I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving, and is looking forward to a happy and successful holiday season ahead!

I know it’s been a while since my last post, and I wanted to get back in the saddle by talking about a question that I’ve probably been asked a hundred times in the last couple of years:

“Is the Travelhost Magazine non-compete enforceable, and why?

Well, as you all know, I’m not an attorney…nor do I give legal advice.  I have, however, talked to many attorneys about this…and they all have something different to say:

“It depends.”

Most say that it’s not enforceable, depending on what state you operate in, and that there are many good reasons why it’s no good.

Some people claim that the AP’s are not in the same business as Travelhost, as the AP’s make money from selling ads…and Travelhost makes money from printing.

Some claim that there are no proprietary methods worth protecting used in the process, and some claim that it’s unlawful to deprive someone from earning a living without proving irreparable harm.

Most claim that Travelhost forced the Associate Publishers out of business, defaulting on their contract to begin with…rendering the non-compete portion irrelevant.

I’m not posting today to argue any one of these particular defenses.

THE PUBLISHERS ADVOCATE is here to bring you the Travelhost Magazine  information and news you need, to make the right decisions.

As most of you are aware, many Travelhost Magazine Associate Publishers have left the mothership, and have started magazines on their own.  Some have joined forces to create a national magazine, some have gone independent in their own areas of the country.

This is no secret.

One thing all of these entrepreneurs have in common…they’re now much better off, AND…

They are all actually profitable now!

This is ALSO proof that the “Travelhost Magazine Business Opportunity” is a failure.

But, I digress.

Since all of these smart entrepreneurs have left, Travelhost has not been happy, needless to say.  Travehost has filed for temporary injunctions in an attempt to shut them down, so they have no way to continue to support their families.

That makes me sick.

There is some good news, though.

(Just because I’m not blogging every day, doesn’t mean I’m not watching.)

A quick google search and a few lucky clicks have landed me smack dab in the middle of some really interesting information:

Travelhost Magazine was DENIED a temporary injunction for one of the people who left!

This is great news for everyone in the Travelhost network, as well as those who left!  I’d be surprised if anyone stayed, knowing this…

See, in order for Travelhost to be awarded a temporary injunction stopping these people from publishing, they had to prove irreparable harm was done to their company.

Travelhost Magazine failed to prove this.

Why?

Because they can’t.  

They can’t, because any irreparable harm they may be experiencing, isn’t coming from people who left Travelhost to go independent (or me, despite what they’d like to believe), it’s coming from their own business model!

The very business model that Mr. James Buerger created 43 years ago.

I suspect that others will leave in droves now, and that other temporary injunctions will not fly.  I also suspect that Travelhost will be chasing it’s tail, trying to punish more people who suffered irreparably under the very system they bought into for $60k.

Some “business opportunity,” eh?

Could this be the beginning of the END of Travelhost Magazine?

I don’t know, but I do know that what goes around, comes around…

I wish these people who left (and are now leaving Travelhost) much luck and success in the near future, and hope that Travelhost Magazine changes their business model before it’s too late.

I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again:

Why doesn’t Travehost Magazine spend money fixing it’s broken business model, instead of suing entrepreneurs who are trying to earn a living to support their families?

THE PUBLISHERS ADVOCATE

PS> I think it would be far more profitable building a national magazine with 3-400 publishers across the country.  A magazine with this penetration could be in 75% of the hotel rooms in the country, and demand top dollar for an advertisement.  Kind of like what Getaway Magazine is going to do over time.

I suppose there’s no fun unless your stealing from someone, huh Jimbo?

PPS> Another Associate Publisher throws in the towel…maybe we’ll get an interview with him for the next post?

I would like to remind my readers that I am not a lawyer, nor do I give legal advice.  It is the duty of THE PUBLISHERS ADVOCATE, as a news source, to relay this information, unadulterated, in its original form…the way it was sent to me.

Take a look:

——————-START COMMUNICATION———————

To: All current and former Travelhost Associate Publishers, and current and former national and regional advertisers.

We represent a group of current and former Travelhost Associate Publishers and are considering a law suit against Travelhost Magazine, Travelhost Inc, its Chairman of the board and CEO Jim Buerger, and it’s General Counsel John Price.

We believe that Travelhost has deliberately and knowingly mislead, misinformed and fraudulently induced a number of individuals during the sales and selection process of Associate Publishers and that Travelhost Inc, has knowingly and deliberately mislead, misrepresented and fraudulently induced hundreds of former and current national and regional advertisers to advertise in Travelhost Magazine. It is our opinion that John Price, Travelhost General Counsel, in concert with Jim Buerger has knowingly devised and prepared the necessary documents and marketing strategies and schemes that allowed and encouraged the continuing practice of fraudulently inducing new distributors and associate publishers into the Travelhost network and has thus implicated himself as a co-conspirator in what we believe to be the unlawful misrepresentation of the Travelhost distributorship and optional associate publisher business model as well as the misleading and misrepresented value of placing  national or regional advertisements in Travelhost Magazine.

