YTB TRAVEL NEWS - Hot Off The Press - May 29, 2008

The WORD that there would be a big announcement made to YTB Travel RTAs, following the mandatory Director's Meeting that was held in YTB's Corporate Headquarters today, quickly got out. YTB Travel RTAs (and others) have been scurring to Google "YTB News" or "YTB Announcements" for today's date, May 29, 2008, in order to find out what this all important news is. Well there was a lot discussed in the meeting. In fact, I am told that nearly 30 YTB Travel RTAs were promoted to Director today by Coach Tomer, some, simply because they were "close" to reaching the qualifying numbers and although they were not 100% there, they cared enough to attend the meeting! I'm sure this was a wonderful, welcomed surprise for them. There were other announcements made, but some of the major points made are outlined below. Read here for YTB News, Hot Off The Press!

• $50 Bonus - To ensure that there is no confusion about the $49.95 fee that RTAs pay for website hosting and maintenance, after an RTA personally sponsors six (6) other RTAs, as long as those RTAs remain active, the sponsoring RTA will receive a monthly $50 bonus. Now, what's the difference? The primary difference is in the language used. We no longer say that "the $49.95 monthly fee will be reimbursed" because we want to make it clear that the monthly maintenance fee will still need to be paid monthly.

• 10% Override – YTB Travel RTAs no longer need to become Certified by attending a YTB CRTA class before being able to receive the 10% override in their PowerTeams. Now the 10% override will be paid automatically based on travel booked by the people in their PowerTeams.

• 50% Match - YTB Travel REPS now qualify the same as YTB Travel RTAs for the 50% match. In the past, before a person who was a YTB REP could qualify for the 50% match, they would have to personally sponsor four (4) RTAs instead of three (3) because they (themselves), were not an RTA. Now, YTB Travel REPS will qualify for the 50% match simply by sponsoring three(3) RTAs.

• Absolutely No Solicitation. - YTB Travel RTAs are strongly admonished not to solicit for their businesses on Fam Trips or any other trips that are taken as part of YTB Travel. To do so is strongly frowned on in YTB Travel and in the travel industry as a whole. In other words, YTB Travel RTAs are admonished to never use FAM Trips, Cruises or any trip where they received travel insider benefits, to advertise or recruit their business. If it is discovered that a YTB Travel RTA or REP is guilty of this behavior, they will be in jepardy of losing and being permanently barred from the YTB Travel business.

• Obsolete Websites. - YTB Travel will be unveiling a brand new website after the 2008 Convention, and the word on the street is that after this unveil, EVERY OTHER YTB WEBSITE will be obsolete. How this will be implemented, I haven't a clue, but I'm sure that YTB is trying to ensure standardization and professionalism with this change.

There were many other things discussed during the meeting that will be shared over time by YTB Directors, about the vision and goals for the Company and the YTB RTAs and REPs. Keep your eyes and ears posted HERE for the latest YTB Travel News - Hot Off The Press!

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Regina Osei is a successful mentor and coach who teaches her YTB Team members and other business owners how to succeed in business and how to market their businesses using diverse strategies and approaches both online and offline. If you are interested in starting your own online travel business and want the benefit of a mentor who is committed to your success, join our team today at http://regina.vacationmedia.net. If you have questions, e-mail me at: reginaosei@gmail.com or call 901-221-1630(1)

YTB Travel Agency: Scam or Legitimate Business?

Tonight as I did some research on YTB Travel, I ran across a few websites where -- once again -- the question about whether or not the YTB Travel Agency is a scam or a legitimate business or not is at issue. This issue about YTB Travel being a SCAM never ceases to surprise me. Scam.com has logged in pages and pages of people in other travel companies and other MLM companies debating this issue. The irony is that, it doesn't take rocket science to see that this is really a ridiculous issue. Just think about it: YTB is in partnership with some of the biggest names in the business: Travelocity, Carnival Cruise Lines, Hotels.com, Hertz Rental Cars, and on and on. To top it off, just the other day, YTB International launched a partnership with the Kansas City Chiefs. Now, how could ALL of these huge corporate businesses, with all the legal representation they have onboard to advise them, completely miss the fact that the company they are doing business with is a SCAM? This boggles the mind!

