliminating YTB from their agency list. Other smaller suppliers followed as well. Last week, NCL came to the realization that dealing with an MLM is simply not worth it.

Right now, each supplier needs the support of people that know the product and are professional, legal and ethical in operating their businesses. I challenge that you are not getting this with YTB, Traverus, GTI and the rest. Richard Fain and Adam Goldstein reiterated their belief in a trained professional agent to move their product. I applaud them. Traditional Travel Agents are very relevant to travel suppliers, and they are proving that relevancy each day.

How relevant are the MLMs?  How committed to you are they? Have you listened to one of the YTB Saturday morning conference calls? This week, the word "travel" was mentioned exactly once--when they said they "started with travel" and moved onto flowers and cars. Both Traverus and YTB are now focusing on selling potions and lotions. YTB is selling home decor, financial services, meat and food, cakes and peanuts, and more. Don't believe it, go click on the links. These MLM companies are only  dedicated to travel as long as they can use it as the sexy lure to recruit new members.


You all received a copy of the petition withnearly 3000 names of travel professionals asking for you to throw your support to the agents who produce for you. If you need a copy of this petition, please send me an email and I will be happy to send it.

Now that 2/3 of the major cruise lines in the world have seen the light and have made the business decision to not deal with the MLM/Card Mill/Pyramid companies, don't you think it might make sense for you to take a look as well?

Revised YTB Commissions From ALL Vendors--Shhhh, It's A Secret!

Well apparently, the edict from Wood River did not take hold as two RTAs (David and Sherri Ogg who are DIRECTORS and also teach the First Class Training) have made a fantastic post outlining all of the confidential commissions that various travel vendors pay to YTB. Of course this blog will be removed within a few hours of this posting, so catch it while you can.

What is interesting is that they are still claiming that WCT is the fulfillment engine behind the air and car rentals. And noticeably absent from this list, is Globus and Cosmos. Could they have been one of the suppliers who may have decided to end their "partnership" as I suggested in early December? Globus has not been active with YTB since mid-November.

But I am confident that Carnival, Norwegian, Cunard, Holland America, Costa, Disney, Princess, Auto Europe, Crystal, Apple Vacations, Collette Vacations, Pleasant Holidays, Trafalgar Tours, Travel Impressions, Disney, and Travel Guard all appreciate that David and Sherri Ogg have let the world know just how much money can be earned in YTB.

