Johnny Bolton, CEO of Destination Travel Resorts, heads a company marketing third-party travel club memberships. The firm does not disclose its operational base, though Bolton's LinkedIn profile lists it as the "greater Los Angeles area" in the United States. Its website domain registration remains private.
Bolton's history in multi-level marketing (MLM) began with Global Resorts Network. He left that company in August 2008 to co-found MOR Vacations. MOR Vacations sold "members only resort vacations" and did not operate as an MLM. Bolton departed MOR Vacations in January 2010. He joined Ionways in May 2010, where he served as Vice-President of sales until May 2011, marketing water ionizers. Destination Travel Resorts' company bio states Bolton "retired from the business world in 2011" and then "has come out of retirement (to) launch Destination Travel Resorts."
Destination Travel Resorts offers no proprietary products or services. Instead, it markets travel services provided by Travelocity, likely through a free affiliate program. The company appears to leverage CashBackBooking to facilitate these services. Direct links to the CashBackBooking website are present on Destination Travel Resorts' site, and screenshots show CashBackBooking powering the hotel booking backend.
Neither Destination Travel Resorts nor CashBackBooking disclose their relationship or potential ownership on their respective websites. CashBackBooking also does not identify its operators.
The compensation plan for Destination Travel Resorts involves commissions from travel bookings made through its Travelocity-powered engine and the sale of its memberships. Affiliates earn 50% of the commission Travelocity pays the company for any booked travel. An additional 10% is paid on Travelocity commissions generated by recruited affiliates, extending five levels deep.
Retail membership sales also generate commissions. Affiliates earn $50 for selling a "Travel Executive" package and $600 for a "Travel Admiral" package. These commissions apply only when retail customers, not recruited affiliates, purchase the packages.
Several components of the compensation plan depend on an affiliate's rank. Ranks tie into Personal Volume (PV), generated by an affiliate's monthly membership fees and direct membership sales, and Group Volume (GV), generated by their downline. Recruitment of ranked affiliates also matters.
There are eight affiliate ranks. Bronze requires 30 BV a month. Silver needs 100 GV a month and two unilevel legs with a Bronze affiliate in each. Gold requires 1000 GV a month and two unilevel legs with a Silver affiliate. Platinum affiliates generate 5000 GV a month and have two unilevel legs with a Gold affiliate. Diamond requires 25,000 GV a month and two unilevel legs with a Platinum affiliate. Double Diamond affiliates generate 100,000 GV a month and have two unilevel legs with a Diamond affiliate. Diamond Ambassador requires 250,000 GV a month and three unilevel legs with a Double Diamond affiliate. Crown Ambassador needs 1,000,000 GV a month and three unilevel legs with a Diamond Ambassador affiliate.
Volume points derive from membership sales: an Affiliate membership ($29.95/month) generates 30 points, a Travel Executive membership ($99.95/month) generates 100 points, and a Travel Ambassador membership ($1599.95/month) generates 1600 points.
A "Fast Start Bonus" is paid on the first month's membership fees when a recruited affiliate purchases a Travel Executive or Travel Admiral option. This bonus uses a unilevel compensation structure. The recruiting affiliate sits at the top, with personally recruited affiliates on level 1. Affiliates recruited by level 1 members form level 2, and so on.
The Fast Start Bonus percentage and number of levels paid depend on the recruiting affiliate's rank. An Affiliate earns 25% on level 1. Silver ranks earn 26% on level 1 and 1% on level 2. Gold ranks receive 27% on level 1 and 1% on level 2. Platinum affiliates get 28% on level 1, 2% on level 2, and 1% on level 3. Diamond affiliates earn 29% on level 1, 3% on level 2, 2% on level 3, and 1% on level 4. Double Diamond affiliates receive 30% on level 1, 4% on level 2, 3% on level 3, 2% on level 4, and 1% on level 5. Diamond Ambassadors earn 31% on level 1, 5% on level 2, 4% on level 3.