What about the Direct Selling Association? This organization prides itself in intricately scrutinizing their membership, to ensure that their members are not pyramids, schemes, scams or any type of illegal or illegitimate business. Before the DSA would approve the application of the YTB Travel Network, they looked long and hard at YTB for a solid year. With a full 365 days to study the details of the company's financials, comp plan, policies and procedures, IF YTB is a SCAM, don't you think this would have been discovered? I mean, the DSA does this type of research everyday, so they KNOW what to look for. I would think that if YTB was a scam, they would have sniffed out that information within the first six months, let alone a year.

YTB has many other highly respected companies to give their endorsement and the proverbial "thumbs up" to YTB Travel for a job well done. For the third year in a row, YTB received the prestigious Carnival Cruiseline Pinnacle Award. Travel Weekly magazine included YTB in its Power List 2007 as one of the top 35 travel agencies worldwide and one of the top 11 leisure travel agencies. In November, 2007, Travel Weekly named YTB Travel Network CEO, J. Kim Sorensen, to its list of the 33 most influential people in the travel industry.

Why this question continues to crop up, I have no idea. It could be because YTB is a leader in the travel industry and last year more than doubled their Referring Travel Agents to over 130,000. Very soon YTB Travel will be the largest online travel agency worldwide. YTB's Referring Travel Agents booked over $400,000,000 in travel in 2007. With these factors and the overall exponential growth that YTB has been experiencing, it is understood that many, including traditional travel agents and other MLM travel companies, will continue to infer that YTB is a scam. The only problem is that YTB is not a scam. The truth is that YTB is a legitimate business that gives ordinary people extraordinary opportunities to own their own thriving travel business, and a piece of that great American pie.

YTB Travel helps make the American Dream a reality for hundreds of thousands of people everyday. People who have never dreamed that they could retire in their 30's or 40's have been able to do so in YTB. People in their 50's and 60's who once lived paycheck to paycheck, now earn six figure residual incomes, thanks to YTB.

YTB Travel is a phenomenal business and opportunity that allows everybody to win. We have the best comp plan that anyone has ever seen in a network marketing business. Will some people join YTB Travel and utterly fail at making any money? By all means. Why? In most cases, it's because they are either unwilling to treat their business like a business. I we will do what others do, we can have what others have. The problem is that most people are lazy. They have a lottery, "get-rich-quick" mentality, and don't expect to work in order to earn the big bucks.

The YTB Travel Agency is absolutely not a SCAM. It is a legitimate business that offers phenomenal opportunities for SUCCESS. If you need a Plan B, contact us. If you are ready to find out for yourself how the YTB Travel Network can change your life and help you attain the wealth you desire, contact us. We are looking for people who want to WIN, and are willing to be coachable and teachable to do so. I look forward to hearing from you! We are looking for leaders to open up new venues for YTB Travel. Are you the one we're looking for? If you believe you are, give us a call.

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Regina Osei is a successful mentor and coach who teaches her YTB Team members and other business owners how to succeed in business and how to market their businesses using diverse strategies and approaches both online and offline. If you are interested in starting your own online travel business and want the benefit of a mentor who is committed to your success, join our team today at http://regina.vacationmedia.net. If you have questions, e-mail me at: reginaosei@gmail.com or call 901-221-1630(1)

JOIN US! Denita Hedgeman "Live Your Purpose" Cruise

Are you looking for an opportunity to express and develop your ministry gifts? Are you a singer? Dancer, Mime Artist? Are your ministry gifs in the performing arts? Do you want to learn how to write your own book? Set up your own for profit or non-profit organization? The perfect opportunity could be this October on the Denita Hedgeman "Live Your Purpose" Worship Cruise! Click on the pictures below for more information!