WORLD CHOICE TRAVEL DOMESTIC $5 per ticket
WORLD CHOICE TRAVEL INTERNATIONAL $10 per ticket
AIRPORT PARKING 40% of 1st day service fee
AUTOEUROPE 17%
WORLD CHOICE TRAVEL CAR 2.5- 5%
CARNIVAL 16%
COSTA 17%
CRYSTAL 13%
CUNARD 15%
DISNEY 15%
HOLLAND AMERICA 16%
NORWEGIAN 10%
PRINCESS 15%
WORLDWIDE GOLF VACATIONS 10%
GOLF SWITCH 10%
GROOPLE 1.5-4%
HOTELS.COM <10%
GDS Booking <10%
Vacation Rental <10%
HOT RATE HOTELS <10%
WORLD CHOICE HOTELS <10%
ANNIVERSARY WISHES REGISTRY 20% of service fee
ARTIKO 15%
BISTRO MD 25%
BLOOMING BUDS 15%
CAMANO ISLAND COFFEE 20%
CHECKS UNLIMITED 20%
CHINESE LAUNDRY 17%
CLARINS PARIS 25%
THE CRAB PLACE 11%
DINE WISE 15%
DINO'S 24 KARROT CAKES 15%
DIRECT GARDEN DECOR 16%
EQUIFAX 22% of item sale/montly subscription
EZ FOREX (FOREIGN CURRENCY) 40% of service fee
FRESH TOPIARY 11%
THE FRUIT COMPANY 15%
GINA ALEXANDER 25%
GOLDEN MOON 20%
GORMET STATION 20%
GREAT BIG CANVAS 10%
HABERVISION 15%
HALE GROVES 15%
THE HARTFORD; AUTO INSURANCE $12 PER LEAD
HOME BLINDS OF AMERICA 15%
HONEYMOON WISHES REGISTRY 20% of service fee
INHABIT LIVING 11%
JUST FINE, INC 10%
LACENSE BEEF 25%
LAUREN HUTTON 18%
LIFELOCK $32 per sale
MODERN RUGS 12%
MY BUTCHER 16%
NIMLI 10%
O&H DANISH BAKERY 10%
OLD TIME CANDY 10%
RAFAELLO TIES 10%
RESTAURANT.COM 15%
PASSPORTS/VISAS 15% of service fee
PORT PROMOTIONS (SHORE EXCURSIONS) 12%
SHIMMER & STONE 15%
SHOEBOXED 50%
SKINCAKE RX 20%
TOBI 10%
WELLWISHERS/Bon Voyage Gifts 15%
YOUR TRAVEL WEAR 10% of item price
YTB CARS $500 per car sale
YTB FLOWERS 20%
YTB OUTDOORS 10% of merch. and trips
ZCHOCOLAT.COM 10% of merch. and trips
ZENOBIA NUTS 10%
APPLE VACATIONS
Charter Package 10-15%
Contracted Scheduled Air 13-14%
Group Booking 5%
Insurance 10%
Land Only 13-14%
Published Scheduled Air 0-5%
BRANSON ONLINE 17%
COLLETTE VACATIONS 10%
CUSTOM TRIPS 6%
KENSINGTON TOURS 11%
LAST MINUTE DEALS 6%
PLEASANT HOLIDAYS
Air 0-5%
Land 14%
Air & Car 7-10%
SPAQUEST 10%
SPRING TOURS
Land Only 25%
Special Requests 12%
TRAFALGAR TOURS 10%
TRAVEL IMPRESSIONS
Online Booking 15%
DISNEY 10%
LAS VEGAS 12%
FLORIDA 12%
WYNDHAM'S RESORT VACATION E-CERTIFICATES 25%
TICKETS & ATTRACTIONS (WORLD CHOICE) 3.5%
TICKETS NOW (TICKET BROKER) 10%
AIG Travel Guard 20%

And what is the deal with all the potions and lotions. I thought YTB was a "travel" company, just taking a quick look, it seems that travel only represents about 40% of their "business"--and I am being generous there.

In this economy, where we are looking for the consumer's discretionary income, do the travel suppliers really want to compete with Modern Rugs, Checks Unlimited and a Chinese Laundry?

Hey Carnival!

Well, it has been just over a year since Lisa Bauer, Dondra Ritzenthaler, and Royal Caribbean took the gutsy move to terminate relationships with companies they deemed to be card mills. It has also been almost a year and Carnival Cruise Lines has been mum on the topic.

The question I have for Micky Arison and Gerry Cahill centers around if that was a good move or not? At what cost did you receive any incremental revenue? Did you receive any?

According to the 3rd Quarter SEC filings, it seems that Royal Caribbean's income is up 4.2% for the quarter and 7.4% for the year; while Carnival is down 3.2% for the quarter and 4.4% for the year. I know it is hard to compare apples to apples when Carnival has so many brands that are really diverse, but the bottom line is telling.

I wish I could find a breakout by brand because I content that continuing to do business with MLM or Card Mill agencies is indeed bad business.Looking at the bottom line, it appears that the expected incremental revenue from Royal Caribbean never materialized for Carnival.

If we look at one of the known agencies that was terminated by Royal Caribbean (YTB) is it obvious from their own SEC numbers that they bulk of their people do not sell much product. The Referring Travel Agents were responsible for a reported (yet unverified) $211 million in sales for 2007. There are claims that 2008 sales are higher, but that remains to be seen since their enrollment has dropped significantly.

So the question to Carnival remains was the $33 million paid in commission really worth the additional sales? The YTB numbers indicate that the vast majority of sales made are for personal travel and not to that of legitimate clients. The California Attorney General has also alleged this in his $25 million lawsuit against YTB. So why is Carnival happy with essentially discounting cruises by 16% that they likely would have captured in any event? Sure, there are a lot of people in YTB that took cruises ONLY because of the discount, but come on--$33 million? And that does not even cover the override agreement in place. So is this really good business?

