Steve Wants To Help My YTB Business

Received this phone call originating out of Seattle, Washington the other day.

Click icon to listen. And yes, I want to pay for a system that delivers a crackly message like that!

Laugh Of The Day

Sometimes it is funny when someone does not understand how Facebook updates appear. For instance, this appeared not only on Bill Hoffmann's wall, but also on the newsfeeds of every friend of Bill Hoffmann--all 747 of them! 

But then again, maybe he does know!  Update, Hoffmann posted another one. This might be entertaining to watch unfold.

Princess Cruises One Day Sale Results

There was a one day sale recently to support Princess Cruises. And here are the results:

The sale resulted in  booking a record 5,000 guests on Princess Cruises departures during a single day. The sale, which featured Princess itineraries through 2012, exceeded the number of guests booked during the record-breaking 2009 promotion, the agency said.

To coin a Rick Rickett's term--WOW, JUST WOW!

Great job Expedia Cruise Centers. Oh, wait, you thought I was talking about that powerhouse YTB?  Whoops! Yes, they had a sale too, and we are trying to find out the results, but early indications show that the number of cabins can be counted on the fingers and toes of one person.

Here are some more details on Expedia Cruise Centers:

All 130 locations and nearly 3,000 cruise consultants worked with the support staff at Princess Cruises and the Expedia CruiseShipCenters head office...

 Wow, 3000 people can sell 5000 guests? And to think that this was done with traditional marketing.   Who would have thought. Maybe the TravelPro can explain this phenomenon.

Facebook Update

I figure this will be deleted pretty quickly.  But apparently God brought the new Dean of ZamZuu University to the masses and at least one person is still pissed about how Coach canned his best friend!

And it's gone

God And YTB

This video, just posted this week  by YTB Marketing in an effort to drum up attendance for the convention, is wrong on so many levels. While not a true recruiting video, it is a good example of the types of predatory tactics utilized. Let's put the fear of God in them and they will surely attend and spend money. Let's see if we can convince them that God is looking down on YTB.

RTAs Snookered Again

The question came up about the cash back promotion with Princess Cruises over on Kim Sorensen's Facebook wall.

Q:  If a customer books a Princess cruise on our website, during the 3 day sale (this week), does the cash back automatically apply for the customer, or do we need to handle the booking for them off site?

A: Since this sale is a special sale for YTB only, you will need to handle the booking for them off site.

 Sorry, not correct at all. This is NOT a YTB "exclusive" event.  Here it is for ALL agents to have. Why does Kim need to allude that it is exclusive to YTB? Perhaps because YTB needs all the people they can get?

Sorensen, Tomer Terminate Employment Agreements, Coach And The Two Get Sweetheart Deals

This morning, YTB filed a document with the SEC announcing an incentive plan for certain employees as well as a severance plan for Lloyd "Coach" Tomer, Scott Tomer, and Kim Sorensen.  According to the filing:

Pursuant to the terms of the Severance Program, certain Company officers are entitled to receive compensation if their employment with the Company is terminated under certain specified circumstances, within one year after (or in some cases before) a Change of Control (as defined in the Severance Program) or for termination without Cause (as such term is defined in the Severance Program).  The term of the Severance Program is two years.  The Board may renew the Severance Program for subsequent two year terms.

The beneficiaries of the Program are to be designated by the Compensation Committee and approved by the Board.  The initial executive officer beneficiaries of the Program are Mr. Lloyd Tomer, Mr. J. Scott Tomer and Mr. J. Kim Sorensen.

Pursuant to the terms of the Severance Program, following certain employment terminations (including terminations by the Company for any reason other than Cause and terminations by the beneficiary for Good Reason (as such term is defined in the Severance Program)) within one year after a Change of Control, a beneficiary will receive a lump-sum payment equal to the beneficiary’s annual base salary rate in effect immediately before the Change of Control or termination.  Pursuant to the Severance Program, Messrs. Tomer, Tomer and Sorensen would receive an amount equal to two years’ annual base salary.  A beneficiary would also be paid a pro-rated amount of any earned bonus through the date of the Change of Control.  In addition, all outstanding unvested options would immediately vest and the beneficiary would be permitted to exercise all stock options outstanding.

The "in some cases before" appears to apply to Coach since he is no longer considered an "employee" but a "master distributor."  

