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In the wake of the announcement that third quarter profits have plummeted for online travel site, YTB, comes the announcement that the company has decided to mix some things up in their management team.

The company announced this week that they have promoted J. Kim Sorensen to Vice Chairman and Andrew Cauthen to President. 

Sorenson, who was previously president of YTB International, will remain President and Chief Executive of the company’s subsidiary, YTB Travel Network. 

Cauthen joined YTB since 2004 as the company’s Chief Operating Officer and then moved up to serve as President of YourTravelBiz in 2006. Cauthen was then named COO of YTB International in January 2008.

YTB has been hit pretty hard these last few months, not only have their profits plummetted almost 90% percent, but they’re being investigated for illegal practices in two different states, they’ve had to lay people off and just yesterday came word that they had to sell an office building and their learjet.  Hopefully these reassignments will shake things up a bit and get the company going in the right direction. 

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YTB International Inc., has just released their financial results for the third quarter, and not surprisingly, the company did not do well.

Currently, the online travel agency which uses independent sales reps to sell travel packages, is under investigation by two different state attorney generals, in Illinois and California, for allegedly operating a pyramid scheme.

Corporate filings (YTBLA: OTC) show pretty meager earnings for the third quarter, showing a profit of only $288,000 in the three months ending September 30th. That is a huge decline from the same quarter last year when the company raked in over $2 million dollars in profit.

Filing with the SEC show that while revenue grew, so did its operating expenses which climbed 13 percent this year. All total, net loss for the nine months ending September 30th was $3.4 million dollars.

“While we are disappointed by the reduction in our net income, we are also aware that much of the softness we are seeing is reflective of both an industry-wide trend and a difficult comparison to last year’s explosive growth,” company CEO Scott Tomer said Monday. “In the face of a looming recession, growing companies face the difficult choice of either cutting back on marketing efforts to save on expenses, or increasing these efforts in order to capture the increasingly selective customer,” he added

The company said that it plans to help raise cash by selling some of their assets, including an office building in Edwardsville as well as the company’s Learjet.

The YTB stock has gotten hammered this year.  From a high of over $4 to where it sits today at around $0.33, the company’s issues continue to mount as concerns about the ongoing lawsuits and financial situation continue to plague them.

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YTB, the embattled online travel website has just announced the launch of their brand new updated website. The direct sales company, which has been in the news lately due to a variety of lawsuits regarding how the company operates, hopes that the new site will attract new users as well as provide visitors with more detailed information about the company.

The newly updated site includes lots of bright bold colors and graphics as well as user friendly tools and improved navigational capabilities but we really liked the old one better. The company has also expanded the content of the site to give users more information on the company and its leaders.

New features on the site include details of the soon to be completed corporate headquarters, features on company founders and a brand new Investor Relations page. The Investor Relations Page is probably the most important due to concerns about the company hiding details about its business practices. Visitors to the site can now take a look at the company’s stock information, SEC filings, press releases, information on the Board of Directors and corporate officers as well as and FAQ section and general corporate information.

“This new site will provide our online visitors with a more exciting and informative look into YTB today and provide a taste of where we are going tomorrow,” said J. Scott Tomer, Chief Executive Officer of YTB.

Regardless of what you think of the company, the new site is worth taking a look at. It is very user-friendly and has a lot of really good information about the company. The new site is big and bold and colorful and chock full of relevant up to date info on the company and its financial standing. The only odd thing about the site is that it seems that it was built purely for investors and those interested in the financial side of the company. There is not a lot of information on how to become an agent for the company, or its compensation plans. Take a look and let us know what you think…….

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The news just keeps getting worse for YTB after being sued by former employees, having a class action suit filed against them and being sued by the California Attorney General, along with the most recent firings of over 20 of its employees, now comes word that a board member has resigned.

John Simmons, a prominent attorney, has just announced that he has resigned from the board of YTB. Both Simmons and the online travel company were careful when making statements about his departure.

YTB released a statement saying, “Mr. Simmons’ resignation was prompted by his belief that as a general matter he could not effectively influence the practices of the company’s management. Mr. Simmons has not furnished the company with any written correspondence concerning the circumstances surrounding his resignation.”

Simmons, an attorney specializing in personal injury law, did return calls to reporters, but declined to offer any other statement, instead saying that he had reviewed the statement given by the company and that comment will have to suffice.

Simmons served on the company’s Investment Committee and was considered and Independent Director by YTB.

YTB made sure to file all necessary papers, and did file the appropriate 8K with the SEC to formally announce the resignation.

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