What about the bad press? Remember the YTB Travel Agent in Tennessee that sold a Carnival Cruise to "Grand Caymen" to hundreds of high school seniors and then vamoosed with the money? What was the cost to the reputation of Carnival and YTB?

What about your additional cost? There are marketing costs to attend their events, costs to facilitate the product update calls, and let's not forget that Carnival flew res center agents to Wood River to handle consumer calls for the recent "Sail-A-Thon". Why doesn't Carnival send res agents to all travel agencies to handle consumer inquiries? I think I know the answer--and I bet Carnival does as well.

Have you noticed a decline in bookings from legitimate agencies that used to support Carnival in years past? Has Royal Caribbean seen an increase?

I contend that accepting Card Mill business is likely bad business. Your bottom line sure seems to support this as well.

2009 looks to be one of the more challenging years facing the travel industry. Who is better positioned to help out Carnival Cruise Lines? Is it the travel professional who knows your product and sells to the public? Or is it the "I just bought my credential" agent that is looking for a 16% discount on his own cruise.

A Holiday Check List

• Sell ID cards, get fired by several suppliers--check
• Try to infiltrate Canada without obeying their laws--check
• Get IATAN endorsement yanked--check
• Appeal IATAN yanking and lose--check
• Find loophole in new CLIA requirements--check
• Filter $6 million to private company--check
• Lose a lot of money on buildings--check
• Buy a plane to look important--check
• Sell plane and lose money--check
• Don't listen to the Attorney General in California--check
• Get sued by the Attorney General in California--check
• Bail out the RTA that ripped people off in Baltimore--check
• Bail out the RTA that ripped people off in Houston--check
• Bail out the RTA that ripped people off in Memphis--check
• Pique the interest of the Attorney General in Illinois--check
• Pique the interest of the Attorney General in Florida--check
• Pique the interest of the Attorney General in Texas--check
• Pique the interest of the Attorney General in Louisiana--check
• Pump stock and sell it off--check
• Don't let independent Board Directors do their job--check
• Screw up Burt Saunder's dream for a DC gig--check
• Create a website to further cloud the truth--check
• Layoff 17 employees--check
• Lose $3.3 million in nine months--check
• Implement bonus reset program that fails--check
• Implement unreachable bonus programs that the RTAs will think they can reach--check
• Have more Reps and RTAs leave in the 3rd and 4th quarters than sign up--check
• Mention that Carnival has a rock climbing wall on the Cruise-A-Thon webcast--check
• Have no clue how much travel was sold or how many people sold it--check
• Sell more land to raise cash--check
• Try to deflect the Attorney General by saying its a franchise--check
• Buy some positive press from Saturday Evening Post--check
• Make the claim Inc. magazine endorses us--check

Travel Weekly Virtual Summit

Well there was a recap posted on this blog. I know that there were many people on the call, so let's discuss. Did Kim do a good job? Was he honest? Did it resolve any of the "misconceptions"?

If you missed it, the talk is archived here. But if that does not work, try this link and navigate to the Auditorium and then click on the white panels on the stage to get to the last one.

Let's discuss in the comments!

No Child Left Behind? Here's One!

Blogs by definition are usually more casual than the printed media. However, to be successful, it should be at least readable. I recently discovered a blog that is painful to read. I tried to run the text through the Google Translator and even Google had no idea on some of the language. Here is what I am talking about:

• So understand it what you do to make it how hard you work we have people working it parttime and doing great.
• So those people made a decision right their to change their lives today can I get an AMEN.
• You see what have I been saying throughout this whole blog find your own way make your own money because these companies don't care about you if you work there 20 years to save them money you are out the door.

But the lack of professionalism aside, if you read some of the posts and comments you will see that like most other RTAs, the author does not know the facts about the industry and her own company.

• Once you sign up as an RTA you schedule the First Class and you have to book $1500 in Travel to recieve you CLIA card. That is it that simple. And you can do that on your first booking.
• Remember people airline tickets do not give good commission because the airline don't want to pay good commission remember that.
• The commission rates are set by the Industry everyone gets the same commission rates.
• I am telling you airline tickets don't get you much commission so don't even think it.
• Imagine you booked lets say $3500 in travel on carnival commission is 16% or $560 Now you might say $560 but look at this way if you had a travel agency with overhead you have to pay for lights phone rent or lease business taxes county taxes and some more stuff that isn't alot. That why Travel Agents charge you a fee. To get more money out of you. Okay working with YTB you get 60% of that is $336 Did you earn $336 when you booked the trip with Expedia no.
  