And it looks like Kim Sorensen is trying to cash in as well with the termination of his employment agreement..  The filing continues:

In exchange for participation in the Incentive Plan and the Severance Program, Mr. J. Kim Sorensen entered into a Termination of Employment Agreement with the Company dated July 19, 2010, pursuant to which Mr. Sorensen’s employment agreement with the Company dated January 1, 2008 was terminated (the “ Sorensen Agreement ”).  In addition, in exchange for participation in the Incentive Plan and the Severance Program, Mr. J. Scott Tomer entered into a Termination of Employment Agreement with the Company dated July 19, 2010, pursuant to which Mr. Tomer’s employment agreement with the Company dated January 1, 2008 and the modification thereto dated April 6, 2010 and effective February 1, 2010 were terminated (the “ Tomer Agreement ”).

This does not mean that Kim and Scott have resigned, yet. It simply allows them to collect a severance package  equal to two years of salary and bonus if they leave for any reason other than "cause."  This also allows Coach (who left earlier this year after he terminated his former best friend Ron Head on a publicly aired Director's telephone call) to collect two years of his salary and bonus.

Considering most companies are still in dire straits, this level of executive compensation is unusual. It is even more unusual since it is so unrestrictive.  Keep in mind that YTB is still bleeding RTAs, and the ZamZuu recruitment has not been as strong as needed. There is a $1.9 million dollar loan due on the K-Mart/Headquarters at the end of August and their last financial reporting indicated they had no access to credit and that they only had $1M in cash on hand.

I wonder what this indicates?

Even WordPress Is Onto YTB

I was cleaning up some of my feeds this weekend. Many (if not most) of the MLM related feeds were no longer valid. I guess everyone moved on to the next big thing.  Most of the non-existent sites went to a dead page or a page where I could buy the domain. Except this one:

I wonder what the YTB GEM Team Leadership did to piss off WordPress?  Oh, maybe it was a violation of this:

the Content is not spam, is not machine- or randomly-generated, and does not contain unethical or unwanted commercial content designed to drive traffic to third party sites or boost the search engine rankings of third party sites, or to further unlawful acts (such as phishing) or mislead recipients as to the source of the material (such as spoofing);

Carry on, you MLMers are doing a great job making a great name for yourselves in every industry you touch!

When Middlemen Fail

Several months ago, Carnival put the kabash on having RTAs contact them directly. They are allowed to access Carnival by BookCCL.com or by the new "Carnival Desk" YTB had to develop to act as an intermediary. When they started it, there were all sorts of problems which were documented on this blog. 

Here is perfect example of why Carnival (and all suppliers) ought to deal with QUALIFIED individuals. I do not know the qualifications of this poster, but because of her affiliation with YTB, she is not allowed to go to Carnival to resolve an issue she has with a fundraising group. She is forced to deal with the "Carnival Desk" at YTB who apparently is not well enough equipped to handle her problem. 

She clearly states she will lose this customer and you can be sure that it not only looks poorly on the RTA, but on YTB, Carnival, and travel agents in general.

YTB/ZamZuu Is Having A Sale

Hurry, the girdles will fly off the shelves. This is exactly what sets YTB apart from other more serious travel agencies--they don't focus on travel, they just use it when convenient!

Ghiada is having a sale! A Summer clearance sale of amazing proportions! Slashing 25% off all Juliet, COCO, and Jeans apparel. Only While Supplies Last! 25% discount will automatically be applied at checkout. What are you waiting for?!?!

MacAlly Peripherals BookStand Multi-functional Folder Style Protective Case for iPad (BOOKSTAND) only $33.83 MacMall!

Nikon Coolpix S570 Black 12MP Digital Camera with 5x Optical Zoom was $179 now $129 at Wal-Mart!

It's summer and that can only mean one thing: It's time for a great Camping World sale. Up to 40% OFF some of their great products! Plus, 10% Off Your Entire Order continues through July with discount code 0817.

Free Shipping on orders of $25 or more at Sally Beauty Supply. Now until Sunday Only! Coupon code: 555113

Free Shipping on orders of $25 or more at Sally Beauty Supply. 5 Days Only! Coupon code: 555113

Save 47% on all titles by the best selling author Jennifer Weiner. These books which have been sold in over 36 countries and made into major motion pictures are not to be missed! Offer expires 7/19/10 at Borders.com.

Spend $50 and get $25 Off your Next Order at PacSun! Expires 7/30.

20% OFF all VerseoDetox Foot Patches with coupon code DETOX20 at Verseo! Expires: 10/01/10

Hey Kim, Tony has a question...

What happened to that radar unit? Maybe they are having a sale on them at ZamZuu. You know you can get cash back.

He's Confused

I guess the notion of seeing some action from his wife (hey, he said it, not me) has scrambled the TravelPro's mind.


In a post the other day, he starts off rambling about the latest non-travel item YTB/ZamZuu is selling--alarm systems, Internet service, and cell phone plans. He flashes back to his days when he worked as an installer for an audio visual company.

