YTB International, a Wood River, Ill.-based online marketing firm, which a few years ago ranked among the fastest-growing companies in the travel industry, filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported on Saturday. The company plans to stay in business, YTB President and Chief Executive Andrew Cauthen said. YTB has lined up a lender's commitment for financing during bankruptcy, and it expects to emerge from bankruptcy "after a relatively short period of time," Cauthen said. In 2008, YTB brought nearly 20,000 online travel agents to its annual convention in St. Louis and reported $45 million in revenue in a quarter—mostly from selling travel-sales websites to those agents. It employed hundreds and envisioned a big campus in Wood River. Then-California Attorney General Jerry Brown sued, calling YTB a “gigantic pyramid scheme,” and while the case was eventually settled, the company never recovered. The settlement forced changes to YTB's business model and the bad publicity drove agents away. Revenue fell sharply and the company had to sell off land and buildings to stay afloat.
