About a year ago, DreamTrips replaced WorldVentures following its Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Verona International Holdings’ acquisition of WorldVentures, including the MLM firm and Rovia (WorldVentures’ internal travel services supplier), led to the creation of DreamTrips.
Following a debut announcement on November 16, 2021, BehindMLM evaluated DreamTrips in November of that same year.
Recently, a reader came in to let us know that DreamTrips had updated its pay structure as of July 2022.
We return to DreamTrips today to provide an updated evaluation. not only in terms of salaries but also in terms of who truly controls the business.
Corporate DreamTrips International
Since the acquisition announcement, I’ve been bothered by the fact that Verona International Holdings’ owners have not been made public.
There is no website or other internet presence for Verona International Holdings. A hazy Texas organization was created in August 2021.
The fact that Verona International Holdings was established to pursue the purchase of WorldVentures added to its haziness.
To definitively determine ownership when investigating DreamTrips for today’s revised evaluation, I started by looking into Verona International Holdings.
The good news is that I can name the following Verona International Holdings personnel, according to a WorldVentures bankruptcy petition from October 2021:
The CEO of Verona is Michael Poates.
The COO of Verona is Eric Haynes.
Paul Jenkins is Rovia’s CEO, and
The CFO for Verona is Simon Davies.
The bad news is that these people work for Verona International Holdings, whose faceless board of directors they must account to.
Mark Smith, Tammy Smith, and Eric Haynes are three individuals whose membership on the board of directors of Verona I can confirm.
Curiously, Eric Haynes has succeeded Poates as Verona’s new CEO:
The CEO and Chief Field Officer of DreamTrips, Mark and Tammy Smith, only recently invested in Verona.
“Mark and Tammy are joining us as partners in this endeavor, and we couldn’t be happier. They have established a distinct strategic vision for DreamTrips International’s future.
Emmett McNulty, a Verona spokesperson, stated, “We are pleased to have them on our executive team and as our partners to expand the Brand.
Emmett McNulty: Who is he? Maybe Emmert McNulty instead?
No clue. McNulty has no online presence in Verona other than one publicly available WorldVentures bankruptcy filing (cited above).
The filing states that McNulty is a member of the “General Management Group.” It did bring me to the following breadcrumb:
If it’s the same person, Verona International is a subsidiary of a faceless firm that specializes in acquiring failing businesses.
Look, this degree of information is not good for an MLM firm. It’s terrible coming from an MLM business with a history of operating as a pyramid scam.
Michael Poates, Eric Haynes, Paul Jenkins, and Simon Davies are all former WorldVentures executives, but I don’t blame them alone for the company’s demise.
Consumers should know who precisely is behind Verona International Holdings to make an informed choice.
Right now, it seems that whoever is the owner of Verona and DreamTrips is hiding something. And the failure of WorldVentures just makes matters worse.
It would be an understatement to say that WorldVentures’ demise was nasty. Wayne Nugent’s covert bankruptcy payments are simply one episode in a complicated story that BehindMLM chronicled as it happened.
No matter what else is said in this review, after reading about that drama, if you can’t name every Board Member or know who runs Verona, don’t sign up.
Getting connected with a shadowy holding company that is trying to hide ownership information is too much of a red signal for someone performing due diligence to overlook in light of how poorly WorldVentures turned out.
Products from DreamTrips
An online travel agency with discounts is promoted by DreamTrips.
Prices are not made public until a customer creates an account (note this is separate from DreamTrips affiliate membership).
Four levels of access are available to DreamTrips’ platform for booking travel:
Standard: Access to “DreamTrips tailored experiences,” rental and cruise bookings, “activity tickets,” and “membership loyalty perks” for $199.99 and then $69.99 each month.
Access to Standard plus short-term vacation rentals, RV rentals, “membership marketing options,” and “custom travel offerings” is available for an additional $399.99 and then $99.99 per month.
