Are there any other charges, dues, costs, royalties etc?
No. Only the costs we incur on your behalf, such as document rush mailing costs to you or your clients, such as Fed Ex or overnight or overweight charges. Normal first class postage we cover. We mail you catalogs periodically free. If you request additional catalogs from the suppliers we will pass through our shipping costs.

If all your sales are reported for tracking you have nothing else to pay. There are no other required fees whatsoever.

Are there additional options I can have?
If you want us to host a travel web site specifically custom made for you with automatically updated travel content and 30,000 pages and specials we can do it for a small fee...but it is not a requirement. The optional web site cost is $99 to design and arrange for supplier content and only $20 per month. It includes hosting, daily content update, e-mail addresses.

If you already have a website we can also provide you, for a small charge, travel content hotlinks updated daily/weekly with your name and phone number so that you can place them in your existing web site. Again, this is not a requirement and only an optional service.

And for those of you who really want to get into this business through the internet we have other options where you can have a web site with major company reservation engines and web sites, such as United Vacations, Princess Cruises, Pleasant Holidays, Royal Caribbean, Funjet etc

IN REALITY, you really don't need those direct consumer booking engines. They are nice to have, you look like a big company but unless you have a built in clientele to bring to those booking web sites you will have to spend money to bring people to these web sites. (Anybody that tells you that they can bring in thousands of people to your web site is taking you for a ride). So it is better to start with people you know when getting into this business and possibly with a basic web site for information so you can direct the people you know or the club you belong to your site. If you already have a popular web site having reservation engines where you could make money without touching the client would be ideal.

Is this a travel discount program or a multi-level where I get an ID card?
Absolutely not. Most of those are pure fraud and they just take your money with phony promises of unrealistic discounts.

We are absolutely opposed to anyone who sells you travel discount memberships and promises you that you will be saving tons of money on your travel. Many of these operations have been shut down by various Attorney General offices.

As we stated in our introduction, if all you want is discounts for yourself we are not your answer. If you decide to join one of those card mills make sure you check with the Better Business Bureau and the Attorney General office of the state they are in if there are any complaints about that company. In many cases these travel discount clubs open up for several months, take your money and open up under a different name and you are out of luck. If it sounds too good to be true IT IS!!!

And don't fall for this multi-level game. It is designed to take money from all the levels except for a greedy few on top who make up wonderfull stories about how many millions they made on selling downline memberships...please do not be so gullible.

Here is a link to the various Attorney General offices in various states.

I don't know many people. Is this a good business opportunity for me?
Possibly not. This is ideal for someone who has contacts within clubs, their work, church, fraternal groups, special interest organizations, schools. It is not good for someone who is a hermit. Most of your business will come from people who are within your sphere of influence, which means either you know them or people you know know them and pass your name along with a reference. If you are only going after strangers you will be competing on price, not on your quality and expertise.

I don't know anything about this business. How do I get help?
Most of our Independent Vacation Representatives are from other fields. We have nurses, policewomen, hairdressers, bookkeepers, soccer moms and dads, firemen many housewives and several house husbands, several librarians and teachers, even lawyers and a number of people who are in other businesses and are using this as an additional money maker.

None of them were in this business before but learned with our help and through these tools:
1. You will receive access to an instruction manual that will explain it step by step.
2. You will have 800 numbers and a support staff whose responsibility is to make sure that they help you. We want you to call us
3. You will be notified of trainings by the cruise companies and vacation supplier themselves.
4. You will receive lists for on-line trainings by visitors bureaus.
5. You will receive weekly notices about specials, hints etc.
6. You will have access to password protected Signature Travel Network site with support materials.
7. You will be invited to special webex or phone training.

Do I get discounts on travel if I am in your program?
Not only do you get discounts but many of our Independent Vacation Representatives who produce get free trips, free cruises etc. Many of the suppliers give away free hotel rooms, free cruise packages to representatives that sell their products. But to be clear about it, you do not get automatic free or deeply discounted trips. Only those that produce get rewarded by the suppliers. However you do get to keep your percentage of the commission when you book a trip for yourself, which otherwise you would not receive.

An important notice. The purpose of this program is not so you get travel discounts and nothing else is sold. It is designed to generate incremental business for our preferred vendors. If you will be using this only for yourself and not generating new business from others than this program may not be for you.

When you start producing then you will start qualifying for all kinds of specials. Programs that tell you that you will get all these free things up front are scams and be very careful. All they want is to collect several hundred dollars from you with promises.

The coveted IATAN card will become available to you if you meet the IATAN production requirements. Be careful of phony IATAN card mills out there who sell you look alike cards. Our general manager sits on the board of directors of Consumer Travel Restitution Corporation together with the representative of the Attorney General's office and part of the job is to make sure that consumers are not taken by phony travel schemes.

Can I make this a 100% web business?
Yes, we have options, which are strictly web based and at a different cost.

However we have a word of caution. Do not expect that thousands of people are going to flock to your site when you have one. The web is very impersonal and there are gazillions of competitors who spend millions of dollars to bring people to their sites.. The most successful independent agents sell to the people they know or to a group of people with the same interest, such as same industry, church, social club, sports group etc. Your web site will become most useful for people who you know or who know of you. They can check out specials and even book certain packages on line.