Our primary grievances include, but are not limited to, come from the “Optional Associate Publishers Agreement”:

Items 2 & 3:

AP shall be entitled to advertising space for use or sale:

We believe that most of you were clearly advised that by purchasing the optional Associate Publisher agreement you would have “$75,000 credit towards the National and/or Regional ad space and that this was the way to “recoup your entire investment” You were probably advised that Travelhost had been printing nationally for 40 +/- years and that many national advertisers were eager to advertise in such a well respected and widely read publication. Some of you were told that Travelhost had a list of national advertising clients waiting for national and regional ad space to become available to them and that Travelhost policy was to allow the AP’s to utilize their unsold ad space and the Associate Publisher would keep all the revenue

The reality that most of you faced was that Travelhost, Inc rarely if ever sells national ads and certainly not at Travelhost rate card pricing and that it was nearly impossible for an AP to do so because Travelhost could not and would not provide accurate, legitimate readership and distribution statistics that are advertising industry recognized, thus causing the promise of reward to be without merit

In addition, to this day Travelhost, after 43 years of operation, has failed to provide ANY type of sales or presentation materials or guidelines or even an honest and clear explanation of the process to the Associate Publisher to have and use to honestly and fairly present the value to a prospective national or regional advertiser. They have never to our knowledge provided even the most basic presentation materials that would allow an AP to even understand the national and regional print cycle nor even an example of what Travelhost, Inc includes as a sales presentation to national or regional advertisers. We believe that Travelhost has knowingly and deliberately induced, by misrepresentation and omission, each Associate Publisher to either commit or attempt to commit fraud on behalf of Travelhost, Inc and we believe that this omission constitutes a level of deceit and misrepresentation to the AP as well as the advertiser. Collectively, after many interviews with former and current associate publishers we have come to believe that Travelhost has misrepresented and exaggerated the value of this and by including it as an enticement to spend the additional $30,000 required for the “optional associate publisher agreement” Travelhost has committed an act of fraud. We believe that Travelhost has offered what the Federal Trade Commission defines as a “Phantom Opportunity”

We are aware of the many advertisers seen in the national and regional sections of your magazines. We estimate the greatest percentage are placed by the AP’s at a drastically reduced price from the published rates found in  the Travelhost National Media Kit which is what Travelhost recommends and in fact insists they themselves do not discount.

Item 5-b

Ad revenue sharing:

We believe that Travelhost, by including the language detailing the commissions to be paid to AP for advertising sold into their market, have suggested that this actually occurs. Collectively, after many interviews with former and current associate publishers we have concluded that this sort of cross-selling does not and has not occurred to the level that it should have been touted as having any value whatsoever. Another “Phantom Opportunity”

Item 6:

Publication discount, Associate Publisher shall be entitled at all times to wholesale pricing:

We are aware that Travelhost has claimed, and testified that their definition of “wholesale pricing” is that the Travelhost pricing schedule identified as “wholesale pricing” is  less than what Travelhost’s  pricing schedule for “retail pricing” is and is therefore “wholesale pricing”. Using the Travelhost formula for definitions, we assume that Travelhost could and may have decided that round is really square, or that blue is now red, or that fraud is now honorable.  It has already been established that Travelhost ‘wholesale” is half of what retail commercial printers will bill for at least equal quality product. We believe that Travelhost testified that they are the ONLY printer in America that will print a magazine and provide the “extras’ such as providing proofs, making sure that the images and text all fit on the page, and providing links to generic information on the web and arranging webinars that help publishers with their publication, and that these services somehow makes them a publisher, not a printer, because no other commercial printer will do these things. We already have a number of commercial printers eager and willing to testify and have provided documentation showing that they do all of these things, and more. They charge retail, which is generally half of what Travelhost charges for their printing services which include the “extras”. Collectively, after many interviews with former and current associate publishers we have concluded that the onerous printing prices represented by Travelhost as “wholesale” have been the leading cause of failure to successfully build a profitable business and in most cases has driven you in to bankruptcy. Furthermore we believe  that   there is a best marginal value to the promise of regional/national ad sales and that there is absolutely no value to the commission sharing scheme represented by Travelhost and that the additional $30,000 for the “optional” Associate Publishers agreement promises “wholesale publishing pricing” which does not occur. We believe and intend to prove in a court of law that Travelhost has knowingly, willfully and deliberately set forth to collect the additional $30,000 with the historical facts proving that Travelhost knew and knows that it would take on average 4.5 years for an AP to recoup the additional $30,000 through the discounted pricing, and that historical data will prove that Travelhost clearly recognizes and knows that rarely does a Travelhost associate publisher even stay in business that long!