Let's put the whole issue of the legality and legitimacy of YTB and other MLM agencies aside for a moment. Let's address the level of professionalism we have seen from the videos last week to the blog highlighted today. Really, as a consumer, would you be willing to book a $3500 cruise on Carnival with a person who has a hard time forming complete and legible sentences? Would you be willing to book a trip with someone that is either deliberately or accidentally posting false information? What happens when you sign up thinking you are receiving a $336 commission check for that Carnival cruise and you get only $150? What about those "air commissions"?

The author does speak the truth when she says people need to seek out the truth. However, her blog is not the place to do so. Take a read, if you can, and feel free to comment on her blog and ask the hard questions, post the real truth, and see what comes up.

Fair And Balanced

Fox News claims they are fair and balanced. I like to think this blog is as well. We present facts, backed up by documentation and we are willing to make corrections when we make an error. Of course there is a great deal of opinion as well.

Speaking of opinion, the publisher of Travel Research Online has a very fair and balanced opinion piece on how the industry has arrived at the place we are today. Certainly the MLMs are an issue and they are called out. But are they the cause of the problem? Not at all.

We have said that the suppliers and associations are the ones that have allowed the problem to get out of hand. We have said that the suppliers and associations are the best suited to fix it.

Mr. Earls tends to agree and in this piece entitled "A State of Disarray", he challenges the industry suppliers, the industry associations and the industry at large to get their act together and police themselves

Coach Is Worried

Last week the three topics discussed on the Coach's Call on Saturday were:

When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Get Going!
Tough Times Don't Last, Tough People Do!
G ood Enough To Win, Tough Enough Not To Quit!

This week, Coach is joined by Andy Cauthen to discuss the following topic:

How Do We Handle A Major Crisis In Our Life?

Hmm, is anyone sensing a theme here?  If anyone is interested, the call is at Noon EST on Saturday October 3, 2008.  Here is the telephone number to call:  641-594-7505 PIN 601340#

A Most Influential Snub?

How do you explain this snub? Carnival assembled a panel of influential travel agency industry executives to discuss the industry and they did not invite one of the most influential men in travel?

Boy, it seems Carnival has slipped up lately...no Pinnacle Award....no Most Influential.....I wonder if the business provided to Carnival was maybe just not that good of business.

Here's the list...and from what I see, each of these folks carry way more influence than J. Kim Sorenson!

Members of the forum are: Roberta Christman, AAA Northern California, San Francisco; Brad Anderson, America's Vacation Center; Sandy Cleary, Cru Con Outlet, Boston; Anthony Hamawy, Cruise.com, Ft. Lauderdale; John Keen, Cruise consultant, Charlotte, NC; Vicky Garcia, Cruise Planners, Coral Springs, FL; and Michael Drever, CruiseShipCenters, Vancouver.

Also, Ross Spalding, Cruise Value Center, East Brunswick, NJ; Koreen McNutt, Expedia, Seattle; Joyce Landry, Landry & Kling, Coral Gables, FL; Makis Xenatos, Liberty Travel, Ramsey, NJ; Jackie Friedman, Nexion, South Lake, TX; Ed Rudner, Online Vacation Center, Plantation, FL; Marcia Rowley, Our Vacation Center, Phoenix; Filomena Andre, Signature, Los Angeles; Mark Jacobs, The Cruise Line Limited, North Potomac, MD; Ken Lorey, Travelocity, Boston; Emerson Hankamer, Vacations to Go, Houston; and David Crooks, World Travel Holdings, Boston.

Where's The Pinnacle Award

Back when the awards were announced, the word was that it was being "saved" for the convention.  So did YTB earn it again? Or were they passed over?

The word on the street was that there was some pressure from "real" agents that had received it and how it felt a little less prestigious.

Eye Am Rilly A Vary Goode Travell Agent.

For months travel agents have been making the argument that these untrained RTA’s are ruining the credibility of our industry. And each and every time this comes up someone starts spouting off about how YTB has Marc Mancini and CLIA and the RTA’s are getting training, blah, blah, blah.

