The Blog of Erik Cox
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What is WorldVentures anyway?
The question I get asked all the time is “What is this company WorldVentures? I see stuff on the web and I don’t know what to think about it.” My own mother (a former travel agent) said she would look at the program, and upon doing a quick search on Google, encountered so much negative information that she decided it was not something she wanted to even look at. Not even look at it. I decided to do a quick search and found many negative and misinformed comments, mostly on a “watchdog” site from back in 2005 when WorldVentures was just launching. These were some of the top-listed links! The company just had the 2008 National Convention in Las Vegas in March, so I find it interesting that a search would reveal such dated information.
With so much disinformation on the web these days, I decided to write an informative article about WorldVentures. The purpose of this article is to share some information about WorldVentures as a company, explore the DreamTrips membership program, and examine the WorldVentures business opportunity. Hopefully you and my mother find this article useful!
Some Information about WorldVentures, plus my own experience
WorldVentures was launched December 10, 2005, and the headquarters are in Dallas, TX (ok, Plano to those of us who live here, but why split hairs?!) The four men who run the company are Wayne Nugent, Mike Azcue, Robert Oblon, and Dan Stammen. In fact, Robert Oblon was announced as President of WorldVentures at the convention in March! I also just recently found out that Mike Conway (of America West Airlines fame) was named CEO. “Way to go” to both gentlemen!
Mike Azcue did the first live presentation at the WorldVentures HQ that I remember seeing; he was energetic & articulate, without sounding like hype. I couldn’t help but be impressed with Mike, as he shared the vision with our small group of friends that came up to the office on a Saturday morning. The grey suit with the black shirt was a nice touch too! He also treated us to a tour of the different departments at WorldVentures after the presentation, which was cool to see.
Another gentleman I recently had a meeting with at the WorldVentures office is Rob Baker. Rob is the Director of Travel and has a great history in the travel business. The story he told me was that he was getting ready to launch his own website and company around the search technology he pioneered, and a friend said “man, you should go talk with these WorldVentues people, I think you will like what you see!” Very skeptically (maybe he Googled the company like my mom did!) he had several meetings with the WorldVentures team, and eventually came to his current position in the company. Rob also shared with me some of his past successes in Network Marketing, and after listening to what he had to say, I realized he really knows what he is doing!
Here is a link to the official Bio page if you want to see more information on any of the people mentioned above: http://worldventures.com/wvbios.html
As of this writing, WorldVentures is currently registered and in good standing with both IATAN and CLIA. For those not in the travel business, being registered with these industry organizations lends credibility to the WorldVentures organization, and what they are doing. Some of the negative remarks I found in my internet research referenced a lack of either of these credentials, which is not the case now. Some other credibility indicators is the list of Preferred Vendors - Carnival Cruise Lines, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, MSC Cruise Lines, GoGo Vacations, Apple Vacations, Melia Hotels & Resorts, Riu Hotels & Resorts, Funjet Vacations, MLT Vacations, Outrigger Resorts, Elite Island Resorts, and Barcelo Resorts. These vendors would not align themselves with any sub-standard companies, and now WorldVentures offers packages from all of these.
DreamTrips – Discount warehouse of travel
The cornerstone of WorldVentures is the DreamTrips membership program. The idea of DreamTrips is a simple one – a membership much like Sam’s Club or Costco, where the members are given exclusive access to specially negotiated travel deals. I remember in the presentation Mike Azcue did, there was a 5 day/4 night Mexico cruise for $99 in November 2007, and also a Cozumel 4 day/3 night All Inclusive Resort for $199 in June of 2008. Sounds like a great idea to me! Another feature of the WorldVentures program is the PowerSearch. This technology is referred to as a Google of travel, where the PowerSearch goes after all the other travel sites, and agrigates the results. I have personally used the PowerSearch for research on a recent trip to Prague and bought a ticket for a friend to Dallas from Phoenix using it as well. Click here to test drive it yourself: http://rocketraveler.worldventures.com/
The WorldVentures Business Opportunity – Making a living, Living
WorldVentures promotes the DreamTrips program, as well as others, by its network of Independent Representatives. This concept is usually referred to as Network Marketing or Multi-Level Marketing (aka MLM - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_marketing). Many people confuse this legitimate form of marketing with some of the illegal Pyramid schemes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyramid_scheme) that have come up over the years. The basic difference (and the legal one too!) is that in a pyramid, no goods or services are exchanged for the money put into the program. The Wikipedia article cited above has this to say: “The key distinction between these schemes and legitimate MLM businesses is that in the latter cases a meaningful income can be earned solely from the sales of the associated product or service to customers who are not themselves enrolled in the scheme.”
A great way to think of this type of marketing would be this: When I eat at a good restaurant, I tell people about it because I enjoyed my lunch and want to share the information. Another way to think of it would be as a commission-only sales representative. WorldVentures rewards those people who want to promote the DreamTrips and other products with commission (and other incentives like Travel Points) when products are sold.
