Following its Chapter 11 bankruptcy, DreamTrips emerged as the successor to WorldVentures about a year ago.

DreamTrips came about as a result of Verona International Holdings acquiring WorldVentures’, namely the MLM company and Rovia (WorldVentures’ in-house travel services provider).

BehindMLM reviewed DreamTrips in November 2021, following a November 16th launch announcement.

A reader recently wrote in to advise that DreamTrips had revised its compensation plan in July 2022.

Today we revisit DreamTrips for an updated review. Not only on the compensation side of things, but also as to who exactly owns the company.

DreamTrips International Corporate

One thing that’s bugged me since the acquisition announcement is the failure to disclose who’s behind Verona International Holdings.

Verona International Holdings doesn’t have a website or online presence. It’s a murky Texas entity formed in August 2021.

What made Verona International Holdings even more murky was the fact that it was obviously created to pursue WorldVentures acquisition.

In researching DreamTrips for today’s updated review, my first port of call was researching Verona International Holdings to get to the bottom of ownership once and for all.

The good news is, as per a WorldVentures bankruptcy filing dated October 2021, I can list Verona International Holdings employees:

  • Michael Poates is Verona’s CEO
  • Eric Haynes is Verona’s COO
  • Paul Jenkins is CEO of Rovia and
  • Simon Davies is Verona’s CFO

The bad news is these are employees, answerable to Verona International Holdings anonymous Board of Directors.

Three names I can confirm are on Verona’s Board of Directors are Mark Smith, Tammy Smith and Eric Haynes.

Curiously, Eric Haynes has replaced Poates as Verona’s current CEO:

Mark and Tammy Smith, DreamTrips’ CEO and Chief Field Officer, only bought into Verona a few months ago.

“We are excited to welcome Mark and Tammy as our partners in this investment. They have set a clear strategic vision for the future of DreamTrips International.

We are fortunate to have them on our executive team and as our partners to grow the Brand”, said Emmett McNulty, a representative of Verona.

Who is Emmett McNulty? Or is it Emmert McNulty?

No idea. With respect to Verona, McNulty has no digital footprint outside of one publicly indexed WorldVentures bankruptcy filing (cited above).

As disclosed in the filing, McNulty is part of “General Management Group”. That did lead me to this breadcrumb:

If that’s the same guy, then we can conclude Verona International is a notch on the belt of a faceless corporation that specializes in scooping up failed or failing companies.

Look, for an MLM company this level of disclosure is a bad look. For an MLM company that operated as a pyramid scheme, with an extraordinarily messy past, it’s atrocious.

I’m not blaming them exclusively for WorldVentures’ collapse, but Michael Poates, Eric Haynes, Paul Jenkins and Simon Davies are all former WorldVentures executives.

In order to make an informed decision, consumers should be informed as to who exactly is behind Verona International Holdings.

As it is, it comes off as whoever actually owns Verona and DreamTrips having something to hide. And this is compounded by WorldVentures’ collapse.

To say WorldVentures’ collapse was messy is an understatement. Wayne Nugent’s secret bankruptcy payments is just one chapter in a messy saga, all of which BehindMLM documented as it played out.

Having covered that saga, irrespective of anything else in this review – if you don’t know who’s running Verona and can’t name each and every Board Member – don’t sign up.

WorldVentures didn’t end well and in light of that getting involved with a murky holding company, clearly intent on hiding ownership information, is too much of a due-diligence red flag to ignore.

DreamTrips’ Products

DreamTrips markets a discounted travel booking platform.

Prices aren’t disclosed to the public unless the sign up for an account (note this is separate to DreamTrips affiliate membership).