What no one seems to get is that these untrained, uneducated are destroying the reputations of agents everywhere. The consumers and the press don’t know the difference between an RTA and a TTA, so when these stories are reported in the press it makes all of us look bad.

The “agent” who abused the trust of over 60 high school seniors couldn’t even spell the destinations that the cruise was stopping at!

If I were in YTB, I would be embarrassed beyond belief at this point. Do you really believe that you can be successful in the long run with a company that is doing nothing to prevent things like this from happening? And please don’t tell us that YTB is going to make it right by settling up with the students. As long as they allow anyone, “from Yale or Jail” you will continue to have these problems, and it will continue to have a negative impact on your ability to get people to join your downline as well.

Another vendor, APlus Tours, has dropped YTB due to this incident. Are you going to claim that you don't need them either?

More Law Enforcement Joins The Probe

Just this past weekend, there were lot's of updates on Cynthia Anderson. Now her husband says he is in control of the trips. What is that all about? Is he a RTA as well? Or is he just an Al Haig wannabe?

Another interesting question I have is how was this group ever booked on Carnival? A senior class trip is not something Carnival encourages and their policies for chaperones are pretty stringent. Unless of course these seniors are over 21 but..nah! Could it be that the RTA did not know the product? Maybe the training aspect of this program is falling just a wee bit short? This will be interesting to see how YTB makes good on this one.

Sheriff's Office joins trip scam probe The Daily News Journal

The Rutherford County Sheriff's Office has assigned a detective to investigate the claims of Rutherford County high school students who allege a Murfreesboro woman has scammed them out of $700 each for a senior trip.

In a press release Friday, the Rutherford County Sheriff's Office said a School Resource Officer at La Vergne High School has turned in multiple reports of students being defrauded of money by Cynthia Anderson of Murfreesboro.

According to Rutherford County Sheriff's Office spokesman Dan Goodwin, those cases have been assigned to Detective Todd Sparks.

The press release states no warrant has been sought on Anderson by victims, the Rutherford County Sheriff's Office or any other persons in connection with the alleged claims and she has not been arrested.

Students say they booked the trip through Anderson, who is a former independent marketing representative for Internet-based Your Travel Biz. Her husband, Kenneth Anderson, told The Daily News Journal that he has taken over responsibility for the May 25-29 trip on Carnival Cruise Lines.

YTB Chief Operating Officer Duane Vancil said Cynthia Anderson was terminated two to three weeks ago because she was not authorized to collect any money on behalf of the company. He said the company is now working with 20 to 25 students to refund their money.

Goodwin stated the Rutherford County Sheriff's Office understands that the "Murfreesboro Police Department is investigating claims made by Riverdale and Oakland High students."

The sheriff's office release goes on to state that it has an active 2003 bad check warrant against a woman named Cynthia B. Anderson, but it is not known if it is the same woman named by students.

Murfreesboro Police Department spokesman Kyle Evans said he will not comment on the case at this time.

"I will let the police reports speak for themselves," Evans said.

Tennessee Group and Carnival

Tomorrow and Wednesday will have some interesting info on the Tennessee caper. Over the weekend, I was speculating if there was a connection with Bob's bailing out on YTB and the RTA in Tennessee. Something just did not smell right to me and I wondered if there was a connection.

Well, apparently I was not the only one speculating as is evidenced by these posts found on the Yahoo Finance Pages:

Well, I do know this.. I know that Carnival, who he was chairman for, is investigating YTB at the behest of Carnival's largest "senior trip" planners after a YTB RTA scammed a number of students out of money for the cruise. The RTA alleged that she was told to book it all under her name so that the under 18 students would not be rejected. After YTB cancelled her RTA membership, they allowed her husband to continue with the account, and it appears that the trip will be going on. And it's not the first story of this.. that's the only thing I can think of. Maybe Carnival's about to turn off access to YTB and Dickinson found out about it?

And after a few posts, this clarification:

They're investigating right now who told her to do these things and whether or not she was in the wrong or not. In the end, the cruise line is investigating YTB and the company through which YTB apparently schedules class trips.. and the company that schedules class trips apparently has stated they will no longer work for YTB and has urged Carnival to do the same, and the students are still in flux about whether or not there will be a trip. This, by the way , is happening in Tennessee.

