Stay longer – for the content
Every fam trip is an opportunity for gathering original evergreen content, says Sarah.
From videos of presidential suites to photos of bathroom amenities, educational tours offer advisors exclusive access to some of the world’s best properties and destinations.
However, it’s not always easy to secure this unique content. Not only is it difficult to adequately capture a space that’s crowded with other agents, site inspections can sometimes skip over important features due to limited time. A common obstacle is access – advisors may not see certain room categories if they’re occupied, or a part of the property if it’s reserved for a private event.
Sarah believes the best way to overcome these barriers is simple: stay longer. If the flights aren’t covered by the fam trip organisers, she will use this flexibility to extend her visit by a day or two.
Sarah always tries to extend her fam trip visits to capture as much content as possible
“Having a full showcase of properties at different price points and locations is an ideal way to maximise potential bookings, especially if it’s a destination you’re already selling a lot of,” she explained.
Sarah also often requests to conduct site inspections of nearby properties, should the itinerary allow.
“When I was on a recent Domes mega fam in Crete, I asked the hosts if I could check out a couple of Grecotel properties – the newly refurbished Grecotel Creta palace and the stunning Caramel,” said Sarah, before emphasising the importance of carefully timing any promotion of competitor hotels.
“I assured them that I wouldn’t cross post these as part of the same trip, as a measure of respect for the Domes brand.”
Sell yourself
For some travel agents, fam trips serve as an invaluable platform to showcase their secondary services. Many advisors carry diverse skill sets from previous careers, while others generate extra income through side ventures such as consultancy, tour guiding, or website design.
Recognising this, Domes invited Sarah – who also runs a social media coaching business – to lead a session on digital marketing for the 20 agents on the first morning of the trip. During the workshop, she shared practical ideas for creating compelling content for their customers.
“This received great feedback from all the agents, who said they’d learnt simple hacks and tips to really push their content out from the fam trip to existing and future clients,” she said.
“Domes also ran an incentive as part of this training, which had the agents pair up to make promotional reels for the hotel. The agents who produced the best reel each won a personal stay for two people at the hotel.”
Visit clients on-site
If your fam trip happens to overlap with a client’s holiday, making time for a quick face-to-face visit (if feasible) can go a remarkably long way.
It provides the perfect chance to ensure everything is running seamlessly, and in some cases, share in your clients’ biggest milestones firsthand.
“I had new clients staying in Ikos Kissamos that same week I was on the Domes trip, and as it was a brand-new opening, I wanted to try and meet them in resort while I was on the island,” Sarah said.
Sarah was able to congratulate her client in person after successfully arranging a romantic yacht proposal
“The best part of this story is while I was on the boat trip bobbing about the sea I was also on WhatsApp co-ordinating with Ikos reservations team organising a yacht charter and the designated photographer helping my client propose to his girlfriend that evening. So it was even more special to be able to not only go and view a brand new property but also congratulate them in person.
They were super touched that I was able to drive over and meet them for a drink and find out how their holiday was going face-to-face. They were having an amazing time.”