Intellectual Property:

We know that each market shown to be represented by Travelhost on the Travelhost website, www.travelhost.com is either a market that is still in production and printing a magazine or that the market has gone out of business and is in actuality not a market being represented by Travelhost with the  majority of the markets shown being “dark” markets. Each market, whether “dark” or live; contain the last or current issue of the Travelhost Magazine that was printed in that market. Travelhost has testified that they, Travelhost Inc, own ALL materials submitted to Travelhost to be printed in each market. The maps you bought and paid for, all images and photographs, the ads you or your client paid to be designed, the feature articles you wrote or paid for are according to Travelhost their property. There is no compensation to either the former or current associate publishers for use of any of this intellectual property. We believe  the Travelhost scheme is to secure enough intellectual property, via the “publication builder” to render the associate publishers and distributors “without value” in the plan to devise and promote www.travelhost.com  as a web based travel publication featuring booking, packaging and advertising opportunities for the sole use and profit of Travelhost, Inc. According to sworn testimony by Travelhost, Inc, the matter of intellectual rights is spelled out to you in their “Production Manual” and by virtue of you receiving the “Production Manual” you have agreed to these terms. We have thoroughly reviewed several Travelhost Production Manuals as well as each version of “Distributorship Agreements” and “Optional Associate Publisher Agreement” and find no language pertaining to the relinquishment of your intellectual property and believe that you are due considerable monetary compensation for its use by Travelhost, Inc and www.travelhost.com.

Franchise Laws

Further, we believe that most of the states represented by former or current distributors and associate publishers will find that Travelhost is in violation of state franchise laws and we are positive that they have violated the spirit of the federal franchise laws. We intend to pursue this vigorously. We are aware that Travelhost tries very hard to hide the fact that they have crossed the threshold of being a franchise, but the courts have already upheld, in some states, that Travelhost has and is in violation of franchise laws. Probably another fact they failed to mention to you.

We have complete confidence that Travelhost has no justifiable defense or precedent to exonerate them from what we believe to be egregious acts of fraud and misrepresentation. There is precedent and it is a fact that Travelhost has already been found guilty of such fraud and misrepresentation and have settled cases with former associate publishers requiring plaintiffs to agree to a non disclosure statement effectively keeping these facts hidden.

We are certain that many of you have joined the Travelhost network and lost your entire investment, after Travelhost had already been found guilty of fraud and that you were not informed that you were spending $60,000 to be part of a brand that was operating and indeed recruiting you under circumstances very similar if not identical to what they were found guilty of.

  National and Regional Advertisers ripped off

We are sending this to all current and past national and regional advertisers because we believe you were and are victims of fraud and misrepresentation  in that you’ve  purchased a national advertisement in Travelhost Magazine naturally assuming  that by paying $36,000 for a full page national ad  or whatever price the associate publisher or Travelhost Inc, could sell it for, were actually going to have their ad in ALL Travelhost markets, nationally, when in reality the ad would run in a maximum of one-third of the publishing markets. The only way to actually have an ad in all Travelhost magazines the advertiser would be required to purchase a minimum of three months of ads, and in some cases four months, a verified fact that many advertisers were unaware of. We are convinced that there no advertisers who would knowingly pay for a “national ad” that was not actually in a national publication, nationally!

 We are currently gathering contact information for all past and current national/regional advertisers in Travelhost Magazine

As a note of caution; Travelhost has recently testified that if a National or Regional advertiser were to challenge the scheme and sue for reimbursement for their ad dollars that the AP who sold the ad would be liable for those damages and re-imbursements, NOT Travelhost, Inc. We intend to seek damages sufficient for ALL associate publishers who may have sold any regional or national ad space to reimburse any advertiser whose challenge to the representation of readership and distribution cannot be satisfied and for advertisers who are part of this suit to be paid directly from forthcoming settlements, if any.

We believe and it is our opinion that as a former or current Travelhost associate publisher you are owed damages at minimum

1. One-half of what you spent on printing with Travelhost. We encourage you to add those numbers up.

2. Your entire $30,000 spent for the Optional Associate Publishers agreement.

3. Considerable punitive damages: the amount of punitive damages, if any is determined by a jury of your peers.

4. an undetermined but substantial amount based on the unauthorized use of intellectual property, likely to be part of punitive damages determined by a jury

We fully expect that Travelhost will challenge each and every claim we are making but send this with extreme confidence that Travelhost has no desire or ability to mount a credible defense when there are at least 100 former and current associate publishers willing to testify to the facts as presented in this letter of notice. We further believe that Travelhost has no desire to attempt to justify to the vast number of national and regional advertisers they have mislead and misrepresented themselves to.