And finally this one:

Something to note is that she is claiming she was told by YTB to register under her name the students, because Carnival does not allow people under 21 to travel without parents/chaperones, and the trip was being advertised as an unchaperoned trip for 18 year olds.

Too bad Ted Lindauer seems to have been silenced, I would like to know his take on this. Again, this is from a message board and not confirmed at this point, but this whole Tennessee thing needs to be watched carefully. The comments in the messages sound exactly like something YTB might tell an RTA to get out of a jam. Perhaps someone on the inside at Carnival may have been involved--maybe someone that stood something to gain is YTB had this group. Hmmm, it's a mystery!

Dickinson Bails On YTB

Seems Bob had second thoughts. Today, Bob has said that he had second thoughts on accepting the appointment. YTB had no comment. More details to follow!

Wow, wonder what happened.

Carnival Correction

From Travel Trade this afternoon, they are stating that an editing error gave the wrong impression. Not wanting to be accused of not telling the other side of the story, here is the excerpt:

Carnival Item Was Wrong Tue Apr 15 2008, by TravelTrade Staff In the Travel Trade email blast on Monday, April 14, the news item under the headline "Carnival Increases Direct Communications" was wrong because of an editing error that resulted in incomplete information. Carnival Cruise Lines is not moving to more direct marketing as the item wrongly implied. Rather, its contract with SAS technology, which the news item reported, aims to analyze the effectiveness of its existing marketing programs. Based on an editing error, a section of the Carnival quote within the SAS release, which discussed driving business to travel agents, was deleted. The full quote from Shannon Balliet-Antorcha, director of database marketing and customer data integration at Carnival, stated, "We increased berths and we want more cruisers to ask travel agents to book their cruise on Carnival. Customers appreciate Carnival's wide range of vacation choices. More effective marketing campaigns will build brand preference and contribute to filling this new capacity. Using SAS Marketing Automation, we expect a better return on marketing investment."

Now, I am not buying it 100% yet; but hey it's their story and they can stick to it. Remember, Carnival was in the malls at one point. I am wondering if this is a correction...or a backpedal.

Carnival Blinked: Making Moves To Bypass Agents

Accounting department at Carnival reacts to news!

Back on January 18th, shortly after Vicki Freed's departure from Carnival, I pulled out my crystal ball and speculated that Gerry Cahill (the new Carnival CEO) was more about the bottom line than anything else. I suggested that the travel industry would see a shift to an elimination of commissions or a more direct to consumer approach.

Well, in case anyone missed it yesterday, it appears that Carnival has been investing heavily in that exact model. From yesterday's Travel Trade announcement:

In what could be a move toward stronger direct bookings, Carnival Cruise Lines has been working with a technology vendor for automated and targeted marketing and predictive analytics. Using the new technology from SAS, the cruise line is able to create and execute more effective customer-focused marketing campaigns, as well as improve direct communications with customers.

Well, with the price of fuel and the general state of the economy it is not surprising. I certainly cannot lay the entire blame at the feet of the MLM companies; but I can certainly state that they have accelerated it.

You see, as I have stated since inception, MLM is about recruiting. It is NOT about travel. This has been proven time and time again. They do not offer any help to the customer--they refer them to the vendor when there is trouble. Even when they decided to have a big sale, they could not staff it entirely and leaned on the vendor to support their sales efforts. If you recall, when someone wanted to buy an actual cruise from one MLM company, they were instructed to call Carnival.

So, if the vendor is now handling the actual sale and now the service to the sale; why pay an agent? And when Carnival does shift a bit more to the B2C model and eliminate commissions; what will happen to the MLM company that has put all of its proverbial eggs in one basket?

That "Other" Blog

Since my post the other day regarding the "opposing blog" not really supplying any valid information or answers, I have received a few emails commenting about a "break up" and a "fight" between the the blogger and myself. There was no such thing. A break up is what Elliot Spitzer and his wife are going to do over Ashley Dupree.

