YTB INFORMATION RELEASE IATA/IATAN UPDATE PYRAMID SCHEME SPIN
November 16, 2007
Valued RTAs:
YTB is pleased to announce our best financial quarter ever, (WATCHDOG: ILLEGAL AS IT WAS!) followed by a highly successful event with Carnival Cruise Lines just last week. Some of you have expressed concern about the cancellation of our IATA/IATAN accreditation. We want to assure you that this does not, in any way, affect the ability of YTB or its RTAs to sell travel and be paid commissions from the sale of travel. We are actively working with IATA/ IATAN and our legal counsel to substantiate that YTB meets or exceeds IATA's/ IATAN's regulations.
As a company that has always upheld high standards, we applaud IATA/IATAN for ensuring the integrity of their programs, and hope to have our certification reinstated as quickly as possible. We thank you for your continued support and for the passion you share for YTB. We will continue to keep you updated on any developments as we move forward in our efforts to work with IATA/IATAN. We also wanted to answer some of the questions we, and many of the Directors, have been receiving.
Questions and Answers
1) Is YTB corporate working to get re-installment of the IATA/IATAN? Yes. YTB and our legal counsel are actively working with IATA/IATAN to resolve this issue and substantiate that YTB meets or exceeds both IATA/IATAN's regulations and our own high standards.
2) Is YTB in trouble? No, not at all. We just announced our best quarter ever, including our highly successful Sail-a-Thon with Carnival Cruise Lines. We are planing for even more exciting opportunities for our RTAs and Reps, including great travel and event packages for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
3) Are we a "legit" travel agency because of our remaining affiliation with ARC? We are a legitimate travel agency for many reasons including our affiliation with ARC and CLIA, the extensive training and support that we offer our RTAs, our strong relations, and the fact that Travel Weekly named us the 11th largest leisure travel agency in the country.
4) So, what did IATAN status do? The only thing IATAN status did was offer additional avenue for resources and supplier contacts. It also offered a card that must be earned and was recognized widely among the travel supplier community. The CLIA card offers many of the same benefits.
5) What is the difference between ARC and IATA/IATAN? ARC (Airlines Reporting Corporation) is the organization that certifies us, and other travel agencies, to book travel and conduct business. We are in good standing with ARC. IATA/IATAN is a global trade organization, but their activities and accreditation do not have any effect on the day-to-day running of our business.
6) Can we still use the IATA/IATAN number at the time of booking? The number will remain the same as it also serves as our CLIA and our ARC number.
7) Can we confirm that we are one of four agencies that had their accreditations cancelled? However, we are actively working with IATA/IATAN and our legal counsel to regain our accreditation.
8) Are we going to issue new cards, since they say IATA/ARC#? Until issues with IATA/IATAN are resolved, we ask that RTAs refrain from using any materials that reference IATA/IATAN.
9) How is this going to affect the RTA's ability to earn commissions or receive travel perks? When calling the vendor, don't they need to give the IATA number? It won't affect the ability to receive travel commissions in any way. Reduced rates will still need to be approved via the reduced rates department to determine eligibility. Hotels only require CCRA (in YTB's booking engine) to receive net rates (available in the travel portal); these rates are basically when booking with hotels directly. Some vendors will require an IATA or CLIA number while others want the YTB phone number as verification.
10) How does this affect YTBU teaching about credentials? Should we just omit the IATA/IATAN portion all together
For now we should omit the IATA/IATAN portion but we will continue to evaluate this, as we work with IATA/IATAN.
11) How should we address the IATA/IATAN issue in business briefing presentations?If asked about it directly, tell them that the loss of IATA/IATAN accreditation does not, in any way, limit our ability to sell travel and receive commission. Also tell them that YTB is working with IATA/IATAN and our legal counsel to clear the matter up as quickly as possible. Does this have anything to do with Royal Caribbean terminating our contract? So, the two issues are not related in any way that we can identify.
12) Why does it seem like all this bad news is coming at once? As YTB continues to grow, we become a bigger threat to both brick and mortar travel agencies and other online travel sellers. That means that some of our competitors might attempt to impede our business progress in any way they can. Think of it as a "success tax." But know that YTB's entire team is here to support our Reps and RTAs and we will continue to fight the negative statements and misinformation about our company. WatchDog opinion note: Uh - B.s. !
Thanks for all you do for YTB.
J. Kim Sorensen
President & CEO
YTB Travel Network
ASTA ATTACKS MLM TRAVEL INDUSTRY
A 10 YEAR THROWBACK TO THE SHUTDOWN
OF MLM TRAVEL - NCT, TRAVELMAX, WCN, WCT AND OTHER MLM TRAVEL COMPANIES
ASTA stands for American Society of Travel Agents. These folks have a financial interest in attacking the MLM Travel Industry and have been successful in the past as evidenced by the partial list above.
Ur Editors Opinion: Now they are back armed with ammunition from the Your Travel Business Hit. You can bet from past history they are busy filing complaints with Attorney Generals (members did on YTB) and Federal law enforcement agencies.
Their new mantra changed from past years is:
1. That it is hard to generate enough money from travel - to match what comes in from signing up new agents as MLM Distributors.
2. Their attack is #1above = makes most MLM travel companies a pyramid scheme.
3. OLD ATTACK: That most MLM travel companies are shady because of of travel agent cards = card mills. Which the WatchDog says Phooey to this concept. ASTA is now leading with a main attack above > the "pyramid scheme attack" with "card mills" being secondary.
DECLARATION OF WAR
Cheryl Hudak CEO of ASTA, Following on the heels of legal actions taken by various states, including California, against Your Travel Business said, "ASTA is reiterating its stance regarding MLMs and card mills."
ASTA STRATEGY
Note this Quote by Ms. Hudak: “While it may be possible for an MLM to operate within the law, when the rewards for participating individuals are based primarily on recruiting additional participants and not on selling the underlying product, it is appropriate for governments at both the federal and state level to investigate and act where deception and abuse are occurring.
Rod Cook ur Editors Note: What was not said in the full article below is that ASTA and it's members pushed Attorney Generals at the state level and the FTC on hits listed above. They not only pushed but gathered evidence by going to MLM travel company meetings etc. and building cases against MLM Companies (members not ASTA directly).
Tags: mlm, travel, agents, ASTA, AG, FTC, card mills, travel agents, wct, travelmax, wcn.