We believe that we have many things in our favor.

We have the truth, we have the facts, we have documentation, we have investigative journalists and reporters in the media and press that are eager to learn more and anxious to publicize their findings, and we have Travelhost with a clear track record of what we believe to be fraudulent operations over many years, and we have many of you who will be part of this fight for justice.

If you are in agreement with any of these assertions and feel as though you too were fraudulently induced into the Optional Associate Publishers agreement or that your market was not profitable because of the onerous printing costs which were represented as “Wholesale”, and that if your printing costs were half what you paid Travelhost until you went broke that you would have been profitable and probably still in business, or that you are now struggling to meet the print costs charged by Travelhost, or that you would like to add considerable profit to your business by paying “fair market” pricing for your printed materials than please contact THE PUBLISHERS ADVOCATE or Randy Duplecion. We will gather all contacts and comments to be delivered to the legal team selected to handle the “multi-plaintiff complaint.

If you have purchased either “National” or “Regional” ads to be placed in Travelhost Magazines it is very likely that you have reimbursements and damages due to you as well, you too may contact us randy@getaway-media.com

If you feel as though the allegations detailed in this memo are truthful and if you desire to stop Travelhost from continuing these predatory practices I urge you to contact the FTC and the Attorney General of your state and to also write a letter to your congressional representative to file an official report and complaint. We also suggest you consider joining us in this lawsuit.

——————–END COMMUNICATION———————

THE PUBLISHERS ADVOCATE

PS>I can be contacted via email by clicking the “Uncle Sam” icon to the right of your screen, or by clicking here.

Go to “Yakima”as a destination in the website and take a look at his magazine:

http://www.travelhost.com/washingtonwinecountry/magazine/current-issue/

Take a look at the top right-hand portion of the cover, and look at the dates…It says “October to April” for the next issue.

That’s six months folks!!

I was pretty sure he got that same deal for the last two years too, but it wasn’t ON THE COVER like it is now!

Talk about rubbing it in the faces of the current Associate Publishers?  OR, “Travel Host’s” as Buerger likes to call them.

That tells me that Mr. Jeff Loudon is SAVING himself a TON of money by printing one less issue than everyone else.

Before he went silent with me regarding Travelhost Magazine a couple of years ago, after operating a blog that was similar to mine, Jeff said he would accept either:

1) a sizable chunk of money from Travelhost Magazine for its wrongsdoings, OR

2) a drastically better deal for printing going forward.

My guess is that he got a deal that is a heck of a lot better than the rest of the Associate Publishers at Travelhost Magazine.

You see, I believe Travelhost will in fact be fair to people, like Jeff Loudon that have the nerve to stand up to them.

How many of the rest of the northern, namely “cold winter” markets get to skip a $15,000 useless printing in January?

For that matter, how does a guy painted by Buerger as “being a total failure because of a “highly negative attitude” continue in business for years in a small northern market?

I mean, lets face it, if major metro markets like Chicago can’t seem to make it…how does Yakima (wherever the heck that is) make it?

A special deal.  That’s how.

I think Jeff Loudon, like the other Travelhost “cheerleaders,” (think Portenor, Durant, Eli and Ina) is one of the lucky few selected for extremely preferential treatment by Jim Buerger.

I don’t know how or why the rest of the Associates of Travelhost put up with this.

Anyone have any ideas?

THE PUBLISHERS ADVOCATE

PS> If you’re one of the select few, who get the preferential treatment from Travelhost, and you would like to share how you attained that status…let us all know.  We’d be glad to have you with us…

Why would anyone in their right mind sign up for the Vice President of Marketing spot at Travelhost Magazine?

Does she even KNOW what she’s potentially getting herself into?  Is her salary worth a stint in a Federal Prison?

Fraud is ABOUND in the Travelhost Marketing Department!  Just ask David Portener!

Take a look at Dave’s replacement:

http://www.wiredprnews.com/2011/09/21/travelhost-appoints-vp-of-marketing-brenda-freeman-cantrell-returns-to-travelhost_2011092122474.html

Evidently, Buerger must have gotten himself a “fall-woman,” to throw under the bus when the Feds come-a-knockin’ at the door?

Take Our Poll

In this PR release, Buerger is quoted:  “Many TRAVELHOST Associates will remember Brenda during her tenure from the mid-80s to mid-90s.”

Really?

How many Associates do you have left from the mid-80s to mid-90s Jim?

8 maybe?

Not a whole lot, for “Americas Number 1 Travel Magazine.”

Just goes to show what a 95% FAILURE RATE will do to a company over the years.

Sorry, I digress….

