Travelstar News

Court Tosses Joystar Lawsuit v Former Agent

Travel Weekly | 8/16/2009

The case had been filed in U.S. District Court in Fort Lauderdale, where the bankruptcy case also is pending.

Joystar had accused Axelrod of "diverting" and retaining $86,000 in commissions generated by a group cruise aboard a Costa ship. The payments should have been paid to the host, Joystar contended.

The cruise was a weeklong dance convention held in early 2008. Axelrod said the $86,000 was not commissions but the markup for convention-related services, money he collected from his clients not the cruise line.

Axelrod, like many Joystar agents, worked with the host based on paying flat fees for services and receiving 100% of commissions earned on sales.

Joystar had also accused Axelrod of harassing Joystar employees, defaming the company and its management to the press, offering Joystar employees $2,500 for the company’s customer list and threatening the company’s principals. The host agency also accused him of interfering with an opportunity to sell Joystar to an investor.

The plaintiff asked for injunctive relief to put an end to the alleged practices. Joystar also had filed a motion for a protective order, but that motion was denied in an earlier ruling this summer.

According to Axelrod, Joystar had not presented to the court any evidence to back up allegations.

"I have not ruled out a personal libel suit against Joystar’s owners," Axelrod said. Joystar's owners are CEO William Alverson and his wife, Kathy West. She is executive vice president.

Joystar Now Chapter 7

Npros.com | 6/15/2009

Court Sets June 10 Date for Joystar Hearing

Npros.com | 5/25/2009

Joystar Uses Agent Commissions to Pay Employees

TravelPulse | 3/31/2009

Court Allows Cruise Lines to Move Joystar Bookings

SmartBrief | 2/2/2009

Independent agents and passengers can arrange to shift bookings by making a written request. Joystar does not have to approve the move.

CCRA Bypasses Troubled Joystar to Pay Agents

Npros.com | 1/16/2009

Several agents have petitioned the court to force Joystar into bankruptcy after non-payment of thousands of dollars in travel commissions.

AGOURA HILLS, Calif. - (Business Wire) From its inception fourteen years ago, CCRA International has been not only a travel distribution channel but also a vigorous advocate for professional travel agencies and their member agents.

Recent developments at Joystar have prompted serious concerns from the travel industry as well as from Joystar member agents regarding commission payments.

CCRA is a committed partner to all travel agencies, and recognizes the pressures of the current economic climate. At the same time, at CCRA we have a responsibility to protect the interests of the Joystar agents who use our booking portal product.

Therefore, we will now pay commissions directly to Joystar agents for bookings made any time after December 15, 2008 via the CCRA booking portal.

Mai Meyaart, CCRA Vice President and Managing Director, stated, “In the current economic climate, CCRA allows agents to be more competitive while offering them both efficiency and security. Our commitment to the individual agent is absolute.”

Joystar agents who use the CCRA Travel portal will be guaranteed their commissions in accordance with our commission payment policy. Agents are urged to make certain that their agent profile information is complete and up-to-date on the portal. Agents not currently enrolled in the portal can protect their commissions by registering and booking at www.ccratravel.com.

For questions about registering or how to ensure your bookings are properly tracked, please contact Jeff Kirk at (818)575-4333.

CCRA International Mary Wiley, 817-288-7204

NCL and Carnival Drop Joystar

Travel Agent | 1/13/2009

In a statement, NCL said: “Effective immediately, NCL has chosen not to continue its business relationship with Joystar Cruises. The company will no longer accept new reservations from Joystar or any of its affiliated agents. NCL will continue to service existing Joystar reservations booked prior to January 5, 2009.”

Meanwhile, Carnival confirmed that it has placed JoyStar on a “do not book status.” Carnival said it is “no longer accepting business from them based on continuing concerns over the commission payments to JoyStar agents.” Carnival made the decision January 7.

Joystar Collapse Article in Travel Agent News

Travel Agent | 1/13/2009

In an interview with Travel Agent, Axelrod said that the initial group of 15 agents is owed an estimated $150,000 in unpaid commissions from JoyStar, a unit of TravelStar. Axelrod says that the total outstanding could rise to 30- to 50 agents who may be owned as much as $250,000 in unpaid commissions.

JoyStar Agents File Banktruptcy Petition v Joystar

TravelAgent.com | 1/12/2009

Drew Axelrod is the lead agent in the December 2008 filing of a Chapter 7, Involuntary Bankruptcy petition against Joystar/Travelstar.

Axelrod said the recent filing makes for a total of 34 creditor petitioners for the official amount owed by the default debtor Joystar of $227,530.75 with signed court forms. “As many as 70 travel agents have notified us in writing and by e-mail, of defaulted commissions and they all state they would be petitioning the U.S. court for their lost commissions which total approximately $350,000,” Axelrod said.

More petitions will be filed on Monday, January 12, according to Axelrod. “Agents are contributing 5 percent of what they are owed to a legal fund," he said. "Checks are also coming in from non-creditors. One sympathetic host agency sent in a check for $500 to the 'Joystar Agents Legal Fund' to help defray the court costs and attorney's fees.”

The Joystar creditor agents request that all travel suppliers "hold" any outstanding commission dispersements and, also, host agency annual override payments until such a time that the U.S. Bankruptcy court gives further direction or resolves this matter.

“To date, Joystar has not responded to our summons, which were sent to their Aliso Viejo, CA, Sunrise, FL, Jupiter, FL and Palm Beach Gardens, FL, addresses," Axelrod. "Also, Federal summons were sent to Joystar Board of Director, William Fawcett of Coto de Caza, CA and Joystar Executive Vice-President Jo Beemer and Jason Borromei of Laguna Niguel, CA.”

William Alverson is the former CEO of TravelMax International, a home based agent program that folded in the 1990s.

Travelstar Announces First Agent Conference

Trading Markets | 2/25/2008

Travelstar Chairman and CEO Alverson stated, "By book-ending our conference with the 2008 Vacation.com dates, our agents will have the chance to attend the most comprehensive learning event of the year."

"We have will have an event so rich in content -- with comprehensive sales, preferred supplier and technology training -- it will empower our agents to compete on a level like never before," Alverson added.

Travelstar Inducted in CCL Pinnacle Club

Marketwire | 2/5/2008

Travelstar, Inc. (OTCBB: TVLS) today announced the Company has been inducted into Carnival Cruise Lines' "Pinnacle Club."

The program was created by Carnival to acknowledge those high-volume travel agencies that meet a certain sales criteria and exhibit excellence in promoting and selling the "Fun Ship" cruise experience.

"Travel agencies are an important part of our distribution system, which is why we created the 'Pinnacle Club' to recognize those high-volume agencies. Travelstar, Inc. and its family of brands, including Travelstar.com, Joystar Travel Network, and VactationCompare.com, are truly experts in their field and exhibit the highest levels of professionalism," said Carnival's Vice President of Sales Maurice Zarmati.

To be eligible for the program, agencies must meet the company's sales criteria, and demonstrate exceptional professionalism, creativity in sales and marketing techniques, and outstanding support of the Carnival product.