Is World Ventures a Scam? Travel Business Through Network Marketing
World Ventures
Pros
- High payouts
- Travel business is a good idea
- Savings on travel deals
Cons
- Membership is expensive
- Sales experience required
- Strong focus on recruitment
- Low success rate
- High start-up costs
Name: World Ventures
Website: www.worldventures.com
Price: $54.99/$99.99 per month
Owners: Wayne Nugent & Mike Azcue
Overall rank: 30 out of 100
I’ve reviewed many network marketing businesses to date but have never seen anything like World Ventures. It’s really different from many mlm companies.
l’ve seen companies selling wealth products, jewelry, vitamins, gold, personal care but l’ve never seen MLM selling travel packages.
Now I know everything is possible. Based on what I know about travel business including my experience in this field I can say this type of business can be profitable.
It can be unprofitable too. It really depends on your approach.
Let’s see if World Ventures is the right model for making this business profitable. Is World Ventures a scam? let’s find it out.
Short review of World Ventures
World Ventures is an mlm network marketing company teaching folks how to sell travel packages for a commission. It also allows you to save on travel deals.
Both joining World Ventures or promoting travel packages requires membership to the company.
Prices are not cheap and achieving success with this business requires a lot of time and monetary investment.
Pros of World Ventures
- High payouts
- Travel business is a good idea
- Savings on travel deals
Cons of World Ventures
- Weak support
- Membership is expensive
- Sales experience required
- Strong focus on recruitment
- Low success rate
- High start-up costs
- Flights are NOT included in the packages
This program has led me and many others make a solid income online. Find out how you can too!
World Ventures Review
World Ventures is an MLM company that sells travel deals (packages) and has a strong focus on recruiting new members so they can buy Dreamtrips packages and sell them to other people interested in this type of product. World Ventures offers various packages that fit any budget:
- DreamTrips ($199.95 One-Time payment plus $26.99 per month)
- DreamTrips Life ($199.95 One-Time payment plus $54.99 per month)
- International DreamTrips Life ($199.95 One-Time payment plus $49.98 per month)
- Luxury DreamTrips ($999.99 One-Time payment $99.99 per month)
- DreamTrips U ($99.99 One-Time payment plus $20.99 per month)
As you can see, all these packages are very expensive and the worst thing is that in addition to one time payment you need to pay monthly.
This can’t be acceptable for most people because it’s not easy to continue paying monthly without making sales.
For example, paying $199.95 for DreamTrips and then $26.99 per month is not so much and can be acceptable.
But paying anything more than that can be a big challenge for most people.
NOTE: some info may be outdated because World Ventures changes its price plan often. For more info you should check WorldVentures website.
For example, before their prices were as follows:
- Gold membership – $199 one time + $50 per month
- Platinum membership – $299 one time + $99 per month
At the time of writing this review World Ventures has offered two memberships:
- Platinum – $399.98 initial fee then $99.99 per month
- Gold – $249.98 initial fee then $54.99 per month
World Ventures also had another program called Representative Business System (The Business) which means you needed to pay for it, join and get the right to promote WV packages for a commission. I don’t know if this is still available.
Some of their travel deals have a very good price. If you travel a lot then buying their packages may be a good decision for you.
World Ventures also offers DREAMTRIPS GOLD membership for travellers of any budget:
- Access to DreamTrips, DreamDays, DreamNights and VolunTours
- DreamTrips extras: airport transfers, welcome receptions, hosts, excursions and activities (2)
- DreamTrips Rewards program
- RateShrinker (3)
- Exclusive travel deals year-round
- Flight accident insurance (3)
- DreamTrips Exclusive Deals
- Access to MarketPlace (1)
- DreamTrips Local (1)
- DreamTrips Mall (1 4)
- DreamTrips concierge
- Personal website
- Airport parking and limousine service discounts (1)
If you don’t know what type of membership you should choose you need to contact WorldVentures Independent Representative and they will help you make the right decision.