Anyway, THE PUBLISHERS ADVOCATE will be keeping a close eye on the marketing materials coming out of Dallas for the “Travelhost Magazine Opportunity” and “Associate Publisher Development,” as well as the materials used to market “Regional and National Advertising space.”

Seems as if there are many ADVERTISERS that have been defrauded by Travelhost as well, not just associate publishers.  See, in order to sell these regional and national ads, many advertisers have been given some exceedingly exaggerated stats regarding the actual reach of “America’s Number 1 Travel Magazine.”

I’m sure they’ll all be accurate and truthful now, especially with all of the legal action taking place throughout the country…once these entrepreneurs get into the courtroom, you never know what they’ll say or do.

For those not aware, take a look:  http://www.justia.com/search.py?cx=001017683474852908061%3Aoct7h3tcday&q=travelhost&sa=Search+Justia&cof=FORID%3A11

See, with all of this stuff going on, and all of the people watching what Travelhost Magazine is up to…Jim Buerger picked an interesting time to add some brass to the Travelhost family.

Maybe Travelhost has decided to change their 43 year old practice of scamming entrepreneurs, advertisers and themselves…and start over?

I’d be surprised, but hey…you never know.

THE PUBLISHERS ADVOCATE

PS> Is there a class-action lawsuit on the horizon for Travelhost Magazine, Mr. James Buerger and it’s general council, Mr. John Price?  Stay tuned to THE PUBLISHERS ADVOCATE to find out!

To Whom It May Concern:

I was a defrauded Travelhost Magazine Associate Publisher (AP) that closed my business in 2010 after basically working for free for Travelhost (TH) for the better part of 5 years. Yes, I eked  a small wage, but would have done as well with less stress at my local McDonald’s…and would not have been out of pocket $65,000 for the “privilege“ of doing so. However, I was a lucky one, as I got out only losing: my initial investment of $65K, 5 years of actual profitability, and the value of my business when I was ready to sell it.

So lets say I was only out about $350K or so…to start.

AP’s were all originally sold by TH, through express promises an “independent business” with “major marketing support at any time,” and up-to-date (namely, not straight out of the 1950′s) magazine format, a high-end quality of print and publication in a “national network of 135+ markets, including the majority of the large US cities.” We were promised that this national footprint would lend itself to highly profitable regional and national ad sales that would be a major cornerstone of success.

None of this was true, in fact, things turned out to be just the opposite.

Travelhost also promised “wholesale pricing” if an AP would pay $30,000 extra to become an “Associate Publisher” instead of a mere “distributor.”  This and the (so-called) highly valuable rights to sell regional and national ads are expressly stated in writing in the Associate Publisher agreement Travelhost Magazine and Mr John Price created.

I never sold one regional or national ad in 5 years, because there was no significant regional or national penetration of Travelhost Magazine to speak of in the New York Metro Area.

These were all blatant lies by Travelhost. Perhaps the most blatant lie was the fact that TH charged 2.5 times retail for printing as opposed to “wholesale,” resulting in a $50,000 per year overcharge (franchise fee?) on my business that barely grossed $100,000 per year before all expenses.  Also, through  breaching all these promises to other APs who quickly failed, (repeatedly in each city) there was a much smaller geographical publication footprint than repeatedly promised…not “135 large markets and growing to 300+ with a state of the art web channel.” Rather a 90 market publication that was rapidly contracting because Travelhost Magazine was in breach of all the above promises to all AP’s at the time of the sales pitch and thereafter.

Currently, Travelhost is in less than 50 markets and very few are large cities.  Everyone has gone broke repeatedly in these markets. The website is a total joke that has less hits than this blog by new queries.

I and the AP’s repeatedly asked Travelhost to live up to its end of the deal…to no avail. Travelhost promised: “wholesale pricing,” a marketing plan, including ongoing support that was not forthcoming, and an up-to-date magazine that was competitive in the market place.  (orally they promised this, and if they said they were not going to provide any marketing support as the contracts so state…why is Travelhost so intent on dictating the form and content of the magazine, including paper quality and layout?)

Having discovered that Travelhost Magazine was not in as many markets as they repeatedly claimed in all its sales materials, the sale of “national” or “regional” ads was and is totally impossible.  This “benefit” given to AP’s to induce the sale, valued at $70,000 by TH (at the time I was sold the region) was completely worthless, crippling the value of my (and each investor’s) business.