DreamTrips offers four tiers of access to their travel booking platform:

  • Standard – $199.99 and then $69.99 a month; access to “DreamTrips curated experiences”, rental and cruise reservations, “activities tickets” and “membership loyalty benefits”
  • Plus – $399.99 and then $99.99 a month; access to Standard plus short term stay vacation rentals, RV rentals, “membership marketing offerings” and “personalized travel offerings”
  • Priority – $599.99 and then $129.99 a month; Standard and Plus with “world leading concierge services”, “airport lounge access”, “best price promise” and “loyalty point support desk” (can only access twice a year)
  • Elite – $2499.99 and then $499.99 a month; Standard, Plus and Priority with “private jet offerings”, yacht rental, unlimited access to loyalty point support desk, “exclusive elite DreamTrips” and “luxury resort and villa offerings”

DreamTrips also offers equivalent subscriptions that bundle together its MLM opportunity:

  • Dream Pack – $999.99 and then $159.98 a month; Priority subscription equivalent with “Discounted Discover DreamTrip Experience” available for an extra $599
  • Discover Pack – $1499.99 and then 159.98 a month; Priority subscription equivalent with “Discounted Discover DreamTrip Experience” included at no additional cost
  • Discover Elite Pack – $2499 and then $529.98 a month, Elite subscription equivalent with “upgraded Discover DreamTrip Experience” included at no additional cost

DreamTrips’ Compensation Plan

DreamTrips’ compensation plan revolves around the sale of travel booking subscription packages – both to retail customers and recruited affiliates.

DreamTrips Affiliate Ranks

There are eighteen affiliate ranks within DreamTrips’ compensation plan.

Along with their respective qualification criteria, they are as follows:

  • Affiliate – sign up as a DreamTrips affiliate, either for $29.99 or with a subscription package and maintain 50 PV a month
  • Traveler 1 – maintain 50 PV a month and recruit and maintain one Affiliate or higher
  • Traveler 2 – maintain 50 PV a month and recruit and maintain two Affiliates or higher (placed one on both sides of the binary team)
  • Traveler 3 – maintain 50 PV a month and recruit and maintain three Affiliates or higher (min one on both sides of the binary team)
  • Voyager 500 – maintain 50 PV a month and recruit and maintain four Affiliates or higher (placed two on both sides of the binary team), and generate and maintain 500 GV a month
  • Voyager 1K – maintain 50 PV a month and four personally recruited Affiliates or higher (placed two on boths sides of the binary team), and generate and maintain 1000 GV a month
  • Voyager 2K – maintain 50 PV a month and four personally recruited Affiliates or higher (placed two on both sides of the binary team), and generate and maintain 2000 GV a month
  • Voyager 5K – maintain 50 PV a month and four personally recruited Affiliates or higher (placed two on both sides of the binary team), and generate and maintain 5000 GV a month
  • Voyager 10K – maintain 50 PV a month and four personally recruited Affiliates or higher (placed two on both sides of the binary team), and generate and maintain 10,000 GV a month
  • Sapphire – generate and maintain 75 PV a month, maintain four personally recruited Affiliates or higher (placed two on both sides of the binary team), and generate and maintain 15,000 GV a month
  • Ruby – maintain 75 PV a month and four personally recruited Affiliates or higher (placed two on both sides of the binary team), and generate and maintain 25,000 GV a month
  • Emerald – maintain 75 PV a month and four personally recruited Affiliates or higher (placed two on both sides of the binary team), and generate and maintain 50,000 GV a month
  • Diamond – generate and maintain 100 PV a month, maintain four personally recruited Affiliates or higher (placed two on both sides of the binary team); one recruited affiliate must be Sapphire or higher and recruited in the last month, or have two Sapphires in your downline but also recruited in the last month, and generate and maintain 100,000 GV a month
  • Blue Diamond – maintain 100 PV a month and four personally recruited Affiliates or higher (placed two on both sides of the binary team); one recruited affiliate must be Ruby or higher and recruited in the last month, or have two Rubys in your downline but also recruited in the last month, and generate and maintain 200,000 GV a month
  • Black Diamond – maintain 100 PV a month and four personally recruited Affiliates or higher (placed two on both sides of the binary team); 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, and generate and maintain 500,000 GV a month and 50,000 GV from a “shared leg”
  • Crown Diamond – maintain 100 PV a 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 have two Diamond in your downline but also recruited in the last month, and generate and maintain 1,000,000 GV a month and 100,000 GV from a “shared leg”
  • Royal Diamond – maintain 100 PV a 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 have two Diamond in your downline but also recruited in the last month, and generate and maintain 2,000,000 GV a month and 200,000 GV from a “shared leg”
  • Global – maintain 100 PV a 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 have two Diamond in your downline but also recruited in the last month, and generate and maintain 5,000,000 GV a month and 500,000 GV from a “shared leg”