When someone got in over their head and needed help – they called in the pros. When a “professional” showed up that was trained and qualified it was very easy to win their business because they took the pain away and solved their problems. Much of the grunt work was already done, and it was a simple matter of trouble shooting which paid just as well (sometimes even more) than if they got the job in the first place.

One of my favorites was the guy who bought a complete home theater system thinking he could do it himself. All the equipment was already purchased but he didn’t have a clue how to connect it all together. A “service call” to help out the poor guy was nothing but pure profit. Hourly rates paid far more than the wage paid for the technician.

After the pain was taken away and the problem was solved – what do you think happened the next time he needed an upgrade or a new gadget – who do you think he called?

Wow, after all these years, is he finally seeing my point?  Nah!  He then continues on to say how evil travel professionals are and how wonderful network marketing is and how every manufacturer is dying for network marketers to sell their products.

So, let me get this straight, one side of his mouth says that when amateurs decide to do it themselves and mess up, they call a pro to clean up the mess; yet out of the other side, he says that being an amateur in selling travel, security systems, girdles, cell phones, telephone service, picture frames, nutritional supplements and more is ok?

Go figure!

Sigh...

Once again, this is what I am talking about! Great training you have there YTB!  Yeah, that's it, that's the ticket VAX is one of the "new" ZamZuu Vendors.  They sell girdles and picture frames!  Glad to see that all that "training" is paying off for YTB.

Must See TV

This is a must see program on Showtime. I am sure if you are in YTB, you can get Showtime at a discount and earn cash back!

Power List Numbers

Here are some interesting numbers gleaned from the Power List recently published by Travel Weekly.

2008 total travel sold by the list of 55 agencies was $148.6 Billion
2009 total travel sold by the list of 52 agencies was $144.9 Billion
This represents a loss of 2.47%

2008 average total travel sold by the list of 55 was $2.7 Billion
2009 average total travel sold by the list of 52 was $2.79 Billion
So it seems that the average agency on the list may have picked up 3% over 2008

In terms of increasing business, Travel Leaders led the pack with a 95% increase over 2008, but a lot of that was due to strategic acquisitions. Priceline was right behind them with 94%.

On the opposite end, we have YTB with a 39% drop in sales from 2008. Keeping them company with 35% is Casto Travel. Others at the bottom of the list are Azumano, Boeing and Fox. These names are somewhat to be expected due to their heavy corporate travel business.

Looking at the mostly leisure agencies on the list, they ranged from about a 10% loss to the 95% gain.

The average loss for all agencies who were on the list both years was 7%. Not bad for a horrible recession year!

Looking at some host agencies/franchises on the list and the average amount of travel sold per affiliated agent it really pulls out those who are legitimately serious about the industry and those who are not.

Global Travel International, $102M with 20,000 affiliates $5,100 per agent (these guys are a MLM/Card Mill type agency)
Montrose, $115.6M with 575 affiliates $201,043 per agent
America's Vacation Center, $150M with 500 (est) affiliates $300,000 per agent
Uniglobe, $156.1M with 279 affiliates $580,297 per agent
Travel Experts, $170M with 186 affiliates $913,978 per agent (I don't know these guys not sure if they are pure host)
Nexion, $217M with 2,100 affiliates $103,333 per agent
YTB, $252.1M with 41,174 affiliates $6,122 per agent
Travel Leaders. $1.68B with 724 affiliates $2.3M per agency

You can sort of draw your own conclusions.

A Follow Up

I guess the ZamZuu way IS to approach people on the street. After publishing the comment, I received an email with a copy of a double sided post card and a script you are supposed to use. And believe it or not, you can buy 100 of these cards for $10 in your back office. Of course I am sure they are provided by Sorensen  Beryl Martin Printing.

Here's the script provided by YTB/ZamZuu:

Ask people you see, " Do you ever shop at any one of these stores?"

WFA = Wait for an Answer

WFA:  Yes

Do you get paid cash back?

WFA:  No

Would you like to?

WFA:  Yes

OK, I need 15 minutes.  Give me your name and phone number.

Make an appointment to explain ZamZuu to them.

Street Recruiting. Really?

Hey ZAMZUU Fam!!! I have a questions for our Team Leaders. When you are recruiting someone you just see walking down the street, how do you approach them? What do you say to break the ice etc? I am new to the business and am trying to learn. I want to be a director in the next 6months. That is on my goal card. :-) Thanks Fam.

Has it really come to this? Walking down the street and wondering how to approach strangers to recruit them? I wonder how effective this is.