(Of course, Travelhost never tells prospects that selling regional or national ads virtually never happens and is more or less impossible)

The combination of all these TH lies led me to a $65,000 purchase of a business in a franchise sytem where 95% of the investors fail and were burdened with: no support, marketing or otherwise, no capability of selling important regional or national ads, and a cost to put magazines out that is about $50.000 per year higher than retail printing cost by any other vendor, let alone promised “wholesale” pricing. I and 90% of those defrauded by Travelhost were forced to work for free for Travelhost. Many unfortunates have had it worse, much worse…continuing to go out of pocket each month after years building up the business that was handicapped by all of TH’s breached promises. In many cases people have lost everything: 401K’s, life savings and their homes.

There are many others, some who have told their story on my blog (www.publishersadvocate.wordpress.com)

Having been repeatedly stalled by Travelhost after many complaints on all these extremely pressing issues, the APs, including me, were faced with two extremely difficult choices: 1) They could let their business fail because TH refused to rectify these false promises, or 2) they could seek another printer and stay alive in business in order to continue to feed their families.

In my case, I simply let my business fail out of fear that Travelhost Magazine would wrongfully sue me like it has done many times before to other entreprenuers.   However, I have spent hundreds of hours operating a blog that tells investors the truth about this scam. I’m hopefully saving a few people from suffering this same tragedy.

Others have taken a rightful path of getting the printing done elsewhere to survive. The costs are vastly reduced, the magazines are much higher quality and they survived…only to be sued…wrongfully by Travelhost Magazine and James Buerger via John Price, Jim’s staff council.

These entrepreneurs should be allowed to continue publishing.

Since Travelhost claims it’s nothing but a “printer” and “publisher,” how can it be irreparably harmed pending trial for damages?  What a judge ought to be thinking about in these cases, rather than shutting down these surviving entrepreneurs, is how to refer the matter to the prosecuting attorney and how to shut the 43 year old TH scam down for good.

*The Publisher’s Advocate will not stop warning unsuspecting investors and collecting evidence on the Travelhost Magazine Business Opportunity SCAM until this has been accomplished.*

THE PUBLISHERS ADVOCATE

PS>

I’d be glad to testify about this at any time, in any state, by phone or otherwise…and also put this in affidavit form upon request.

***PPS>*** Looks like Travelhost Magazine has a new Vice President of Marketing…***

No $60K.  Nada.  Free.  Pro Bono…

Why?

I think I know why…but hey, I might be wrong:

It’s MY OLD MARKET.

That’s right, Westchester New York and The Hudson River Valley….Home of THE PUBLISHERS ADVOCATE!

I guess Jimbo wants me to have some competition should I decide to go out and start another magazine in February when my 2 year non-compete agreement expires.

I bet you dollars to donuts that Jimbo goes a step further…FREE PRINTING!

He’s done it before…he’ll do it again.

All to piss me off?  LOL, it’s OK by me!  Bring it on!

If I were a current Travelhost Magazine Associate Publisher, I’d be upset about this…really pissed…that’s for sure.

FREE?

Come on Jimbo…I thought Travelhost Magazine was a branded magazine, and that there was VALUE there.

If there’s value, it sure isn’t good to give it away for FREE!  

Is it?

I suppose that’s the only way to survive with Travelhost Magazine...SPECIAL DEALS.

See, apparently, some people get discounted pricing, while others pay the full boat.

That doesn’t seem all that fair, does it?

Actually, some Associate Publishers survived many years with their deeply discounted pricing…before they finally can’t even make it on that.

Then…POOF. They disappear. Never to be heard of again. (except for me, and a few others…but we’re gathering more support than you can imagine!!!)

Sad it has to be this way…but Travelhost…watch out!

THE PUBLISHERS ADVOCATE

PS> Maybe the person who I referenced in the previous post should call Travelhost Magazine, and ask for the SPECIAL DEEP DISCOUNTED PRICING that some of the other Associate Publishers are getting or have gotten in the past in order to stay afloat?

I bet our notorious friend in Washington Wine Country (Jeff Loudon) isn’t paying the full boat (2.5 times retail) to Travelhost for his printing?  Jeff, we’d love to hear from you out there…maybe it’s a good time to pipe in and guide some of the failing markets on how to survive the Travelhost Business Model????

I personally know of others who have gotten a deal…so if you’re a current Travehost Magazine Associate Publisher, maybe it’s worth giving it a try?

PPS> Maybe since the FTC, Attorney General(s), and other agencies are breathing down his neck, Jimbo and Price are trying to beef up the Travelhost Magazine network with FREE MARKETS in order to appear a success?

I mean, with the number of Associate Publishers dwindling, it might look better to the FTC (and general public) if there were a few more “markets” in existence?

With FREE PRINTING, there’s no WAY they can LOSE, right?

Plus, it would certainly make any attempts by Associate Publishers and Travelhost to sell national or regional ad space less fraudulent, no?