PV stands for “Personal Volume”. PV is sales volume generated by subscription sales to retail customers and an affiliate’s own travel services subscription (if applicable).

GV stands for “Group Volume”. GV is PV generated by an affiliate and their downline.

Note that while DreamTrips’ compensation plan has “shared leg” requirements, no definition is provided.

“Shared leg” is a non-standard MLM compensation term so I’m unclear what it refers to.

Referral Commissions

DreamTrips affiliates earn a referral commission on the sale of a subscription to retail customers and recruited affiliates:

  • sell a Standard subscription and earn $50
  • sell a Plus subscription and earn $75
  • sell a Priority subscription and earn $100
  • sell an Elite subscription and earn $400

Recruitment Commissions

DreamTrips affiliates earn a commission when they recruit an affiliate who signs up with an affiliate-only subscription:

  • recruit a Dream Pack affiliate and earn $150
  • recruit a Discover Pack affiliate and earn $200
  • recruit a Discover Elite Pack affiliate and earn $400

Residual Commissions (initial fees)

DreamTrips pays residual commissions via a binary compensation structure.

A binary compensation structure places an affiliate at the top of a binary team, split into two sides (left and right):

The first level of the binary team houses two positions. The second level of the binary team is generated by splitting these first two positions into another two positions each (4 positions).

Subsequent levels of the binary team are generated as required, with each new level housing twice as many positions as the previous level.

Positions in the binary team are filled via direct and indirect recruitment of affiliates. Note there is no limit to how deep a binary team can grow.

At the end of each week DreamTrips tallies up new subscription volume on both sides of the binary team.

  • sale of a Standard subscription generates 100 GV
  • sale of a Plus subscription generates 250 GV
  • sale of a Priority subscription generates 400 GV
  • sale of an Elite subscription generates 875 GV
  • recruitment of a Dream Pack affiliate generates 600 GV
  • recruitment of a Discover Pack subscription generates 500 GV
  • recruitment of a Discover Elite Pack subscription generates 875 GV

DreamTrips sets residual commission rates on initial fees based on rank:

  • Traveler 2s earn a 5% residual commission rate, capped at $500 a week
  • Traveler 3s earn a 7% residual commission rate, capped at $500 a week
  • Voyager 500s earn a 9% residual commission rate, capped at $500 a week
  • Voyager 1Ks earn a 10% residual commission rate, capped at $1000 a week
  • Voyager 2Ks to 10Ks earn a 10% residual commission rate, capped at $1000 a week
  • Sapphires earn a 15% residual commission rate, capped at $1500 a week
  • Rubys earn a 15% residual commission rate, capped at $2500 a week
  • Emeralds earn a 15% residual commission rate, capped at $5000 a week
  • Diamonds earn a 20% residual commission rate, capped at $7500 a week
  • Blue Diamonds earn a 20% residual commission rate, capped at $10,000 a week
  • Black Diamonds earn a 20% residual commission rate, capped at $12,500 a week
  • Crown Diamonds earn a 20% residual commission rate, capped at $15,000 a week
  • Royal Diamonds earn a 20% residual commission rate, capped at $20,000 a week
  • Globals earn a 20% residual commission rate, capped at $25,000 a week

Matching Bonus (residual commissions on initial fees)

DreamTrips affiliates earn a Matching Bonus on residual commissions earned by downline affiliates.

DreamTrips pays the Matching Bonus via a unilevel compensation structure.

