Travel Agent's message board was abuzz this weekend with opinions flying about YourTravelBiz.com’s (YTB) plight with the California Attorney General’s Office.
See for yourself in the following comments:
On August 10, Polly wrote:
For all of those "negative" people bashing YTB...We simply OWN a travel web site where you can book YOUR OWN travel. We are NOT travel agents! We are travel store owners. YTB "referring" travel agents (which means we REFER them to our sites) DO NOT and should not act as a "travel agent". We are legitimate business owners of travel stores. Others can book THE EXACT SAME travel, whether it be a hotel, flight, cruise, etc...on our web sites as they could on Expedia, Priceline, Orbitz, etc...with either same or very comparable price. So if you feel "threatened" by us, that is your own insecurity. We own and operate a legitimate business product.
On August 11, Steve Mencik commented:
My primary complaint with YTB and the other travel MLMs (Traverus, World Ventures, Coastal Vacations and others), is that the emphasis is recruiting more and more people to buy websites, not on selling travel.
If people want to have a travel website, but do no real travel agent work, I don't have a problem with that. But please don't represent yourself as a travel agent, and don't try to take advantage of Familiarization trips that are intended for travel agents.
I'd also note that it is possible to find a host agency that will give you a travel website nearly identical to that provided by YTB (both powered by Revelex), along with an 80/20 split of commissions (vs. 60/40 with YTB), and charge you no monthly or yearly fees. Why would anyone even remotely serious about travel want to continue to pay $49.95 per month and only get 60% of commissions instead of paying $0 per month and getting 80% of commissions?
With the recent report of a class action lawsuit and Better Business Bureau complaints against YTB, the discussion will continue to roll with great fervor. We encourage you to join in by sharing your opinions below.