I got my start with YTB in the travel industry and they actually do encourage their agents to learn about travel. They do have cruiseline and other vendor training available as well as CLIA Seminars, ship inspections, hotel property inspections and every agent is encouraged to get training.

The problem is with the MLM side of the business. As you know, they have these Travel Parties to introduce you to YTB,  they talk much more about how it can possibly make you wealthy than how to sell travel. It's easier to make more money getting people to buy their travel website than it is to sell travel. Not everybody who attend these travel parties are sold because in hearing from those who have attended and decided not to join them, they complain that there is so much emphasis on recruiting people selling the travel sites and making money than they do about how to sell travel. You have a many people there who do not bother to learn about the vendor products. Many of the agents also try to recruit people on cruise ships which is a no no. Inspite of that, there are many good YTB travel agents out there.

As many may know, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Azamara and NCL have placed YTB on a no-book status. I left because of that, as I wanted to sell all cruise products. Carnival, Princess and a lot of the other cruise lines continue to support them because they don't intend to dictate how a company's business model should be run. They also get a lot of business from YTB agents, especially Carnival and Princess that I'm aware of. These cruise line do have policies in place to prevent those agents who are not producing but wish to cruise at reduced travel agent rates.

You will not make any money selling their websites, I was there for two years and didn't sell a single site.

My new host agency is Outside Agents.com aka Cruises and Tours Unlimited in Jacksonville, FL, and they belong to the Vacation.com Consortia.  There are no fees to start with them. They are very helpful and will answer any questions you have. There are other good host agencies such as Expedia Cruiseship Center,, GTM Group, Cruise one, Nexion, Cruise Planners and many more. Cruise Planners is an American Express company and you buy the franchise, the cost is just under $9.995. They do have a special for around $3,000 or so franchise fee. That fee includes a week of training in Ft Lauderdale, FL.

I'll agree with you that YTB is not a wise choice, even though I learned a lot while with them. If you're still looking to be an agent through a host agency, you can send me a PM.