Familiarization Trips
Fam trips are those that familiarize a travel agent with a new venue, destination, hotel, restaurant, or airline.
The idea is simple: In order for a travel agent to sell to a client, they need to know about the product. For example, hotels will put a travel agent up in a room, and then take them on a tour of the place. Hopefully, when the agent goes home, they will then be so satisfied with what they saw that they will recommend the hotel or airline or resort to their clients.
Not only will you experience a hotel or airline on a fam trip, but you may take cooking classes, enjoy a safari, go hiking or backpacking, swim with the dolphins, or stomp grapes. The opportunities are endless.
However, the most important part about a FAM trip isn’t to enjoy a free vacation (in many cases, the trip isn’t free, but it is seriously discounted and you can usually bring a companion or several at the same rate). A travel agent is there to learn when on these excursions. You should be making notes about what you are enjoying on the trip so you can share this information with your clients. Here are some other tips about FAM trips:
- Bring a camera. You can document your trip in photos and even share these photos on your blog or website.
- Be professional: remember that this isn’t your vacation. You’re working and you should make sure that you, and any party you bring, is on their best behavior.
- Don’t cancel. If you paid for a FAM trip and cancel, many operators and destinations can bill you for a higher rate.
- Jam-packed trip: For most of these trips, it’s busy, busy, busy. You are expected to see so much in such a small amount of time.
- Get an agenda: You should know what you will be expecting on the FAM trip before it begins. There’s typically a schedule of events, so if you do not get one, ask.
- Provide feedback: Let the FAM operator know if there were any problems on the trip. Sometimes they may not realize that a leader of the tour struggled explaining information to you or that other travel agents weren’t being professional.
Taking a fam trip is only one part of educating yourself as a travel agent. Reading travel publications and industry news and networking with other professionals in the field will ensure that you are a well-educated travel agent that your clients need.
TammyLevent