World Ventures has gone into partnership with a company called Seacret. One question now being asked by many of its members is: Is World Ventures a scam? Let’s take a look.
So, Is World Ventures a Scam?
Update at bottom of page.
Starting as an idea in 2005, World Ventures rose to become a major player in the American and International travel scene by flogging a “Start your travel business from home and enjoy the benefits of what a home-based business opportunity can bring.”
Let’s put 2020 aside and return to pre-COVID. Back to days when travelling was part of our everyday life and something we looked forward to.
Back to when planning our holidays was an adventure and finding a cheap holiday an achievement.
World Ventures was appealing to all the travelling souls out there, jetting off to new and exciting holiday destinations, which for many people is a long-term life goal.
The bait World Ventures was using was that you could earn travel rewards while on vacation, and get paid to promote holiday packages.
Essentially floating the idea that the cost of your holiday is close to zero-sum financially (even profitable), apart from personal spending.
Their promotion spiel was that they were the travel company that inspired travellers to pursue “the road to fun, freedom, and fulfilment.”
With World Ventures, you earn financial rewards by selling memberships, as well as travel points for travelling.
Awards
The World Ventures Travel Club, “Dream Trips”. was named the winner of the 2013 Travel Club Grand Final.
The highest honour awarded in the global travel club industry.
They won again in 2014, 2015, 2016, and in 2017 they were again winners for WTA awards in Africa, Europe, and North America. In 2018 and 2019 they won again as “Dream Trips by Rovia.”
The awards ceremony, which recognizes the elite in the travel and hospitality industry, took place at the ritzy La Cigale Hotel in Doha, Qatar, on November 30, 2013.
All That Glitters Is Not Gold.
Could you really make a living with World Ventures? Or is World Ventures a shady MLM scam? Read on to find out.
Product Name: World Ventures
Price: from $100 initial + $25/month
Founders: Wayne Nugent & Mike Azcue (No longer CEO)
Product type: MLM (travel packages & memberships)
Overall Ranking: 0 / 10 (run away!).
Background info on World Ventures
Founded in 2005 in Texas by Wayne Nugent and Mike Azcue, World Ventures managed in only 10 years to recruit half a million members, attracted by the promise of great travel offers and being paid to promote their products.
The company’s revenue skyrocketed from $15 million in 2006 to $90 million in 2009.
But their success was met with a roadblock of bad publicity in a 2016 lawsuit by the Norwegian government, accusing the company of operating a pyramid scheme.
Today, World Ventures is still banned in Norway.
Other lawsuits and allegations within the company followed suit, including talks of tax evasion and firing top-earning members to redirect their commissions to the company’s executive team.
Amidst all this, Mike Azcue stepped down from his role as CEO and was replaced by Josh Paine.
Whether Mike Azcue still has a role within World Ventures is not known for certain.
The Business Plan
Basically, WorldVentures Marketing (the official name for the direct-selling arm of Worldventures Holdings), is a multi-level marketing business scheme.
Multi-level marketing businesses (MLM for short) lets you earn money in two ways: one, through selling products (in this case, vacation packages); and two, by recruiting members (“sharing your membership”).
How You Can Join and Earn With World Ventures MLM
You can join World Ventures by either becoming a member (DreamTrips member) or a representative.
What’s the difference? Below is a simple explanation.
- DreamTrips membership
You can see this membership as a loyalty programme, where the more you travel, the more points you can earn towards your next holiday.
A World Ventures DreamTrips member benefits from travel extras, like special discounts on hotels, airfares, as well as concierge service, and travel insurance (for US only).
There are two memberships tiers: Gold and Platinum. You have to sign up to see the prices, but a quick Google research gives us an estimate:
- DreamTrips Gold membership: $200 initial fee + $50 monthly
- DreamTrips Platinum membership: $300 initial fee + $100 monthly
2. World Ventures representative
As a World Ventures representative, you don’t get paid for recruiting new representatives, but by selling DreamTrips holidays and memberships.