A unilevel compensation structure places an affiliate at the top of a unilevel team, with every personally recruited affiliate placed directly under them (level 1):

If any level 1 affiliates recruit new affiliates, they are placed on level 2 of the original affiliate’s unilevel team.

If any level 2 affiliates recruit new affiliates, they are placed on level 3 and so on and so forth down a theoretical infinite number of levels.

DreamTrips pays the Matching Bonus on up to four generations per unilevel team leg.

DreamTrips defines a generation as any affiliate in a unilevel team leg earning $1000 or more in residual commissions on initial fees.

How many generations a DreamTrips affiliate earns the Matching Bonus on is determined by rank:

  • Rubys earn a 5% match on one generation per unilevel team leg
  • Emeralds earn a 10% match on one generation per unilevel team leg
  • Diamonds earn a 10% match on the first generation and 5% on the second generation per unilevel team leg
  • Blue Diamonds earn a 15% match on the first generation, 10% on the second and 5% on the third per unilevel team leg
  • Black Diamonds earn a 20% match on the first generation, 12% on the second and 7% on the third per unilevel team leg
  • Crown Diamonds earn a 20% match on the first and second generations and 15% on the third and fourth per unilevel team leg
  • Royal Diamonds earn a 20% match on the first to third generations and 15% on the fourth generation per unilevel team leg
  • Globals earn a 20% match on up to four generations per unilevel team leg

Residual Commissions (monthly subscription fees)

DreamTrips pays residual commissions on monthly subscription fee payments via a 3×10 matrix.

A 3×10 matrix places an affiliate at the top of a matrix, with three positions directly under them:

These three positions form the first level of the matrix. The second level of the matrix is generated by splitting each of these first three positions into another three positions each.

Levels three to ten of the matrix are generated in the same manner, with each new level housing three times as many positions as the previous level.

I’m not 100% sure and it isn’t specified in DreamTrips’ compensation plan, but I believe matrix positions are filled both by recruited affiliates and referred retail customers.

Monthly subscription fee payments across the matrix are paid on $69.99 to $499.99 a month recurring subscription payments:

  • payment of a $69.99 a month subscription generates a $4 residual commission
  • payment of a $99.99 a month subscription generates a $6 residual commission
  • payment of a $129.99 a month subscription generates an $8 residual commission
  • payment of a $499.99 a month subscription generates a $20 residual commission

How many matrix levels a DreamTrips affiliate qualifies for residual commissions is determined by rank:

  • Traveler 1s earn residual matrix commissions on one level
  • Traveler 2s earn residual matrix commissions across two levels
  • Traveler 3s earn residual matrix commissions across three levels
  • Voyager 500s earn residual matrix commissions across four levels
  • Voyager 1Ks earn residual matrix commissions across six levels
  • Voyager 2Ks earn residual matrix commissions across eight levels
  • Voyager 5Ks earn residual matrix commissions across nine levels
  • Voyager 10Ks and higher earn residual matrix commissions across all ten available levels

Note that residual matrix commissions are paid out each month as long as monthly subscription payments are made.

Customer Acquisition Bonus

DreamTrips affiliates earn “points” based on how many subscription customers and recruited affiliates they have paying monthly fees.

Note that customers can be retail customers or recruited affiliates.

  • $29.99 monthly subscription payment (affiliate membership fee) = 5 points
  • $69.99 monthly subscription payment = 25 points
  • $99.99 monthly subscription payment = 50 points
  • $129.99 monthly subscription payment = 75 points
  • $499.99 monthly subscription payment = 150 points

The Customer Acquisition Bonus (CAB) is tallied up and paid monthly:

  • generate 500 points in a month and receive a $100 CAB
  • recruit three affiliates who qualify for the CAB in a month and receive $250
  • recruit three affiliates who each recruit three affiliates who qualify for the CAB in a month and receive $1000

Joining DreamTrips

Basic DreamTrips affiliate membership is $29.99 a month.

DreamTrips Conclusion

WorldVentures operated as a pyramid scheme because the Rovia provided travel side of the business wasn’t retail viable.

