Agents share fam trip frustrations as poll reveals majority want change 

Room sharing  

Agents expressed dissatisfaction with the expectation of sharing hotel rooms with other advisors, arguing that it is unfair for professionals who don’t know each other to bunk together.

It is common practice for fam trip hosts to allocate rooms on a two-person basis, usually as a way to keep costs down and fit more participants on the tour. 

“I have never understood how it’s acceptable to expect two total strangers to share a room for an entire trip,” one travel advisor wrote. “There are so many ways in which it hinders the experience and more and more agents are missing out on business boosting educational opportunities through refusing to share a room.”

This sentiment was echoed by another respondent, who warned: “It’s only a matter of time before a company gets their fingers burnt on room sharing.” 

Little free time 

Another issue raised was the lack of free time on fam trip itineraries, which can often be jam-packed with show rounds, excursions and activities. Agents urged suppliers to include more breaks in the schedule, which would allow them to catch up on work, rest and recuperate, and of course, experience the property at their own pace. 

Disorganisation  

Poor planning is another gripe for agents on fam trips, with one advisor claiming they’d visited properties that weren’t ready for their arrival. 

“It is amazing how many times a show round or property inspection is scheduled and yet the hotel or sales team is completely unprepared,” said Tom Parsley, personal travel consultant at Hays Travel.

Different priorities 

Agents also called for more attention to the selection process for fam trips, with some arguing that not everybody attends the tour for the same reasons. 

“It’s really not fun when half a group are genuinely on a fam to educate themselves and share valuable insight with their clients whilst the other half see it as a freebie or jolly because they won it in a prize draw, and haven’t made any effort to do any training on the destination, and don’t give back in the form of social content/blogs and promotion of the destination,” one advisor wrote.