In fact, by becoming a paying member to WorldVentures you will get the opportunity to travel around the world and save some money and at the same time you will be able to make some money if you can promote the same product ( WorldVentures memberships) to other people.
On DreamTrips.com website you can make all your bookings by using your member ID. You can book online to 70 countries worldwide.
You can also earn rewards points when you stay a paying member to World Ventures or by dining at World Ventures preferred restaurants.
These points can be used when making bookings at Dreamtrips website. You can earn between 50-300 points DT credits. For more info about World Ventures Dreamtrips rewards programs click here.
You can also install Dreamtrips app on your mobile device and make bookings or check for updates easily without using your laptop. You will also get your personal website from World Ventures.
But the material will be duplicate because other people like you will get the same website with the same material.
I mean it will be impossible to get any traffic to your site without spending money. Because your website content will NOT be original. Search engines like Google hate duplicate material.
Support from World Ventures comes from:
- Sponsor
- WorldVentures Advantage
- QuickCoach
- Live Events
They have also live chat option if you have questions that need to be answered. WV Advantage also includes videos that you can watch whenever you want.
What I like about World Ventures
There are some things that I like about World Ventures. The fist thing to mention is regarding their payouts. They are high. This is common to almost all MLM programs. They can pay high commissions because their prices are high. As simple as that. But promoting overpriced product becomes a challenge most of the time for most people.
Second, selling travel packages is a good idea because this type of product /service is always in a high demand. But you need to enter the market with competitive prices otherwise it will be a big challenge to earn a consistent income.
Third, you can save on flights, hotels, rentals, activities, cruises. If you travel a lot it can make a sense to become a member to WorldVentures.
But in order to benefit from these deals you need to become a paying member.
What I don’t like about World Ventures
There are many things that I don’t like about World Ventures and before you decide to join World Ventures or not I want you to know about all these negative aspects of the program. I know a person who was a member of World Ventures for some time and he was not happy with the program. The main reason was that he didn’t get quality support from World Ventures. This is very common for MLM programs. If your sponsor (a person who invited you to join the program) has a good experience in MLM business he can help you achieve success. If your sponsor has no enough experience then your chances for success are very slim.
Membership to World Ventures is very expensive. In addition to high start-up costs you need to pay monthly fees. In my opinion, this type of approach doesn’t make any sense. Some of World Ventures packages may cost you up to $999 (a start-up fee) and plus $99 monthly.
Like all other MLMs, World Ventures has a strong focus on recruiting new members which means you need to bring a lot of people and convince them to join World Ventures. Is it easy? No. Selling travel packages is another headache. If you have no experience in doing it you are going to run into a big problem. I’m personally not a sales person and can’t give you any recommendations.
According to World Ventures’ income disclosure 73.7% or according to some other sources 80% of their members make zero $ though they work hard to achieve success.
You can’t see prices of their Dream Trips packages until you become a paying member to World Ventures. It requires from you some info like your sponsor ID and member ID. It means you can’t do your research and compare prices with other travel companies. If you can’t compare prices how then you can know if World Ventures makes sense as a travel business or not?
You will have the opportunity to attend World Ventures’ trainings, conferences. But you have to pay for it. In my opinion, if you pay for your membership and have some start-up costs related to World Ventures your training must be included. Unfortunately, with World Ventures you have to pay for it.
Upon joining World Ventures you need to bring 4 people to the company and convince them to join WV. This makes some kind of pressure for new members.
The worst thing about World Ventures is that you can’t promote World Ventures’ travel packages as an affiliate marketer. Affiliate marketer can do it without paying a dime to anyone. With World Ventures you have to do it as an MLM marketer ( multi-level network marketing) which means you need to first pay for the product and then sell it. In most cases you can’t return the product after paying for it.
On their website they have only 6 success stories and they have zero comments on them. It looks a little strange in my opinion.
You can’t choose membership package without providing your Sponsor ID.
World Ventures got No. 25 rank on the Direct Selling News Global 100 list BUT according to WV income disclosure 80% of their members make zero $ though they work hard to achieve success. Doesn’t it look strange to you?