COVID-19 escalated its collapse, but WorldVentures was on the rocks before the travel industry came to a grinding halt. Simply put, the success of WorldVentures was tied to recruitment; it had nothing to do with travel.

I wasn’t impressed with DreamTrips initial November 2021 offering. The July 2022 revised compensation plan is more fleshed out – but the core pyramid scheme remains intact.

In fact DreamTrips’ travel offering is arguable even less viable than WorldVentures’ was.

WorldVentures’ Rovia plans topped out at $850 and then $149.99 a month.

DreamTrips Titanium adds access to a “dedicated concierge”, curated experiences, $2000 in charter jet credit, $1000 in charter yacht credit, a global visa service, “priority access” to “exclusive events”, room upgrades, golf course access, daily breakfast, early/late check in/out, preferred airport lounge pricing and Hertz Presidents Circle.

DreamTrips’ equivalent is $2499.99 and then $499.99 a month. That’s a hell of a lot of outlay to make back in discounts.

Although the data will never be published (outside of a regulatory filing), I’d love to know how many Elite subscribers DreamTrips had (who never signed on as affiliates) – both currently active and total signups.

The pyramid scheme DreamTrips continues can be summed up as signing up as an affiliate and either purchasing a travel subscription to self-qualify for commissions, or you paying more for a bonus trip.

Then all you do is focus on recruiting affiliates who do the same – and you’ve got yourself WorldVentures’ pyramid model.

Aside from it being the center of a suspected pyramid scheme, I noted DreamTrips screws affiliate over on residual commission rates (initial fees).

Traveler 1 through Voyager 1K is capped at $500 – despite a 5% to 10% commission rate increase.

All this does is have affiliates hit the cap faster. Voyager 2K raises the cap to $1000. DreamTrips could easily have made incremental increases between $500 to $1000 – but they instead chose to keep the money.

Things don’t get any better between Voyager 2K and Voyager 10K, with affiliates now running into a $1000 a week cap.

In the higher ranks, unless I’m missing something, WorldVentures sets its affiliates up for failure.

Diamond rank introduces mandatory “fresh” recruitment quotas each month. Either one new ranked recruit or two new indirect ranked recruits from somewhere in your downline.

This will be a nightmare to keep up month after month and further emphasises recruitment over retail throughout the company.

I’ve shared my thoughts on Verona International Holdings disclosure issues earlier in the review so I won’t repeat them here. As a conclusory note however, I will add that DreamTrips is entirely reflective of the business being run by a faceless investment orientated corporation with no MLM experience.

Mark and Tammy Smith aside, General Management Group have retained executives who had no problem with WorldVentures being a pyramid scheme.

Meanwhile Mark and Tammy Smith’s biggest MLM success is Nerium, now Neora. The FTC filed suit against Nerium/Neora in 2019, alleging it’s a pyramid scheme.

Considering the Smiths’ made millions in Neora, they’re also not likely to have any objections to DreamTrips’ pyramid centric compensation plan.

Pyramid schemes collapse when recruitment inevitably slows down. In WorldVentures this was a long drawn out process.

The first sign of trouble was non-payment of commissions. Wayne Nugent made sure he was getting paid, and when there wasn’t enough coming int to cover executive salaries and payments, WorldVentures filed for bankruptcy.

DreamTrips hasn’t reached the recruiting frenzy WorldVentures did in its golden years, but it is growing in the US and Italy.

Unfortunately the FTC never sunk its teeth into WorldVentures. WorldVentures’ regulatory issues elsewhere in the world are well-documented (Norway, Malaysia, Jamaica, South Africa, Rwanda, Tonga and Taiwan).

As a prospective DreamTrips affiliate, the least you can do is ask your potential upline how they are meeting their monthly PV requirement.

If they don’t have at least two retail customers on a travel subscription, they’re running a pyramid scheme.

As was confirmed with WorldVentures, math guarantees the majority of participants in pyramid schemes lose money.