If you are interested in finding out more about the Denita Hedgeman "Live Your Purpose" Worship Cruise or in getting information about how you can plan a group cruise for your church, family, family reunion, class reunion, wedding party or any other group, please contact us: 901-221-1631. Looking for the vacation of your dreams? Visit our website by clicking HERE. We will help you plan the vacation of a lifetime for the destination of your choice. Do you need a PLAN B? Looking for a GREAT way to earn some EXTRA MONEY? Learn how you can earn with your own home based business in the travel industry! Click HERE

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Regina Osei is a successful mentor and coach who teaches her YTB Team members and other business owners how to succeed in business and how to market their businesses using diverse strategies and approaches both online and offline. If you are interested in starting your own online travel business and want the benefit of a mentor who is committed to your success, join our team today at http://regina.vacationmedia.net. If you have questions, e-mail me at: reginaosei@gmail.com or call 901-221-1630(1)

What Place Does God Have in Your YTB Travel Business?

Recently, read a post on a blog that someone mentioned that I should be careful because John Frenaye was looking to shut down my YTB Travel business... HARD. After I read the post, I posted my comments reflecting that I was trusting God for my business, and that God is the only one who can build it as well as tear it down. Wow! After I posted those comments, the backlash began, especially from someone called TravelLisa! I seem to have that affect on some people. Anyway, several people started ridiculing my comments. They started asking me whether God was in my downline. They wanted to know why I was pushing God down people's throats because, in their opinions, God had no place in my business.

They went on to tell me that "religion" is a private matter and that I am "wrong" to talk about God as it relates to a conversation about my business. Well, I want to make it known that I adamantly disagree. First, I don't practice a religion. I have a relationship, and when I talk about God, I am talking about that relationship. You see, without God, I nor my business would matter. In my life, God holds not only first place, but every place. God is my reason for being. If there were no God, I wouldn't have a reason to get up in the morning. You see, Jesus Christ is not only my Lord... the Master, the Director and the Ruler of my life, but Jesus Christ, God manifested in the Flesh, is also my SAVIOR. That means, He SAVED me. He kept me from falling. He restored my soul, and indeed... He IS my life!

Before I met Christ, I was headed down a path of destruction. I lived recklessly and without regard for my life or for the lives of others. I am so grateful and thankful to God for saving me. And to be frank with you, one of the things that I love MOST about YTB Travel is the place that God has, not only in my life, but also in the lives of so many who join this business.

At last year's YTB Travel Network Convention, Coach J. Lloyd Tomer, during the Sunday service, made a statement about there being an anointing on YTB. Coach said that the people who join YTB do so because God draws them to the business. I believ that. My husband and I pray regularly for our business, our business partners and for YTB as a whole. We didn't want to be a part of anything that God wasn't involved with, and we don't want to be linked with people as business partners who God does not join to us. In other words, God's will is ALL that we desire in our YTB Travel business. For us, it's not about how much money we have, how many people we recruit or even how much travel we sell. For us, it is about our being in the center of God's will concerning our lives as we work this business.

Once when I was praying with a young man about YTB Travel, the Lord gave me a revelation that he will make many people wealthy in YTB Travel, but not so that we will just have more money to buy more stuff. God desires to make His people wealthy so that we can attest to His goodness and tell others... both rich and poor... our testimony. If we are also wealthy, we can more easily get an audience with wealthy people to tell them about the Lord. And what about the people who are poor, we can share with them also about what God has done for us... and will also do for them if they trust Him and follow His lead.

One of the comments that I posted on that blog where "TravelLisa" criticized my referencing God was that, in a world where everybody, without regard for God or God's laws, feels so free to flaunt their beliefs: gays and lesbians freely parade their sexual orientation, some people freely smoke, drink, curse, commit adultery and fornicate, politicians openly admit to committing all kinds of fraud, pornography reigns supreme nearly everywhere you look... In a society like this, if anybody should feel free mentioning anything, the believers of Jesus Christ, people who have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus, should surely feel free to openly, in any setting and at all times... proclaim the goodness, the honor, the adoration and the high esteem that we have for God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

So... what place should God have in your YTB Travel Business? Well, when it comes to other people, I am hesitant to use the term "should", but what I can say... at least for myself and for all who claim to be Christians, I believe that God should be front and center. God is both the Alpha and the Omega... the beginning and the end.... the first and the last. There is NO PLACE that God should not have in your YTB Travel Business.