I already mentioned in many of my reviews of MLMs that most of them are considered as pyramid schemes. When it comes to World Ventures, I found some facts that you should be aware of before you make your decision.
- World Ventures was announced as a pyramid scheme in South Africa by the National Consumer Commission
- In 2014 their office was shut down in Norway
- In 2017 there was a lawsuit filed against World Ventures in California
Can you become successful with World Ventures?
When it comes to achieving success it’s absolutely possible with any legit program/company.
When it comes to World Ventures and its legitimacy I can’t say it’s a scam. It’s legit.
But in my opinion, with all the negative sides that I’ve described above it’s really hard to imagine how you can achieve success with World Ventures.
Especially if you remember that success rate at World Ventures is very low and according to World Ventures’ income disclosure 73.7% of their members make zero $ chances that you can make money from this MLM program become very slim.
But everything is possible. I can’t say that you can’t make money with World Ventures. Some people are making. So, you decide if this program is the right fit for you.
If you travel a lot and are sure you can sell World Ventures discounted deals to others then joining World Ventures can make a sense to you.
Otherwise you will be wasting your money. This is my personal opinion of the program. I may be wrong too.
Final word on World Ventures
A few years ago I had a travel site abouttrip.com and from my experience I can say this business can be profitable if you know how to do it the right way.
In my opinion, anyone wanting to run such a business can set up a travel website and sell hotel bookings, flight bookings. It can be done through affiliate marketing.
You can sign up for an affiliate program with an established travel site, such as Orbitz.com, Travelnow.com, Booking.com, Hotels.com without paying a dime.
When it comes to World Ventures you will have to pay monthly for your membership and also a start-up fee that can be between $249-$399.
I think it’s too much and doesn’t make any sense. Why would you pay when you can promote travel deals from many other travel sites without paying a dime?
For me personally it doesn’t make any sense to join World Ventures. Is World Ventures a scam? No, I don’t think so. If you travel a lot then you can try World Ventures.
Otherwise I recommend to start with my favorite program that allows you to build an online business from scratch out of your passion or interest. It can be travel or any other field.
Final glance on World Ventures
- High payouts
- Travel business is a good idea
- Weak support
- Membership is expensive
- Sales experience required
- Strong focus on recruitment
- Low success rate
- High start-up costs
- Overall rank: 30 out of 100
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About the Author: Adam
My name is Adam. I'm the founder of Your Income Advisor. My goal is to help others succeed online, by exposing scams and reviewing top rated products. I can help you start your own business online 
By far, the biggest problem with WV is the small fact that THEY ARE NOT PAYING THEIR REPS.
Since September of 2017 thousands of WV reps have not been paid commissions, residuals or dream car/house payments that they earned by recruiting new members into WV.
On 8/2/18, Hong Kong members filed a class action suit in Hong Kong against WV for not paying commissions.
There is also the Yiru RICO case in Federal Court in TX. And the Walker/Wick case in TX (this one will be interesting, cause Walker and Wick were hired by WV to fix and improve some dirty things in WV. They have lots of dirt on the top levels of WV. And WV fired them).
So, it appears that WV is not paying their reps around the world.
https://www.mlmnewsreport.com/worldventures-bankrupt-distributors-resign-over-unpaid-commissions/
Thank you for the comment Rob. I really didn’t know of this fact and it’s good that you brought it to our attention. The rating I gave to this mlm company is not much different from what you brought to our attention. I believe other visitors will read your complaint and will NOT join World Ventures.
From what I understand, members in Hong Kong were no longer being paid because they were in fact scamming the company. They would sign up members, get the commissions and then have their members and reps quit before the 30 days was up. WV execs caught wind and shut it down. Individuals in corporate who were taking money from the company were let go as well. Yes, you are correct that reps were not getting paid. I cannot speak for everyone, but I can speak for myself and members of my team that I am in constant contact with and we have all since received those back commissions.
The prices when I originally joined were a little pricy, but has since gone down a great deal. The company has made some significant changes in the last 3 years since I’ve been a member and rep. Is there always room for improvement? Absolutely. There’s always a way to make things better. But I truly believe in my heart this company is not scamming people.
