YTB Prepares To Exit Travel Industry

It appears that YTB, the multi-level marketing company is no longer in the travel business. After selling their travel assets to Sixth Scott, LLC/dba First Travel Alliance last year, it appears that YTB and MLM are no longer a part of the plan going forward.

In a recent article in Travel Weekly, Jeff Scott, the new chairman has said that one major distinction from YTB is that First Travel Alliance is not a multilevel-marketing company, so downline recruiting is not part of the business model. 

According to the Travel Weekly article, it appears that First Travel Alliance will be severing all ties with YTB in a few months

Jeff Scott, president and CEO of Sixth Scott LLC, which launched First Travel, said that Sixth Scott will continue to work with YTB for another few months, as it transfers training and technology. First Travel Alliance has been selling travel since March.Jeff Scott, president and CEO of Sixth Scott LLC, which launched First Travel, said that Sixth Scott will continue to work with YTB for another few months, as it transfers training and technology. First Travel Alliance has been selling travel since March.As many know (and this blog documents), YTB took the travel industry by storm back in 2007. Of course, the storm was mostly smoke and mirrors as the founders (Coach Tomer, Scott Tomer, and Kim Sorensen) promised riches that never materialized for $500 and $50 a month.  The allure of quick cash and promised riches never materialized for most people. The average annual income (after dishing out $1100 a year) was a paltry $200. But the modus operandi of the company was to promise even greater riches by enhancing the program (read: giving them more money) by buying self published magazines, attendance at conferences, referring friends, selling ancillary products and the like.  There were several close associates of the founders who were rewarded and were paraded to the masses to show off the lifestyle the majority were missing.

Their tactics did not go un-noticed and they were dropped by many travel suppliers, IATAN, and had several federal lawsuits filed against them by the States of California and Illinois. There is also ongoing litigation as well.

When the scheme began to unravel, Coach Tomer mover to Florida (a homestead exemption state, so his home could not be seized) and was asked to leave the company by the Board of Directors.  He still is collecting a check, however, as a consultant and has filed bankruptcy yet again in the wake of all of the pending litigation and an unsatisfied lien from the IRS exceeding $500,000.

The assets of YTB Travel were sold shortly before Kim Sorensen died due to complications of a lung transplant last year.

And most recently Scott Tomer abruptly resigned claiming that he always preferred to not be in an "office" and wanted to work directly with the field. He is still compensated as a consultant.

YTB once boasted that they had 138,000 travel agents. According to the Travel Weekly article that number is under 15,000 now.

So, what happens to the former YTB? It is anyone's guess. The company seems to be trying to replicate what they did back in 2007. Holding meetings to recruit. Promising riches if they recruit. Denying that they are a pyramid scheme, and parading a very few select people as examples of success. They are rolling out programs to buy into as well. As for any product they are selling--who knows what the flavor of the week is. I have lost count. At points in time they sold travel, girdles for men and women, insurance, cars, coffee, picture frames, anti child-pornography services, make-up for black women, posters, banners, and more. At one point they represented themselves as a mall where they had affiliate sales to major stores--this is when Tomer claimed that YTB would be the largest distributor of goods in the world by 2012--YTB was to dwarf Walmart.

Tomer also claimed that for those that followed what he said (read: gave him money when asked) he would create 10,000 millionaires by 2020.  Well, the bankrupt Tomer still has a long way to go.

YTB is still a publicly traded company and have yet to provide the required annual and quarterly reports to the SEC. The last report was for the 3rd Quarter of 2011.  The company claims that the abrupt departure of their CFO was the reason for the delayed reporting.

Their stock, which the Tomers insisted would be upwards of $50/share has been languishing under a penny for several weeks and hasn't been higher than a dime in a year.

But as it stands now, Sixth Scott/First Travel Alliance is in business as a legitimate online and host travel agency utilizing the dregs from YTB and will be severing ties completely in a matter of months.

I have always said that if (and that was a big if) YTB were to decide to become a legitimate host agency, they would be a formidable one. But unfortunately, YTB decided to go the other way and has left Sixth Scott with a reasonable number of underperforming "agents."

Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to FacebookPosted byJohnat11:02 AM