What happened was a disagreement. There have been disagreements since October and I anticipate that there will be more going forward. What I took exception to was that the posts on the blog had turned into personal and direct attacks. For instance, when I relayed a comment made by Vicki Freed, I was called a liar. The comment was accurate and truthful as it was told. My posts take the company and the Network Marketing industry to task. The other blog was replete with pointing fingers at me--to the point that I even had my own category. But, when I do it, somehow I am at fault?

I also found that the justifications and explanations were offering nothing of consequence. Re-posting info created and distributed by YTB is suspect. It has to be by definition. That's like asking your wife who is the best in bed. Of course the answer better be "you". But is that the truth? Possibly or probably not. Same thing with YTB. When you go to YTB to ask who is the best in the travel business, are they going to say Traverus? Traditional Travel Agents? I don't think so.

So I pointed out these issues and the fact that the blog is completely moderated. This one is not, as is evidenced by the rantings and ravings on both sides. I still strongly feel that unmoderated is the way to go. Allow some anonymity and it is a good thing.

So, if Doug feels there was a "big fight" or a "break up" I guess that is his issue with which to deal. If his feelings were hurt because I brought the issues to light; maybe a thicker skin might be in order.

I just received an email and it seems that Doug has blamed traditional travel agents for not moving up in the YTB food chain. I am not sure how he can come to that conclusion as it seems like a deflection to me.

I have no problem engaging Doug in the debate. I still think there is a way to co-exist. But as I have said before, not in the current incarnation of YTB. Arnie Weissmann suggested that they might survive by dropping the MLM side and by becoming a legitimate host. I think Arnie might be onto something.

Enough Of The Justification

Back in December, I posted 21 things that I still had not learned about YTB. Shortly thereafter, a Coach's Corner Member who hosts another blog, embarked on a mission to answer my questions on a one by one basis. What began as a legitimate effort has morphed into a daily personal attack. When one can no longer adequately debate an issue, this is typically the response. When I began this post, he was up to #13 and had provided no real answers; most are nothing more than regurgitations of previous "answers". Now it seems he has migrated to the latest "get rich from YTB in 30 days program". The blogger notes the lack of comments and then takes that as an indication of a job well done. Not so much.

Once you cut through the fluff, the answers (or lack of them) become evident Here is a sampling:

• I asked about the need for a 12 page compensation plan. He whittled it down to 4 pages and said that the compensation plans of Vicki Freed, Microsoft and BellSouth were also lengthy documents. Well, I would hope so, they are profitable companies and the average employee earns more than the $297 YTB pays their reps on an annual basis. However, he did not address that the document is carefully worded for legal compliance, yet craftily worded to create confusion to those that might fall under its guises. Smoke and mirrors.
• I asked about the $226 million in verified sales. The response was a series of snippets from YTB justifying and legitimizing the numbers. There was no real documentation provided and the closest he came was a quote from Vicki Freed saying that YTB had sold "millions" with Carnival. Sales is a very easy number to come up with for ANY organization. Well, easy for all but one.
• I asked about the de-emphasis on training at the annual convention. The response was he could have spent three days training for travel. Perhaps. But he also could have spent three weeks training on recruiting methods. The travel training classes were, by far, the minority. I did not count them, but if they amounted to more than 25%, I would be surprised.
• I asked how RTAs can collectively pay $79 million into a program and only receive $9.3 million in return on their investment. Again, there was no real answer other than to say that commissions are not realized until travel is fulfilled. Well I am glad that his three year industry veteran status is paying off. Are we to assume them that there is at least $69 million in outstanding commissions? Back calculate that number and you get $115 million owed to YTB. Translated that means YTB ought to be showing sales of $1.15 BILLION this year. More smoke and mirrors.
• I asked about the sale of stock by the executives. The answer was that executives of all companies sell stock. He even referenced some sales by Sabre and Royal Caribbean executives. The difference is that the executives of those companies did not sell the majority of their positions and they were not the founders! The stock has gone from $9.50 to under a dollar in 6 months!
• I questioned the competence of the YTB employees during the cruise sale. The answer was that there was some undisclosed information I needed to provide to unlock the travel mind at YTB. Apparently, they are not allowed to talk unless they are given an active RTA number. But there is a big discrepancy if that number is to be public knowledge or top secret information. Regardless, YTB encouraged people to call to book cruises on one day in November and when they did, they likely were not able to be helped.
• I asked why when Reps or RTAs are questioned or challenged, a standard response is, "you just don't get it"? Well, his response was essentially, "you just don't get it" followed quickly by, "it will come in time". Another top shelf answer.
• I asked about how RCCL and IATAN were "misunderstandings". This answer really baffled me. It was the story of someone locking their keys in a dark house. Then there was discussion about Bermuda, Bahamas, Guam and American Samoa followed by a comment that IATAN was unimportant as was Royal Caribbean. I think that remains to be seen.
• I asked about how airline tickets were booked. More smoke and mirrors. The answer referred back to the dubious Power List once again which showed some ARC sales, but at one point, it was explained that there was another company included on the power list under YTB that should not have been included. Must have been an errant glean. I asked a simple question--whose ARC report do the air transactions get reported on and there was no answer supplied.