Standard and include “world-class concierge services,” “airport lounge access,” “best pricing promise,” and a “loyalty point support center”; Priority costs $599.99 upfront and then $129.99 per month (can only access twice a year)
Elite offers “private jet services,” “yacht rental,” “unlimited access to the loyalty point support desk,” “exclusive elite DreamTrips,” and “luxury resort and villa offerings” for a total of $2499.99 and then $499.99 a month.
Additionally, DreamTrips provides comparable subscription packages that include their MLM opportunity:
Dream Pack costs $999.99 and then $159.98 per month; the “Discounted Discover DreamTrip Experience,” which is equivalent to a Priority membership, is available for an additional $599.
Discover Pack costs $1499.99 and then $159.98 a month; this is equivalent to a Priority membership with “Discounted Discover DreamTrip Experience” already included.
The Discover Elite Pack costs $2499 and then $529.98 per month, which is the equivalent of an Elite subscription with free access to an “upgraded Discover DreamTrip Experience.”
Plan of Compensation for DreamTrips
The selling of trip booking subscription plans to both retail clients and recruited affiliates is the foundation of DreamTrips’ compensation structure.
Ranks for DreamTrips Affiliates
The compensation structure of DreamTrips has eighteen affiliate ranks.
They are as follows, along with their respective qualifying standards:
Affiliate: Register as a DreamTrips affiliate for $29.99 or as part of a membership plan, and keep 50 PV monthly.
Maintain 50 PV per month for Traveler 1 and find and keep at least one Affiliate.
Maintain 50 PV each month for Traveler 2 and add and keep two Affiliates or more (placed one on both sides of the binary team)
Keep 50 PV each month, add three or more Affiliates, and maintain Traveler 3 at least (min one on both sides of the binary team)
Maintaining 50 PV each month, four Affiliates or above (two on each side of the binary team), and 500 GV per month are all requirements for Voyager 500.
Voyager 1K – create and maintain 1000 GV per month, maintain 50 PV per month, and four individually recruited Affiliates at the highest level (put two on each side of the binary team).
Voyager 2K – create and maintain 2000 GV per month, maintain 50 PV per month, and four individually recruited Affiliates at the highest level (put two on each side of the binary team).
Voyager 5K – create and maintain 5000 GV per month, maintain 50 PV per month, and four individually recruited Affiliates at the highest level (put two on each side of the binary team).
Voyager 10K – create and maintain 10,000 GV per month, maintain 50 PV per month, and four individually recruit Affiliates at the highest level (put two on each side of the binary team).
Sapphire: must produce and maintain 75 PV per month, four individually recruited Affiliates or above (two on each side of the binary team), and 15,000 GV each month.
Maintain 75 PV each month, four individually recruit Affiliates at the highest level (put two on each side of the binary team), and 25,000 GV each month for Ruby.
Maintain 75 PV each month, four individually recruit Affiliates at the level of or above (put on both sides of the binary team), and 50,000 GV each month for Emerald.
One recruited affiliate must be Sapphire or higher and recruited within the last month, or have two Sapphires in your downline but also recruited within the last month. Diamond – generate and maintain 100 PV per month, four personally recruited Affiliates or higher (placed two on each side of the binary team), and 100,000 GV per month.
Maintain 100 PV each month, four personally recruited Affiliates or higher (placed two on each side of the binary team), one recruited affiliate who is Ruby or higher and recruited within the past month, or two Rubys in your downline who are also recruited within the past month, and generate and maintain 200,000 GV each month to qualify as a Blue Diamond.
One recruited affiliate must be Emerald or higher and recruited in the last month, or have two Emeralds in your downline but also recruited in the last month. You must also generate and maintain 500,000 GV per month and 50,000 GV from a “shared leg.” Black Diamond – maintain 100 PV per month and four personally recruited Affiliates or higher (placed two on both sides of the binary team).
One recruited affiliate must be Diamond or higher and recruited in the last month, or you must have two Diamond in your downline but also recruited in the last month. You must also generate and maintain 1,000,000 GV per month and 100,000 GV from a “shared leg.” Crown Diamond – maintain 100 PV per month and four personally recruited Affiliates or higher (placed two on each side of the binary team).