The cost of signing up as a World Ventures representative varies from region to region – but again – a Google research reveals that it’s around $100 to sign up and $25 per month to stay active.
The Earning Potential With World Ventures MLM?
Despite the glittery façade about the benefits of becoming a World Ventures member, their compensation plan is – like most MLMs– as clear as mud.
See for yourself here.
As you can see, how much you could earn with World Ventures MLM is anybody’s guess as there are no clear guidelines.
The Pros
Is World Ventures all that bad? In this article from the 14th of November 2020, World Ventures “Formed” a partnership with another MLM company called Seacret, which sells cosmetic and other personal care products.
How that will pan out is anyone’s guess.
In any case, one thing’s for sure. World Ventures MLM is not for MLM newbies.
To start
- You need killer sales skills
- Prior MLM experience
- Time and you definitely need extra cash You upline will love you.
If you think you have what it takes, you could be one of the (very) few of the company’s success stories!
The DreamTrips membership can only be worth exploring if you travel frequently and don’t mind travelling with organized tours with other World Ventures members.
At this time of writing though, with travel restrictions in place everywhere, it’s unlikely that the travel business will reopen any time soon.
The Cons
World Ventures has loads of complaints, some going back many years.
It has fallen a long way since it was awarded the Worlds top Travel Club in 2013.
Their negative reviews include representatives not being paid their commission, which is something nobody wants to hear!
There is also a lack of training and support.
People need product knowledge to be able to show the good points of a product, make sales and earn an income.
World Ventures seems to have forgotten this tactic from Sales 101.
Their compensation plan is not straightforward, and you risk spending more money than you save.
Bear in mind that when you travel with DreamTrips (if they ever re-open again), you can’t choose your vacation dates so say goodbye to spontaneous travelling.
Conclusion
Let’s be honest. World Ventures has a shady past, and even today, their modus operandi is full of red flags.
So, if you’re charmed by World Ventures sparkly offers, take another look and think twice before signing up.
World Ventures is not a scam, BUT it’s not transparent, and you risk bleeding a lot of money trying to stay in the game.
The huge amounts of litigation the company has been embroiled in over the past 6 or 7 years leaves a lot to be desired about their viability and business practices.
Now the problem is many members are wondering how a Travel Company, is going to mesh with a Skin Care company, and where, in the MLM scheme of things, will they fit in regarding rank, points or any of those things related to an MLM business.
See Video below.
Plus, let’s not forget the legal lawsuits looming over World Ventures.
On top of all this, their BBB rating is only a C+, which should give you enough cause for concern.
As for the DreamTrips membership, if you travel a lot, have a flexible schedule, and don’t mind organized tours, then it could be a viable option. But in a post-COVID era? It seems highly unlikely.
Partnering with a skincare company seems to offer World Venture members another income stream while this COVID thing is playing out.
So at least (it would seem), the thought is there for members caught up in this Covid drama. But how World Ventures will make money from skincare is known only to those involved in the deal.
Rating: 0/10.
Recommendation: – Stay away from this one. This is one pig that is unlikely to fly.
Update:-
Verona International Holdings has announced that the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Texas, entered an order confirming its purchase of the exclusive rights to sell DreamTrips® around the world.
As a result of the purchase, Verona’s wholly-owned subsidiary, DreamTrips, LLC d/b/a DreamTrips International (“DreamTrips International”), will be the exclusive worldwide provider of DreamTrips® going forward.
As part of the purchase, DreamTrips International has agreed to repay up to $22,250,000 of past
due commissions owed to WorldVentures’ sales representatives.DreamTrips International will begin making these payments in January 2022, pursuant to guidelines approved by the bankruptcy court order. DreamTrips International will also honor up to $7,000,000 in virtual currency for sales representatives and members.
Businessforhome.org
DreamTrips International will have a network marketing division, with Mark Smith as its CEO.
His wife Tammy will serve as Chief Field Officer.
Article by Elena Vivaldo info@vivaldocopywriting.com Additional resources by Michael Dubhthaigh (the barefootaffiliate)
Very good information. Thanks fir sharing!!