Then, maybe the FTC (et. al) will overlook the 98%+ FAILURE RATE and FRAUD of selling markets and ad space if they puff out their 43 year old “branded” chest a little?  That, coupled with their wonderful website with a fantastic alexa rating, should provide enough added value to pay 2.5 times RETAIL for printing…right?

LOL, I dont think so.

One thing I was wondering though…is how many Travelhost Associate Publishers (present and past) were actually shown files of previous publishers in their assigned territory prior to signing any agreements with Travelhost Magazine?  (not that Travelhost, Jim Buerger, or John Price go out of their way to show these files to you unless you demand them…I mean, how else can the slick sales process go on, if someone wanted proof of success? i think you’d be shown the door at that point…)

I sure wasn’t shown any files, and I’m sure most others weren’t either.

That sounds like FRAUD to me, doesn’t it?

Eh…they probably all got damaged in a flood anyway.  You know the weather in Texas, lol

THE PUBLISHERS ADVOCATE

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A message recently went out to the entire network of Travelhost Associate Publishers (or “Travel Hosts” as Jimmy B likes to call them), take a look…unedited, name withheld:

“Hello my Associate Publisher friends,

I’m humbly asking your help this morning. October would be my 2 month publishing anniversary and yet I am pushing my magazine off to December. I am still finding myself hovering at around billing just barely enough to cover printing. With each issue, I’m going further into the hole with the other costs of running a business. I need to get a good $5-7,000 increase in billing for a Dec/Jan/Feb issue or I will no longer be able to continue.

While most of my magazine is local businesses, the larger chains usually use ad agencies and seem to “get” rate card and print costs and don’t normally argue the pricing as much. Does anyone have a chain restaurant with a corporate contact that they might share with me? I’m thinking if I could pick up a couple of these they may go a long way to helping save my magazine.

After spending all (my spouse’s) and my retirement monies and two years of so much hard work, I’m sad to think I may have to discontinue. Any help you can give us is so greatly appreciated!!!!

Thanks so much!”

THE PUBLISHERS ADVOCATE

PS…Need I even comment on this posting?

98% of Travelhost Associate Publishers go broke…period.  Many don’t even realize it’s because they’re being so grossly overcharged.  This person, I believe, was one of the Travelhost advocates, who emailed me a year ago to tell me I was wrong about Travelhost.  I wonder if that person still feels that way now?

Sad.

Time after time again, smart entrepreneurs blow their entire life savings and or retirement plans on a business model that doesn’t work 98% of the time.

And, they pay $60K for the privilege to do it.  I did it, this person did it, and many others have done it.  You’re not alone.

All the while, Travelhost Magazine and Jim Buerger lead these people to believe it’s their own fault, and has nothing to do with FRAUD.)

We know the truth here at THE PUBLISHERS ADVOCATE.

PPS…anyone know how many AP’s are actually left?

PPPS…for all those AP’s who are left, and who follow this blog, don’t forget about Cesario from Mexico.  He has print credit with Travelhost for sale at a 20% discount.  Get it while it’s HOT!

The amazing thing is that they know how much I’m struggling with this business yet they have made no attempt to help me in any way whatsoever. They keep telling me it’s my fault and that I just need to stay focused. This “issue” always comes up whenever it’s time to print another magazine edition and they want to make sure I print and pay them. But, once they get their money and ship my “cheap, low-quality, and out-dated merchandise” (i.e. my magazines) I don’t hear from them again for weeks or even months.

Of course, there’s really no one left there to hear from anyway. You’re right about there only being around 20 employees left at Travelhost. Down from over 100 a few years ago when their evil empire was at it’s peak. However most of those 20 employees left work out in the production plant and they only have 3 left in their so-called “marketing department” (which I understand is little more than a tiny closet/storage area adjacent to Buerger’s office which is larger than the entire first floor of my house).

3 people- that’s it. No wonder I never hear from them or that they don’t return calls. And they promised me a world of support and assistance when I was considering Travelhost initially. I did consider several other business opportunities along with Travelhost originally, but I was blind sided by Travelhost’s lies and misrepresentations.

All I can do now is cut my losses, pick up the pieces of my life, and move on. But I do plan on spreading the word. Thank you, Brian, for providing this information in the name of honesty and integrity. If you’re considering purchasing a Travelhost FRANCHISE, please do your research. Don’t be fooled. And don’t let what happened to me and countless others happen to you.

~I’m  Done!”~

THE PUBLISHERS ADVOCATE

PS>There are literally HUNDREDS of stories like this one out there…can all of these “hand-picked by Travelhost Magazine” people be wrong????

PPS> To file a legitimate complaint against Travelhost with the FTC, go here: https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/

Jim Buerger, American Icon

Jim Swaggart, American Icon

No it’s not the hair…but you have a point there.

They both like the ladies…yes, but not the point.

They both made a lot of money from “suckers.”