One recruited affiliate must be Diamond or higher and recruited within the last month, or you must have two Diamond in your downline and recruit within the last month. You must also generate and maintain 2,000,000 GV per month, with 200,000 GV coming from a “shared leg.” Royal Diamond – Maintain 100 PV per month and four personally recruited Affiliates or higher (placed two on each side of the binary team).
Maintain 100 PV per month, four personally recruited Affiliates at the Diamond level or higher (placed two on each side of the binary team), five million GV per month, and 500,000 GV from a “shared leg,” all globally. One recruited affiliate must be Diamond or higher and recruited within the last month.
Personal Volume is abbreviated as PV. PV refers to the sales volume produced by subscription sales to retail customers and an affiliate’s subscription to travel services (if applicable).
Group Volume is the acronym for GV. PV is produced by an affiliate and their downline is known as GV.
Although the “shared leg” criteria of DreamTrips’ compensation plan are mentioned, no explanation is given.
I’m not sure what “shared leg” means because it’s a word used in MLM compensation that isn’t common.
Advisory Commissions
When a membership is purchased by a retail client or an associate they have recruited, DreamTrips affiliates receive a referral commission:
sell a Standard membership and get $50.
sell a Plus membership and make $75.
sell a Priority membership and receive $100.
Earn $400 by selling an Elite membership.
Employer commissions
When a new affiliate joins with an affiliate-only membership, DreamTrips affiliates receive a commission:
Earn $150 by bringing in a Dream Pack affiliate.
Earn $200 by bringing in a Discover Pack affiliate.
Earn $400 by bringing in a Discover Elite Pack affiliate.
Recurring Commissions (initial fees)
DreamTrips uses a binary compensation scheme to pay residual commissions.
An affiliate is positioned at the head of a binary team that is divided into two sides (left and right) by a binary remuneration structure:
The binary team’s initial level has two slots. These initial two places are divided into another two positions each to create the second level of the binary team (4 positions).
The binary team is formed in stages, with each stage containing twice as many slots as the preceding stage.
Direct and indirect affiliate recruiting is used to fill positions on the binary team. The depth to which a binary team can expand is unbounded.
DreamTrips counts the number of new subscriptions on both sides of the binary team after the week.
A Standard subscription sale results in 100 GV.
A Plus subscription sale brings in 250 GV.
A Priority membership sale brings in 400 GV.
An Elite subscription sale brings in 875 GV.
Getting a Dream Pack affiliate results in 600 GV.
500 GV are generated by signing up for a Discover Pack membership.
875 GV are generated by signing up for a Discover Elite Pack membership.
Based on rank, DreamTrips determines residual commission rates for initial fees:
Traveler 2s are paid a 5% residual commission rate, up to a weekly maximum of $500.
Earnings for Traveler 3s are 7% residual commission, with a weekly maximum of $500.
Voyager 500s are paid a 9% residual commission rate, with a weekly maximum of $500.
Voyager 1Ks are paid a residual commission rate of 10% with a weekly maximum of $1000.
Voyager 2Ks to 10Ks receive a residual commission rate of 10%, with a weekly ceiling of $1000.
Sapphires are paid a 15% residual commission rate, up to a weekly maximum of $1500.
Rubys are paid a weekly maximum of $2500 at a residual commission rate of 15%.
Emeralds are paid a 15% residual commission rate, up to a weekly maximum of $5000.
The residual commission rate for diamonds is 20%, with a weekly maximum of $7500.
Blue Diamonds are paid a residual commission rate of 20% with a weekly ceiling of $10,000.
Black Diamonds are paid a residual commission rate of 20%, with a weekly ceiling of $12,500.
Crown Diamonds are paid a residual commission rate of 20%, with a weekly maximum of $15,000.
20% of their residual commissions, up to a weekly maximum of $20,000, go to Royal Diamonds.
Globals are paid a residual commission rate of 20%, with a weekly ceiling of $25,000.
Comparative Bonus (residual commissions on initial fees)
Affiliates of DreamTrips receive a matching bonus on residual commissions received from affiliates in their downlines.