And as my 18 month old would say with exuberance: AMEN!

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Regina Osei is a successful mentor and coach who teaches her YTB Team members and other business owners how to succeed in business and how to market their businesses using diverse strategies and approaches both online and offline. If you are interested in starting your own online travel business and want the benefit of a mentor who is committed to your success, join our team today at http://regina.vacationmedia.net. If you have questions, e-mail me at: reginaosei@gmail.com or call 901-221-1630(1)

Did YTB Acquire American Destinations? Yes or No?

Recently, I posted a blog about YTB having acquired American Destinations, Inc. (ADI). As soon as I posted it, John Frenaye attacked me and told me "Nice Try. Now try telling the truth." I didn't understand his note, nor did I understand why he was accusing me of lying. In my confusion and because I did want to double-check my facts, I immediately took my blog post down to do further research. In my research, I listened to a YTB Getting Started Call where I heard Jeanie Sharpless and ADI Founder and CEO, Curtis Edwards talk about the acquisition. OK, I thought. It is true. So I reposted the original blog post.

Of course, the tenacious Mr. Frenaye in the interim had published a very nasty post about me being a liar on his "MLMs and Travel: A Bad Mix" blog, so the drama that I thought was over, had only just begun. To keep up the drama, John sent me several other nasty little comments that I refused to publish on my blog. After a while, I thought, this is stupid. Let me talk to him directly, so I picked up the phone and called him. I'd tried emails, but he never seemed to receive those. I later found out that I might have been sending them to the wrong address.

So yesterday, I called John and we had a very long talk: about YTB, the travel industry, our positions as RTAs, you name it -- we talked about it. After our conversation, John did apologize for handling the matter the way he did with me, and he posted his apology on his blog. I thought that was a nice touch. John seemed to understand that I was only posting what I believed to be true... not deliberately posting lies (as he had originally believed) so I could build my business.

I was glad that John and I had cleared things up between us, but that wasn't good enough for me, because I honestly wanted to know the truth about the rumored YTB acquisition of ADI.

In my quest for the real deal, I sent support tickets to YTB, contacted the company's travel support team, and emailed Jeanie Sharpless. After several days and several contacts made, here's what I found out:

Apparently, there was indeed an announcement made about the acquisition of ADI by YTB at the Richmond Travel Training event. According to Jeanie Sharpless, the announcement was made by YTB Travel CEO, J. Kim Sorensen, and the founder and CEO of ADI, Curtis Edwards, who was there to confirm it. The problem, however, is that while this merger is on the planning table and discussions between the two companies are taking place, and maybe they are even close to finalizing the details... TODAY, it is still in the planning stages, and the acquisition has not yet been confirmed. In the excitement of the possibilities of this merger actually taking place, it was announced. It probably shouldn't have been, but it was. You know how excited we humans can get about things. Anyway, since more legal work must be done before it is a DONE DEAL, for now, the answer to the question at hand is "NO" YTB has not acquired ADI... at least not yet. But believe you me... as soon as it is final (and let's pray that it will be soon!) I'll be one of the first to let you know!

John, in a very strange and dysfunctional way, has been a blessing. I'm sure he didn't intend to because he really is passionate about his disdain for YTB and all MLM travel companies. Still, he did force me to do my due diligence to ensure that what I was reporting was accurate, so... for that, I must say "thank you" to John Frenaye. I only wish he was not a hater of all things YTB. If that weren't the case, perhaps we could even be friends.

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Regina Osei is a successful mentor and coach who teaches her YTB Team members and other business owners how to succeed in business and how to market their businesses using diverse strategies and approaches both online and offline. If you are interested in starting your own online travel business and want the benefit of a mentor who is committed to your success, join our team today at http://regina.vacationmedia.net. If you have questions, e-mail me at: reginaosei@gmail.com or call 901-221-1630(1)