If you have a web site we can supply you with direct reservation engines for Pleasant Holidays (currently at no charge) and other companies, such as Funjet, Delta Vacations, United Vacations, Princess Cruises Carnival etc. for a yearly fee.

Can I make all my client reservations on-line?
Authorized vacation representatives who have experience have an optional no-cost program for direct connections to many popular suppliers, such as Apple Vacations, Funjet, Pleasant Holidays, Carnival and many more. You would have direct access to inventory, direct access to availability, special pricing and can book right on line. This is called level II or Silver membership

Can I get a web-site with my own name and updated vacation information?
Yes, we have pre-made web sites for a small fee where hosting, content, daily specials, reservation engines, design is all included. We reserve the web name of your choosing, we design the site for you and update it with specials every day. The price also includes hosting. Currently it costs $75 startup fee and $20 per month. Minimum period is 12 months. If you are looking for a business opportunity that also has an internet side this would be a good way to start..

So for the $75 one time fee and $25 per month you receive: hosting, site design, site updating, links from site to specials, Pleasant client reservations engine and over 30,000 pages of content.

There are more client on-line reservation engines, such as Carnival, Funjet, Delta Vacations and many more for additional yearly fee (That's because they charge us). Nice to have but not needed unless you have a popular site, such as a church site, credit union or a company with built-in clientele.

How long have you been in business?
Our consortium is the oldest vacation consortium in the US, with over 40 years in business. FunCompanies travel division started in 1988 and PowerBusiness bought it in 1997.

PowerBusiness Associates Inc. is a consulting and training firm with a client base that includes or included clients such as Coke, Pepsi, Lucent, Best Foods, Apple Computer, Compaq Comuputers, Leheigh Valley Dairy and many other companies

We have a 100% complaint free AAA BETTER BUSINESS record. We are listed under our parent company PowerBusiness Associates Inc. Our G.M. sat on the 5 member Consumer Travel Restitution board overseeing consumer travel issues.

If I call a cruise line directly will I get a cheaper price?
You will get the same price, however by being a vacation representative you receive commission which you would not get otherwise.

When do I get paid?
You receive your check once a month. The supplier must have paid us and the client traveled.

What if someone pays me by credit card. I don't have a way to charge it.
You call that credit card to the cruise or vacation supplier directly, such as Disney, Princess, Apple Vacations etc. You do not charge the card. They do. You just need to have a written confirmation from your friend or client that they are authorized to charge the card. The written confirmation is a requirement.

Why do others charge so much for the same business opportunity?
Because they want to make money on you up front. It costs several hundred dollars to set one up as a representative. From mailing costs to labor costs to vendors. We absorb much of that cost hoping that you will produce in the future. Sometimes we get very good people sometimes we do not. The members who produce are a wonderful group of people who work hard at their regular jobs and do this on the side or who do this full time.

Others who sell this opportunity for a lot of money take your money, make huge promises and you are on your own. If anyone tells you that you will make $2000 a week on this starting out...DON'T believe them. They just want to sell you that package up front and laugh to the bank.

How much money can I make?
Because you will be a part of a $2 billion consortium you will be able to make money if you know or find people or groups who take vacations, incentives cruises, hotels stays. We have an independent representative who received $8000 in commissions for one group of firemen she took to Cancun. We have another one who just made $28,500 on a high-end resort booking.

So the opportunity is there. It will take a while to build up a steady business. The more people you know the better. And the more money they have the better because they will buy cruises and trips that will have higher commissions.

If you are a hermit, don't know people this opportunity is not for you. Not everyone makes money at this. We have IVARS who make very little because their strategy is to go after strangers. Strangers only criteria for buying is price. So you are competing on price alone, not on your knowledge, your friendliness, your trustworthiness, your ability to help them have a fantastic honeymoon, vacation, incentive trip.

What is the average commission that cruises and tour suppliers pay?
It varies from 10% up to 20%. So if you have a friend buy a Tahiti cruise that costs $5000 for two the commission will be around $800.00. If they buy a cheap 3 day Carnival cruise the commission could be $50. Most cruise commissions on a 7 day cruise are in the $350 range. Cruises and other operators do not pay commissions on taxes, port charges. Few do not pay commission on air.

It is always better to concentrate on the more elegant and expensive trips or cruises. The one who focuses on $3000 vacations will work much less and make more money than the one doing a bunch of $300 trips. You have to sell 10 $300 packages to make just the same amount of money as on one $3000 package.

Can I represent escorted tour suppliers for Europe?
Yes, such companies as Brendan, Club Med, Sandals, Abercrombie, Globus, Cosmos and many others have escorted tours and you would represent them.

Can I sell airline tickets for travel within the US.
You DO NOT want to do that. There is no money in airline tickets, the penalties for errors are big, the time involved is tremendous and you will get discouraged. So the simple answer is NO. If tickets are needed in a cruise or resort package you will get that as a package from the wholesaler, such as United Vacations, Pleasant Holidays, Carnival Cruises, Disney etc. Let them do all the work. You just get one package as a unit. That reduces your time and makes you the best money return on your investment.

Can I do international tickets
If you need international tickets you will have a list of wholesalers that you will be able to go through. They will provide you with NET pricing, meaning you will have to mark that price up so that you and we make commission.

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