I don’t know why it happened but anyway it’s bad. Thank you for sharing your experience with all of us. I hope others will benefit from it when making a decision. Good to know that the company is not scamming people and in my review I said that World Ventures was not a scam. But I never recommend MLMs to anyone. Because most of them are not good in terms of income opportunity and second because I believe affiliate marketing is way better than MLM business in my opinion.
In this day and age, I find MLM to be an anachronism. I am sure there are SOME people who earn decently, but it seems they are a tremendously disproportionate minority. What I object to most about World Ventures are their high membership fees. It seems that the best way to earn significant income with an MLM is to get in real early and sit pretty at the top of the resulting pyramid. That’s not for me.
Thanks for the informative post!
Norman
I agree with you Norman but some people still love MLM and prefer it over affiliate marketing. The only reason why they prefer it is because they have higher payouts for their members. You need to buy their expensive packages and only then you can promote them and earn a commission. Plus you need to bring a ton of people and get them to join your promoted program. If you can do it then you can make some good money here. But I don’t like MLMs because majority of people fail in this type of business ventures. Affiliate marketing is way safer than MLM. At least because you don’t need to spend a lot of money when starting your affiliate business. You can start even with a free website and free tools available online. That’s why affiliate marketing looks way more attractive than MLM.
Hi there Rufat,
Thank you kindly for creating and sharing this insight into world ventures. it is appreciated thanks.
I have heard of this program and must admit I was rather swayed and seduced by their marketing and dreaming of a crazy lifestyle of luxury travel…but that of course is the dream, the reality is very different as many of these MLM programs are very difficult to actually make money from let alone a full time living.
Still, gotta say if they had an affiliate program, I’d be happy to promote them as their product is actually pretty good.
My advice, never fall for promises like you see in this program. It’s true that it’s difficult to make money from mlm program. The reality is always different. Don’t think their travel deals are the best deals in the world. You can find such deals elsewhere for yourself and plus you can promote them free. It’s always better to buy travel deals from travel companies that have been online for over 5 years. This one, World Ventures is comparatively new and I believe it’s better to work with an established travel company instead of working with World ventures.
So who is this kind of person is this business really aimed at? I’m assuming that to make money, they know you are going to have to recruit “chumps” that will never do anything but pay the big $$ for the “privilege” to promote their deals.
Are the people who are successful with this kind of MLM those that are hard core sales people? If so, that really doesn’t appeal to me at all. I can’t stand pushy people!
Anyway, thanks for the review. I was hoping to find a program that gets me some discounts on travel…and that I could promote through my site. World Ventures is NOT what am looking for!
Of course this program makes sense only for two types of people. One group traveling a lot and the other group wanting to make money. But I don’t the idea of paying for the package to have the privilege to earn a commission. Why would you pay? You can easily earn a commission by promoting travel packages of other big travel providers without spending a single dollar. And yes, as you say, most people that are successful with this kind of MLM are those who have an excellent selling skills. You have to be in some way pushy to promote the product or otherwise you won’t make enough money. If you are looking for discounted travel deals you can find them easily through Google and join their programs and promote them without paying to anyone. They will be happy to accept you as an affiliate to their program. This is a totally different approach.
I think the way World Ventures operate is not sustainable because more people are into budget versus luxurious traveling. If you look around, travel deals are abundant – spend less to get more.
With the internet, people can easily access to travel bargains even without being a (costly) member of any kind. And there’s also more flexibility if you are planning to travel solo or with families.
For me, I’ll pass on this opportunity.
You know, World Ventures offers budget travel deals too. But would you take them from World Ventures and pay for it membership fees when you can pay for those deals at any other travel sites? It does make sense if you travel a lot and at the same time want to earn a commission if you can promote those packages to other people. But in this case why would you pay high membership fee? You can easily set up a travel website and make money as an affiliate marketer. It’s much easier and requires way less monetary investment.