The Matching Bonus is paid by DreamTrips using a unilevel compensation system.
An affiliate is put at the head of a unilevel team in a unilevel pay system, and each affiliate they recruited is positioned immediately under them (level 1):
New affiliates brought on by any level 1 affiliates are added to the original affiliate’s unilevel team at level 2.
If any level 2 affiliates bring on new affiliates, they are promoted to level 3, and so on down a theoretically endless number of levels.
Per unilevel team leg, DreamTrips pays the Matching Bonus over up to four generations.
A generation, according to DreamTrips, is any affiliate that earns $1000 or more in residual earnings on initial fees from a unilevel team leg.
Rank determines how many generations a DreamTrips affiliate will receive the Matching Bonus on:
Per unilevel team leg, rubies receive a 5% match on one generation.
Emeralds receive a 10% match for every unilevel team leg on one generation.
Per unilevel team leg, diamonds receive a 10% match on the first generation and a 5% match on the second generation.
For each unilevel team leg, Blue Diamonds receive a 15% match on the first generation, 10% on the second generation, and 5% on the third generation.
Per unilevel team leg, Black Diamonds receive a 20% match on the first generation, 12% on the second generation, and 7% on the third generation.
For each unilevel team leg, Crown Diamonds receive a 20% match on the first and second generations and a 15% match on the third and fourth.
For each unilevel team leg, Royal Diamonds receive a 20% match on the first three generations and a 15% match on the fourth.
Per unilevel team leg, globals can receive a 20% match on up to four generations.
Recurring Commissions (monthly subscription fees)
A 310 matrix is used by DreamTrips to pay residual commissions on monthly membership fee payments.
An affiliate is positioned at the top of a 310 matrix, with the following three slots immediately behind them:
The initial level of the matrix is made up of these three places. By dividing each of these initial three locations into three more positions, the matrix is divided into two levels.
The matrix is constructed from levels three to ten in the same way, with each level containing three times as many spots as the one before it.
I think that matrix slots are filled by both recruited affiliates and referred retail customers, however, I’m not 100 percent certain of this as it isn’t stated in DreamTrips’ compensation plan.
Payments for monthly membership fees are made on recurring subscription payments ranging from $69.99 to $499.99 per month throughout the matrix:
Upon payment of a $69.99 monthly membership, a $4 residual commission is produced.
A $99.99 monthly membership payment results in a $6 residual commission.
A $129.99 monthly membership payment results in an $8 residual commission.
A $499.99 monthly membership payment results in a $20 residual commission.
Rank determines how many matrix levels a DreamTrips affiliate must reach to be eligible for residual commissions:
Traveler 1s receive one-level residual matrix commissions.
Over two levels, Traveler 2s receive residual matrix commissions.
Three tiers of residual matrix commissions are earned by Traveler 3s.
Voyager 500s generate four layers of residual matrix commissions.
Six tiers of residual matrix commissions are earned by Voyager 1Ks.
Eight tiers of residual matrix commissions are earned by Voyager 2Ks.
Nine tiers of residual matrix commissions are earned by Voyager 5Ks.
All ten levels are available for residual matrix commissions for Voyager 10Ks and above.
Note that as long as monthly membership payments are completed, residual matrix commissions are paid out each month.
Bonus for acquiring customers
DreamTrips affiliates receive “points” for each subscriber and affiliate they bring on board who pays a monthly fee.
Customers might be affiliates who have been recruited or retail customers.
Affiliate membership cost of $29.99 per month equals 5 points.
Payment of $69.99 each month for a membership Equals 25 points
Payment of a $99.99 monthly membership equals 50 points
$75 points x $129.99/monthly subscription
Monthly membership fee of $499.99 = 150 points
Each month, the Customer Acquisition Bonus (CAB) is calculated and distributed:
earning 500 points each month will get you a $100 CAB.
In a month, bring in three affiliates who are CAB-eligible and collect $250.
In a month, each affiliate who successfully recruits three CAB-eligible affiliates will get $1,000.
Getting on DreamTrips
The monthly cost for a basic DreamTrips affiliate membership is $29.99.