There are quite a few more questions to go, but based on the responses so far, I do not hold out much hope for any real type of explanation--so little that I probably will not even bother to check back. I certainly am not entitled to any explanations either. But I do have the right to ask the questions.

Since I refute all of his "answers" as provided; I will likely keep asking questions. Smoke and Mirrors is all that seems to come from this company and their minions--I wonder if that is on the training schedule for this year's convention?

As to the other blog..well he can continue with the circuitous answers, oddball stories and the errant plug for some motivational guru. There will be no dialogue of any meaning on that blog simply because the author has exercised his right to moderate comments and delete those that do not further or agree with his his position. Have there been errors on this blog? Of course and they have been corrected. Have any comments been deleted? Yes--two! One when a RTA made 30 identical comments in succession (all were deleted except the first one) and the other was when a "director" asked me to remove the RTA number of a member of his downline. I am not afraid of the criticism (as some appear to be) and the comments will remain open and unmoderated. Freedom of speech is a good thing.

In closing, just a comment to the RTAs and Reps that are reading this. Put all of the BS aside and ask yourself why you got into this (or any) business? Is it safe to assume it is to make some money? The next question you need to ask yourself is simple: "Are you?" Look at the percentages! They don't lie.

I don't think so, and in the meantime the efforts of YTB, TraVerus, GTI and the others are doing nothing but dragging an industry down while the top pyramid squatters enjoy the fruits of your labors! Think about it!

Falling Short Of The Pinnacle

The Pinnacle Club is both an exclusive and elusive club for the top producers of Carnival Cruise Lines. Criteria for membership is a closely guarded secret akin to the Seven Society , the recipe for Coca Cola or even the herbs and spices in a leg of chicken from KFC.

Certainly sales play a part in the selection criteria and I would imagine future potential and creativity are also included as well.

Since there has been so much braggadocio from YTB over the years about how much Carnival they sold and how they were Pinnacle Club award recipients, I just assumed their numbers were off the board. So, I was surprised to see the addition of two new recipients announced this year:

Joystar with 4000 members, and Cruise Planners with 700 members received the award this year. Wow, talk about an accomplishment. These two entities achieved the same exalted status as YTB with 136,000 and 139,300 less members (respectively). Congrats to you both. Obviously this is a clear demonstration of your knowledge, expertise, and support of the cruise industry in general, and in particular of Carnival Cruise Lines. I wonder why it takes so many agents in YTB to achieve the same result?

I guess the more apt question might be, why was YTB not included in this award this year? Have their sales fallen? Have they not lived up to the potential Carnival expected? Did Carnival run out of the replica ships for the awards? Or is this another misunderstanding that is being worked out like the RCCL and IATAN issues?

Since Carnival does not officially release the recipient names, I also need to wonder if YTB did actually win it "three years in a row" as their many RTAs are fond of saying. I know when questioned at the Luxury Travel/Home Based Show in Vegas, Vicki Freed (then SVP at Carnival) said she only recalled them winning it one time. Is YTB becoming a "green" company and recycling awards? It is strange that in the photos of YTB winning it "three times" the Carnival BDM and Kim Sorenson are wearing the exact same clothes--all three years! Maybe someone from Carnival can set us straight.

I am not holding my breath. You see in the Seven Society, members are not known until after their death. I suspect it may be one or two more years till we hear.