Are a travel agent’s opportunities for travel what they once were? In our famil lowdown we look at how to get on a famil and what NOT to do when on one.
You likely work in travel because you love to travel. But how often do you actually get to travel? Even before the pandemic, famils weren’t as easy to come by as they once used to be.
“As an independent agent, famils are few and far between,” Hollyday Travel owner and manager Holly Velardo tells Karryon.
Velardo is also the South Australian Regional Director for the Australian Travel Agents Cooperative. She says that famils are mainly offered to larger groups, and small and independent agents often get overlooked.
“This means that unless you have an amazing relationship with the rep or sell a large amount of a certain product, the chances of being chosen for a famil are virtually zero.”
But Velardo acknowledges just how hard it is to organise a famil post pandemic.
“In the current climate of so many operators being understaffed and airline capacities being so full, it is incredibly challenging to put famils together,” she says.
Are famils still necessary?
A lot has changed since our borders reopened. Many destinations, hotels and operators used the pause in travel to add to, or upgrade their offerings. It’s one thing to know those changes were made, but quite another to experience them.
That’s why Velardo says that famils are needed “now more than ever”.
“Travellers are cashed up and ready to explore new places,” she tells Karryon.
“Being able to share your own personal experiences with clients makes all the difference. By visiting a place yourself, you can show your clients how incredible these locations really are.
“You can speak passionately about what you’ve seen, heard, and experienced first-hand in order to better entice them to visit.”
And with the advent of social media, agents on a famil can now inspire travel to a destination, says Velardo.
“Social media and travel technology plays a huge part now in being able to showcase these destinations to your clients.”
So how can travel agents score a spot on a famil?
Post pandemic, famils are more expensive than ever to run for tourism boards and their partners. So says Destination Canada trade director Nathan McLoughlin.
“That means that at Destination Canada we will be really looking for those agents who are active in our program,” he tells Karryon.
“We also look for those we know will benefit from the experience and sell more Canada.”
But even relatively new travel advisors have a chance to get on a famil. According to McLoughlin, agents who sign up to the Canada Specialist Program and complete the training “will always be in the running to win a spot on any famil that we host.”
“What also helps is attending our in-person events, webinars etc as this all shows that the agent is active and interested in learning more about the destination.”
“Hosting these types of agents will be money well spent from our point of view.”
Also a regular to hosting agents on famil is the Globus family of brands (hereafter Globus).
“Agents are really the front line of sales for Globus,” Globus family of brands head of sales Peter Douglas said. And it’s for this reason that the company “loves” hosting them on famils.
“To get on a famil, agents can do things like support the Globus family of brands product range with bookings, and engage with their BDM through sales calls and training.”
FALSE: What happens on famil, stays on famil
The new rule of fams is: what happens on famil, goes on social media. But even before Facebook, famil hosts and participants had long memories and big mouths. Behaving poorly does not help you to get on another fam.
Aside from following basic rules of human decency, hosts’ expectations are pretty easy to meet. They want you to have a good time so that you can share your experience with your clients. Just have a good time in moderation. That means getting drunk every night is not a good idea. Neither is being late the next morning for pick up. And be friendly, but not too friendly (if you know what I mean).
“Agents that join us on famils are usually having an absolute ball, so they post on social media about their experience, which is great,” says Globus’ Douglas.
“We ask agents to be mindful of paying guests on the trip, and we always ask for feedback on what they enjoyed the most and any areas Globus could improve on.
More of the work happens when agents get back home. Douglas says Globus encourages “peer training and advocacy of Globus to colleagues, and advocacy of our brands to clients happens naturally when [agents] return”, he says.
“Ultimately, we are hosting famils to drive bookings, and we know that an agent’s confidence in selling Globus is boosted after they’ve travelled with us. So, we love to see those bookings coming through after a famil too.”