Close, but not the point.

The compelling similarity: They both epitomize hypocrisy to extremes rarely witnessed in the “annals” of American history!

Jimmy Swaggart chased anything wearing a skirt, and shouted from his bully pulpit the evils of adultery for decades.  He was the charismatic maestro of high-energy salvation. In the course of each sermon, the fired-up preacher would: rant, weep, thrust his Bible high in the air and strut the stage this way and that, whipping his followers and himself to a devotional frenzy!

An acute businessman as well as a spellbinding performer, he built an electronic empire with hundreds of millions of viewers worldwide and an income from contributions of $150 million a year.

I think we all know how and why his career ended…

Jimmy Buerger has spent 4 decades telling potential investors that the only obstacle to potential success and riches with Travelhost is their own ineptitude or laziness…all the while he cynically witnessed serial failures of hundreds of “Associate Publishers” over 4 decades because of the vast obstacles he put between the investors and their success.

These obstacles included: gross over-charges to his “Associates,” inferior inflexible magazine quality, and inflexible mandates that insured huge profits (MILLIONS) for Travelhost and James Buerger, while bleeding out hundreds of unsuspecting new investors every year.  Most ending up BROKE.

James Buerger has also been running a FRANCHISE for decades, without following FTC guidelines put in place to PROTECT people from business scams like his.  This has cost unsuspecting investors hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not MILLIONS, because Travelhost MISLEADS these people.

Travelhost convinces potential investors they have an EXCELLENT CHANCE OF SUCCESS, when in fact the FAILURE RATE IS 98%+

Two different Jimmys, same technique, similar downfalls???  It wont be much longer until we find out…the gig is up!

THE PUBLISHERS ADVOCATE

PS> Here’s the link to file a complaint on the FTC website. It costs you nothing, and you can file a report anonymously.  If we get a few more complaints filed, perhaps the FTC will take action:

www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov

THIS BLOG CONTAINS OVER 200 PAGES OF INFORMATION ABOUT THE TRAVELHOST MAGAZINE “BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY.”  FOR ALL NEW PUBLISHING INDUSTRY PRACTICES BLOG VISITORS, CLICK HERE TO BRING YOU TO THE BEGINNING OF THIS BLOG, SO THAT YOU MAY HAVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE INFORMATION AVAILABLE HERE.  YOU CAN ALSO SEARCH OLDER POSTINGS ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE OF THIS BLOG UNDER “AREAS OF DUE DILIGENCE FOR TRAVELHOST.”  USE THE DROP DOWN MENU TO PICK A MONTH.  THE EARLIER POSTS FROM NOVEMBER-JANUARY OF 2009 EXPLAIN THE BASICS, AND DETAILS ARE REVEALED IN THE LATER POSTS.

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Evidently Travelhost doesn’t have ONE SINGLE Associate Publisher left.

Take a look:

http://love.travelhost.com/love/associate-publishers/

To quote, directly from the Travelhost Magazine website:

“Our independent business representatives, formally known as Associate Publishers, yet better known as Travel Hosts, are entrepreneurs who are the experts in their local communities on travel and tourism. They LOVE what they do and that is to introduce travelers to those businesses that they would recommend to their family and friends.”

Independent business representatives?  Travel “Hosts?”

Not Associate Publishers????

Why the change, after 43 years?

I wonder if the 40 or so “Travel Hosts” that Travelhost has left know about this change?

Better yet, I wonder when a new “Travel Host Independent Business Representative” agreement is coming down the pipeline?

I guess the old “associate publisher” agreement is so riddled with (less than helpful) language, that they just don’t feel like their hands are clean without restructuring the “business opportunity” to read better…better for Travelhost Magazine and Jim Buerger?

(Hardly what one would call an opportunity, with a 98% failure rate, by the way.)

I’d be worried, if I were a “Travel Host Independent Business Representative” right about now, especially if I saw a new agreement in my in-box.

I hear that people are looking closely at the old agreement…people like judges, the FTC, and even Associate Publishers and their legal councils.

Travelhost is on the brink of a whole heap of trouble…

And they know it.

~THE PUBLISHERS ADVOCATE~

PS> Has anyone out there ever heard of “Hidden Values” Magazine?  If not, take a look…it’s another interesting business opportunity.  It’s also run by a guy named Jim, out of Dallas:

http://www.hiddenvalues.com/become-a-publisher/

Funny how they have a similar record in the Dallas court system…

http://www.justia.com/search.py?cx=001017683474852908061%3Aoct7h3tcday&q=hidden+values&cof=FORID%3A11

I wonder if both “Jims” meet at the local Rotary Club to discuss their business model?

PPS…I know another similar “Jim.”

I’ll talk about him in my next post?