The business presentation is the best way to learn about the program, as well as the Income Disclosure that tells how many of the reps are making money with the promotion of WorldVentures. One of the top earning members can be seen giving the WorldVentures business presentation here: http://www.rockettraveler.com
I hope this article has been helpful to you for learning more about WorldVentures as a legitimate company, and a fun way to make some extra money while planning your next trip! I'll be sure to forward this link to my mom as well
With so much disinformation on the web these days, I decided to write an informative article about WorldVentures. The purpose of this article is to share some information about WorldVentures as a company, explore the DreamTrips membership program, and examine the WorldVentures business opportunity. Hopefully you and my mother find this article useful!
Some Information about WorldVentures, plus my own experience
WorldVentures was launched December 10, 2005, and the headquarters are in Dallas, TX (ok, Plano to those of us who live here, but why split hairs?!) The four men who run the company are Wayne Nugent, Mike Azcue, Robert Oblon, and Dan Stammen. In fact, Robert Oblon was announced as President of WorldVentures at the convention in March! I also just recently found out that Mike Conway (of America West Airlines fame) was named CEO. “Way to go” to both gentlemen!
Mike Azcue did the first live presentation at the WorldVentures HQ that I remember seeing; he was energetic & articulate, without sounding like hype. I couldn’t help but be impressed with Mike, as he shared the vision with our small group of friends that came up to the office on a Saturday morning. The grey suit with the black shirt was a nice touch too! He also treated us to a tour of the different departments at WorldVentures after the presentation, which was cool to see.
Another gentleman I recently had a meeting with at the WorldVentures office is Rob Baker. Rob is the Director of Travel and has a great history in the travel business. The story he told me was that he was getting ready to launch his own website and company around the search technology he pioneered, and a friend said “man, you should go talk with these WorldVentues people, I think you will like what you see!” Very skeptically (maybe he Googled the company like my mom did!) he had several meetings with the WorldVentures team, and eventually came to his current position in the company. Rob also shared with me some of his past successes in Network Marketing, and after listening to what he had to say, I realized he really knows what he is doing!
Here is a link to the official Bio page if you want to see more information on any of the people mentioned above: http://worldventures.com/wvbios.html
As of this writing, WorldVentures is currently registered and in good standing with both IATAN and CLIA. For those not in the travel business, being registered with these industry organizations lends credibility to the WorldVentures organization, and what they are doing. Some of the negative remarks I found in my internet research referenced a lack of either of these credentials, which is not the case now. Some other credibility indicators is the list of Preferred Vendors - Carnival Cruise Lines, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, MSC Cruise Lines, GoGo Vacations, Apple Vacations, Melia Hotels & Resorts, Riu Hotels & Resorts, Funjet Vacations, MLT Vacations, Outrigger Resorts, Elite Island Resorts, and Barcelo Resorts. These vendors would not align themselves with any sub-standard companies, and now WorldVentures offers packages from all of these.
DreamTrips – Discount warehouse of travel
The cornerstone of WorldVentures is the DreamTrips membership program. The idea of DreamTrips is a simple one – a membership much like Sam’s Club or Costco, where the members are given exclusive access to specially negotiated travel deals. I remember in the presentation Mike Azcue did, there was a 5 day/4 night Mexico cruise for $99 in November 2007, and also a Cozumel 4 day/3 night All Inclusive Resort for $199 in June of 2008. Sounds like a great idea to me! Another feature of the WorldVentures program is the PowerSearch. This technology is referred to as a Google of travel, where the PowerSearch goes after all the other travel sites, and agrigates the results. I have personally used the PowerSearch for research on a recent trip to Prague and bought a ticket for a friend to Dallas from Phoenix using it as well. Click here to test drive it yourself: http://rocketraveler.worldventures.com/
The WorldVentures Business Opportunity – Making a living, Living
WorldVentures promotes the DreamTrips program, as well as others, by its network of Independent Representatives. This concept is usually referred to as Network Marketing or Multi-Level Marketing (aka MLM - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_marketing). Many people confuse this legitimate form of marketing with some of the illegal Pyramid schemes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyramid_scheme) that have come up over the years. The basic difference (and the legal one too!) is that in a pyramid, no goods or services are exchanged for the money put into the program. The Wikipedia article cited above has this to say: “The key distinction between these schemes and legitimate MLM businesses is that in the latter cases a meaningful income can be earned solely from the sales of the associated product or service to customers who are not themselves enrolled in the scheme.”
A great way to think of this type of marketing would be this: When I eat at a good restaurant, I tell people about it because I enjoyed my lunch and want to share the information. Another way to think of it would be as a commission-only sales representative. WorldVentures rewards those people who want to promote the DreamTrips and other products with commission (and other incentives like Travel Points) when products are sold.
The business presentation is the best way to learn about the program, as well as the Income Disclosure that tells how many of the reps are making money with the promotion of WorldVentures. One of the top earning members can be seen giving the WorldVentures business presentation here: http://www.rockettraveler.com
I hope this article has been helpful to you for learning more about WorldVentures as a legitimate company, and a fun way to make some extra money while planning your next trip! I'll be sure to forward this link to my mom as well
