Charging for fams trips would attract...

Celestyal's Janet Parton suggests imposing fee could prove 'commitment from trade'

Charging agents a fee to attend fam trips could help get “the right agents on the right educationals”, a round-table discussion heard.

Speaking during a discussion hosted by Connecting Travel's sister publication Travel Weekly, Celestyal Cruises business development vice-president Janet Parton said the line does not currently have plans to charge agents for attending fam trips, but argued it could be beneficial for cruise lines because it “shows a commitment” from the trade.

Parton’s comments echo calls made by Clia chair Ben Bouldin for agents to be held accountable if they're invited on fam trips.

Parton said: “We want agents to become ambassadors for our brands once they have been on a fam trip, so I think having agents apply for trips is a really good way of doing it because it shows a commitment.

“I always ask agents what they’re going to do in return for the place on the trip and how they’re going to share their knowledge after they have come back."

Parton added: “There could be a rule that agents would be charged to go on the fam but then if they made a booking they would get their money back, or something along those lines. But the key is to have a commitment from those agents who are going.”

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Riviera Travel channel director Stuart Milan said the operator monitors the performance of stores after an agent has been on a fam trip to ensure there is a return on its investment.

Milan echoed Parton’s comments on agents becoming ambassadors for a brand and said Riviera Travel encourages the trade to utilise any digital content they get during a fam trip by sharing it with colleagues.

“Once an agent has been on a trip, we look at their store and see if their booking levels increase to ensure the experience was a success,” Milan said. “If sales have not gone up, we know that we need to go in and do more training. Fortunately for us, we see a relatively instant return so we’re not in a place where we need to charge for fams.”