TRAVELHOST

TRAVELHOST DON'T BE FOOLED!!! There are legitiamate businees opportunities out there, BUT THIS ISN'T ONE OF THEM!! Dallas, Texas

17th of Jul, 2011 by User656383

Are you considering a "publishing career" with Travelhost... "America's number one travel magazine"?? Before you go any further, READ THIS! First of all; "Americas number one travel magazine"??? HA!! Thats a joke!!! Try Googling TRAVEL MAGAZINES and look at the results. Page after page after page of listings for EVERY OTHER travel magazine BUT Travelhost. Their website is a JOKE, their mobile app is absolutely useless, and theyre in far fewer markets and far fewer hotel rooms than any of their competitors! And forget about any major markets (other than Dallas). Where is Travelhost in major markets and top tourist destinations such as NYC, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston, Las Vegas, Miami, Atlanta, San Diego, Washington DC, Minneapolis, Austin, Houston, Niagara Falls, Atlantic City, Reno/Tahoe or Hawaii just to name a few??? Nowhere
THATS where!! Oh and speaking of Where (one of Travelhosts many and by far superior competitors) they ARE in those markets and have been for YEARS!! In fact, Travelhost has been in every market I just listed at one point or another, and each and every time Where put them out of business. Multiple times in most cases. Most of these markets have had poor, unsuspecting people try to make a go of it time and time again, only to fail each and every time. Just ask them. Travelhost lures its victims with a very well choreographed routine, SELLS them the FRANCHISE rights to the markets, then sits back and waits for them to fail so they can resell the same market over and
over again. They provide absolutely no support whatsoever (at least not any useful support) and essentially leave each franchisee to sink or swim with the vast majority sinking within a year. Just check their records.
Their markets each have had three, four, five, six or more FAILED franchises within just a few short years. However, their failed business model has finally caught up to them.
They have not sold a market (franchise) in well over a year and I strongly believe theyre down to less than 50 markets. Maybe as low as 40. In markets such as Lubbock, Texas. Americas number one travel
magazine??? Yeah right!!! They have probably around 20 employees left (after having laid off almost their entire staff over the course of last year), they office in adilapidated, run down building in a warehouse district surrounded by strip clubs, prostitutes and crack heads, and every piece of equipment and furniture in the building is pre-1970. I dont know, but that doesnt sound quite like the operation of Americas number one ANYTHING to me. Incidentally, I speak from experience. I too was one of those poor, unsuspecting fools who were taken in by the Travelhost scam. I should have immediately ran away when I reviewed files for the three former franchisees who failed in my market within the previous five years, but I was told and reassured that I was the right person with the right background and if anyone could do it I could. Not to mention I was going to receive a tremendous amount of support and guidance from Dallas. HA!! What they didnt tell me (along with alot of other things they didnt tell me) was that in addition to the three failures in five years that I did know about, there were SEVERAL others in the five years prior to that!! They lied to me and filled me with empty promises, none of which were ever fulfilled. They promised a new, dynamic website which would make my business explode. That never happened. They promised Id have a team of people all working closely with ME to help ME succeed. That never happened. They promised me a convention where I would be able to meet and interact with other franchisees from around the country to share ideas.
That never happened. They promised me regular phone calls and unparalleled support. That never happened.
In fact, just getting them to return MY calls when I needed them was like pulling teeth. I never received any support or guidance from them at all. Oh I did receive a few calls on a regular basis, however. Whenever it was time to put out an edition and payment was due. Oh they would never forget that. But when I needed something anything forget it. They did put me through a 2 day training program, for which I had to arrange and pay for my own flight and hotel accommodations. And let me tell you what a JOKE that was!! NOTHING useful was provided and it turned out to be a colossal waste of time and money on my part. Can you believe they actually had their head accounting guy (their CFO, I believe) come in during the training to talk to us about paying our Travelhost bills on time and how the process works in regards to paying THEM their money???? GEEZ!!! Yet absolutely nothing having to do with sales and marketing and ways that I could make money
was discussed!! Unfreakin believable!!!!! Any production issues I had was always MY fault, and their solution to my financial woes and request for assistance and support was always the same; just get out there and sell more ads!. They acted as if I were lazy and ineffective in my efforts. Wait a minute? Werent they the ones who assured me that theirs was a selection process and that I neednt worry about all the past failures in my market because I was the right person with the right background and experience for this??? They implied that my lack of success was due to lack of effort and work ethic on my part. Yet, I was working 12 hour days including weekends!!! And I was very, very successful in all my previous endeavors. Their magazines are atrocious. The worst layout and design of any credible magazine Ive ever seen. And we had absolutely no control or say so in the matter. Even the cover images were horrible and completely non relevant to not only the market but to the entire traveler experience. A bowl of jelly beans??? Really??? I can go on and on but I wont. I held out for as long as I could but ultimately I walked away from the business as so many others have. I just couldnt do it any longer. I was up to my eyeballs in debt, had maxed out every credit card I had and took out a second mortgage on my house. Ive since had to declare bankruptcy and my house was almost foreclosed on. My credit score was destroyed and my savings completely wiped out. And I never made a dime with Travelhost. I considered legal action and consulted with an attorney but decided to simply cut my losses and move on. One thing Travelhost does well is defend itself in court. It has to.
While practically their entire staff was laid off, the one person they kept and always will is their attorney. Think about it. They have an in-house attorney on staff on their payroll! Not just an attorney they use when necessary, but one who actually offices there and draws a salary. What does that tell you about them?? In fact, I happen to know that they are involved in a class action law suit right now as I write this. A group of several former, failed franchisees have filed suit against Travelhost and its in court now. I probably should have jumped on that band wagon but oh well. Im now regaining control of my life. Im back at work, making six figures (yeah I was the failure!), with an excellent benefits package and great, employer provided health insurance. Dont get me wrong I loved the idea of being in business for myself and will be again someday soon. But next time, I will be much more careful and listen to my instincts before hanging my entrepreneurial hopes on such a bogus, outdated, archaic, obsolete scam company such as Travelhost.

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