DreamTrips Summary
Because the travel component of the company, which was provided by Rovia, wasn’t commercially viable, WorldVentures operated as a pyramid scheme.
WorldVentures was in trouble before COVID-19 caused its collapse to worsen, but the tourism sector was already in trouble. Simply said, recruiting was essential to WorldVentures’ success; travel was not involved.
The original DreamTrips offering from November 2021 didn’t particularly excite me. The updated compensation plan for July 2022 is more detailed, but the basic pyramidal structure is still there.
It might be argued that DreamTrips’ travel service is less feasible than WorldVentures’ was.
The most expensive Rovia plans from WorldVentures cost $850, followed by $149.99 each month.
The addition of DreamTrips Titanium gives customers access to a “dedicated concierge,” “curated experiences,” a global visa service, “priority access” to “exclusive events,” upgraded accommodations, access to golf courses, daily breakfast, early/late check-in/out, preferred airport lounge pricing, and Hertz Presidents Circle.
The equivalent of DreamTrips is $2499.99, followed by $499.99 every month. That is a tremendous amount of investment to recover through discounts.
I’d want to know how many Elite subscribers DreamTrips has, both presently active and total signups, even if the data will never be made public (outside of a regulatory filing).
The DreamTrips pyramid scam essentially involves becoming an affiliate and either buying a vacation subscription to automatically qualify for commissions or spending extra for a bonus trip.
After that, all you have to do is concentrate on finding affiliates who follow suit, and presto! You have the pyramid model used by WorldVentures.
In addition to being the hub of a possible pyramid scam, I noticed DreamTrips takes advantage of affiliates by underpaying residual commission rates (initial fees).
Despite a 5% to 10% rise in the commission rate, Traveler 1 through Voyager 1K is limited to $500.
Affiliates just reach the cap sooner as a result of this. The maximum is raised to $1000 in Voyager 2K. DreamTrips had the option of making little increments of between $500 and $1,000, but they decided to keep the money.
Between Voyager 2K and Voyager 10K, nothing improves, with affiliates now hitting a weekly maximum of $1,000.
If I’m not mistaken, WorldVentures intentionally positions its affiliates for failure at the upper levels.
Each month, diamond rank sets “new” required recruiting quotas. two new indirect ranked recruits from your downline, or one new ranked recruit from someplace else.
This puts even more emphasis on recruitment over retail throughout the organization and will be impossible to maintain month after month.
I’ve already discussed my opinions on Verona International Holdings’ disclosure concerns in this review, so I won’t go over them again. However, as the last point, I’ll mention that DreamTrips is wholly indicative of the company being operated by a nameless, investment-oriented organization without any MLM expertise.
Except for Mark and Tammy Smith, General Management Group maintained executives who accepted WorldVentures’ status as a pyramid scam.
Nerium, now known as Neora, is Mark and Tammy Smith’s largest MLM achievement. In 2019, the FTC sued Nerium/Neora, claiming it was a pyramid scam.
The Smiths are also unlikely to complain about DreamTrips’ pyramid-centric pay model, given that they made millions in Neora.
When recruiting inevitably slows down, pyramid systems fail. This procedure took a lengthy time at WorldVentures.
Unpaid commissions were the first indication that anything was wrong. When there wasn’t enough money flowing in to fund executive salaries and payments, WorldVentures filed for bankruptcy. Wayne Nugent made sure he was getting paid.
DreamTrips is expanding in the US and Italy, but it hasn’t yet achieved the level of hiring that WorldVentures accomplished during its heyday.
Unfortunately, WorldVentures was never seriously investigated by the FTC. The regulatory problems that WorldVentures has everywhere in the world are well known (Norway, Malaysia, Jamaica, South Africa, Rwanda, Tonga, and Taiwan).
Asking your prospective upline how they are fulfilling their monthly PV requirement is the least you as a prospective DreamTrips affiliate can do.
They are operating a pyramid scheme if they don’t have at least two retail clients on a trip subscription.
Math ensures that the majority of participants in pyramid schemes lose money, as was proved with WorldVentures.
