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This week, Trade Secrets is all about the fam — fam, or familiarization, trips, that is! Hosts Emma Weissmann and Jamie Biesiada are joined by Theresa Chu-Bermudez, owner of Get Out! Custom Travels, co-host of the Tin Lounge Podcast and the creator of Fam with Intention.
They talk about all of the ins and outs of fams: how to find them, how to prepare for them, what to do on a fam, and what to do after the trip is over.
This episode is sponsored by Air France-KLM.
Theme song: Sock Hop by Kevin MacLeod (License)
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Credit: 2023 Jenn MartinsFurther Resources and Related Reading
Theresa Chu-Bermudez’s agency, Get Out! Custom Travels, online and on Instagram
Fam with Intention online and on Instagram
Tyson Wharton, owner and founder of Sioux Empire Travel, and his fam trip do’s and don’ts:
Do's:
- Be on time and on schedule
- Dress and act professionally
- Be positive, helpful, mindful and respectful of other guests on the property
- Introduce yourself to your sales managers, BDMs, other travel advisors and hotel staff
- Pack a bunch of business cards
- See the place through your clients’ eyes
- Be prepared — pack comfortable shoes
- Be grateful, be kind, be awesome
Don’ts:
- Approach other guests and try to sell them your services
- Treat this as a vacation — it’s work
- Complain
- Break the rules of a site inspection
- Act a fool
- Take calls during inspections and important fam appointments, but you can work in your room or on down time if you need to
- Annoy or overwhelm your BDM, hosts or managers
- Gimbals for your phone
- The Future Leaders in Travel Retreat
- Trello
Thanks to our friends at The Hive for helping solicit questions for this season of Trade Secrets.
Ask a Question on the Podcast
If you're a travel advisor with a question about the latest travel news, trends, best business practices or more, please call our hotline and leave a message at 201-902-2098 or send an email to tradesecrets@travelweekly.com.
About Your Hosts
Emma Weissmann is the Managing Editor of TravelAge West, a print and online magazine for travel advisors based in the Western U.S. She is also the host of the Humans of Travel podcast, where she interviews notable individuals in the travel industry about their lives — the highs and lows that make them human.
Jamie Biesiada is a Senior Editor with Travel Weekly. She is an award-winning journalist, including being named the American Society of Travel Advisors’ 2019 Travel Journalist of the Year. Her roots are in community journalism, where she was the editor of several local newspapers and a regional entertainment magazine.
About the Show
Trade Secrets, a podcast from the editors of Travel Weekly and TravelAge West, is where travel advisors ask — and answer — questions. On each podcast, our editors will ask a veteran travel industry insider to join them and field listeners’ questions. Topics will range from business advice to industry trends, history and more — as long as it’s travel-related, we want to address it! Find Trade Secrets wherever you get your podcasts, or at www.travelagewest.com/podcasts/trade-secrets.