Hi, Rufat…
Thanks for this thorough review of the World Ventures MLM program. This is one that I had heard of, but for me automatically when I hear MLM, I walk away.
Most of the MLM programs out there are similar if worse than this one from the review and information you have provided.
I base this on my experience with one (I saw immediately just how much I would be paying for the privilege of promoting their overpriced products). I did not stick around.
While World Ventures does offer what appears to be a real service, it is a question of why someone would have to pay to sell these to others.
As you mention, the affiliate side might be an approach, but in good conscious, if it is not a viable program, I would pass on selling something like this to others.
Thanks for the insight and effort putting this together, I am certainly more prepared now to rebut the promoters of this less than stellar MLM program!
I like your idea of creating a site that taps into the services already out there as an affiliate at almost no cost other than time and effort.
That seems to be a viable alternative and worth your time. Certainly, the travel industry is huge and growing. If it is an area of interest for someone, I would lead them in this direction!
If they needed some training to be able to set up their own unique website and content, the Wealthy Affiliate website you recommend is also one I would refer people to. They have a solid program for sure, based on my experiences with them.
Great read and content, thanks a bunch!
This is really good that you’ve had some experience with MLM programs which means you understand the subject. You are right Dave. I have the same position when it comes to MLMs. Why would I pay for something to be able to promote it to others? It doesn’t make any sense at all. In affiliate marketing you don’t have to pay for the right to promote something. You just pick the product and promote it. In MLMs you pay because this allows you to earn a commission. Their memberships are always expensive and you need to pay from a few hundred up to several thousand dollars to be able to promote and earn a commission. I’m glad you’re a member of WA. This platform is one of the best platforms out there.
Hi Rufat,
I was approached by many people to join World Ventures (the last one was very pushy, and I had to leave quite abruptly and rudely), but I never liked it. My research pointed me to the income statement you posted, and I rejected it.
I even found videos on Youtube on how to recruit new representatives. I think I also found the deals site and I didn’t like the content.
Thanks for a great review!
Marios
They are really pushy and as I said in a previous comment here, if you are in mlm business you have to be pushy otherwise you won’t be able to make sales and keep your membership with mlm company. My neighbor is working in mlm company and she always tries to sell some products to my wife. They know how to push the stuff. Even if you didn’t plan to buy something after their pushy efforts you find yourself spending money on stuff you didn’t even want to buy. Sometimes it can be a good purchase but sometimes it can be some useless stuff you don’t even need but after their promotional talk you buy it.
Thanks for this review about world ventures. While it doesn’t seem to be a scam, it does make you pay quite a lot of money — and on top of that it seems you need to be a good salesman to make it work.
I personally wouldn’t want to join this program for those two reasons. I’d much rather build websites and promote other products with the only expense being a domain name and hosting.
I’m of the same opinion Michael. I prefer building a website and making money from it. And there are really many ways you can do it.Though some MLM defenders claim that sales skills are not required for your MLM business that’s not true. In MLM you have to be pushy and have good sales skills. Otherwise you can’t make enough sales. You need to make sales each and every month because most MLM companies have some minimum sales quota. If you can’t meet that quota you won’t be able to stay as a member. That’s I prefer affiliate marketing over any other business model.
This review of World Ventures seem to be very balanced considering the business model it is based upon, i.e MLM.
Virtually all multi-level marketing systems seem to target 20 percent of their prospects as winners and the other 80 percent are just the ones who pay to keep the system going.
This is a winning formula, in case you are considering starting your own MLM system.
As to why they charge so much for membership, it is possibly a way to screen out discerning people like you or me who will look more than twice before leaping.
One other point worth mentioning is that reward points in a variety of marketing situations is becoming a big business and an alternative to real cash, as cash continues to loose real value. So maybe the owners of WV can see this and want to cash in.
I think 20% is too much. The reality is quite different. The success rate in MLM industry is very low. The reward system is a good idea but if your main business is not making you money the reward system won’t help either. I think their membership fees are very high and they do so just to keep their system working. But the majority of their members can’t afford it.