In the travel industry, FAM Trips (short for “familiarization”) trips are often used to help travel advisors get to know a destination or product firsthand. Typically offered at a reduced cost, or sometimes entirely free, these trips are meant to equip advisors with the insights they need to confidently sell and design travel for their clients.
But the traditional model often comes with tradeoffs like jam-packed days that run from early morning to late at night and an emphasis on volume over depth. Advisors may be rushed from site to site with barely a moment to absorb what makes a place truly special.
Our approach is different. Yes, our FAMs move at a faster pace than a typical client itinerary, but they’re designed with care, clarity, and intention. We prioritize immersive experiences over box-checking, build in space for personal time, and pay fairly for the local expertise we rely on. These trips are designed to get to know a destination as authentically as possible. Read on to dive into our top five priorities for FAM trips design:
1. Creating FAM trips with Humanity in Mind
We recognize that FAM trips often move at a brisk pace. There’s usually a lot to cover in a limited timeframe, and the pressure to maximize every moment can feel intense. But moving quickly doesn’t necessarily mean sacrificing the well-being of the people on the trip. Our FAMs are designed with a simple yet vital truth in mind: travel advisors are people first. They juggle families, client needs, work deadlines, and inboxes that don’t pause just because they’re away.
Because of this, we build intentional space for rest and reflection into the itinerary. We know how important it is to have time to call home, pause to recharge between activities, or even just sip a coffee on a terrace in the morning. Unlike many familiarization trips that run from early morning until late at night with barely an hour for lunch, our trips leave room to breathe. This balance helps advisors stay present and engaged throughout the experience.
We believe genuine connection is born not from exhaustion, but from balance. Giving advisors time to process, reflect, and recharge ensures they absorb the destination in a way that is thoughtful and sustainable, not rushed and overwhelming. This human-centered approach honors the real lives advisors lead while supporting their professional growth in a way that feels more manageable and authentic.
2. Enabling Travel Advisors to Dig Deeper Into a Destination
Our FAM trips are designed to go far beyond the typical checklist of sights or the quick hotel walkthroughs. Instead, they’re grounded in the same philosophy that shapes every experience we craft for our travelers: slow, immersive, and deeply meaningful engagement with place and people.
Travel advisors on our trips don’t just observe, they participate. Our groups may do activities like learning how to make orecchiette with the locals in Puglia, savoring a multi-course lunch at a family-run mountain hut in the Dolomites, or strolling through artisan workshops where generations of craftsmanship come to life. These moments offer genuine connection and insight and it’s through these experiences, shared over laughter, stories, and hands-on learning, that a place reveals its true character.
We prioritize quality over quantity. While there’s certainly a rich variety of experiences packed into each trip, it’s never at the expense of depth. We make sure there’s time for slower moments to reflect on what makes the destination unique. It’s these pauses that turn travel from a simple itinerary into a lived story, and that enable advisors to truly understand the places they will one day guide their clients through.
3. Prioritizing Fair and Sustainable FAM Trips for Travel Advisors
Our FAM trips aren’t free, and that’s very much by design. While many familiarization trips in the industry are fully sponsored, we’ve chosen a different path because we believe in supporting the people and places that make these experiences special.
The artisans, guides, chefs, and small business owners who welcome us into their worlds invest their time, skill, and passion into every interaction. They are the heartbeat of the destinations we showcase, and they deserve fair compensation for the expertise and hospitality they share. Asking them to provide these experiences for free would undervalue their work and the unique cultural heritage they represent.
Advisors stay in the very same boutique hotels, family-run guesthouses, and sustainable properties we recommend to our clients. These places reflect the authenticity, character, and care we prioritize. Meals go beyond quick tastings; they’re full, thoughtfully prepared meals hosted by local chefs and producers who open their kitchens and stories to us. When we visit a craftsperson’s workshop or explore a region with a local guide, these experts are paid fairly for their knowledge and time, reinforcing a respectful partnership that benefits everyone involved.
This approach is rooted in mutual respect and sustainability. It’s not just about the quality of the experience, but about modeling how travel can be a positive force for communities. We expect excellence from our partners, and we honor that expectation by ensuring they are supported meaningfully. By investing in these relationships, we help sustain the very culture and traditions that make each destination unique, and that advisors can confidently share with their clients.
4. Designing Exclusive Trips for Travel Advisors Who Share Our Values
Our FAM trips are intentionally small, curated experiences designed for travel advisors that we already have a relationship with. We want to include the travel professionals that understand the level of thought, care, and nuance we bring to every itinerary, and who share our values when it comes to responsible, intentional travel.
This approach allows us all to dig deeper into the destination, making these trips the perfect space to refine product knowledge, ask more specific questions, and engage in collaborative conversations that make both of our work stronger. It’s not about learning how to sell a place, it’s about truly learning what makes a place special and about learning how to tell its story in a way that’s honest, personal, and compelling.
This also allows us to better represent the kind of travel we believe in: slow, immersive, and respectful of local cultures and communities. The advisors who join us are aligned in that approach, which means the FAM becomes a true extension of our partnership and a chance to exchange ideas, see what’s working, and get inspired for what’s next.
There’s a shared investment in the outcome, not just in selling more, but in delivering better. That sense of collaboration, trust, and mutual respect is what makes these FAMs so valuable for us, our advisors, and the travelers we both serve.
5. Building Advisors’ Travel Knowledge Through Intentional Itineraries
Our FAM trips aren’t designed around fast conversions, sales targets, or short-term wins. We’re not looking for advisors to return home and immediately start selling a destination they barely had time to process. That’s not how we operate and that’s not how trust is built.
Instead, these trips are part of a longer conversation. They’re about creating shared understanding, deepening alignment, and strengthening the foundation for future collaboration. We want our advisors to truly know the places we work in. We want them to understand a destination, including the rhythm of daily life, how a particular region feels, and the people who bring it all to life. That’s the kind of insight that takes time and intention to build.
Advisors often leave our trips with more than logistical knowledge. They leave with stories and a clear sense of why certain details matter. With confidence to speak about a place not just from what they’ve seen, but from what they’ve experienced. This allows them to leave having formed lasting relationships with the local community, our team, and with fellow advisors who share a commitment to doing things thoughtfully.
We believe the most meaningful travel experiences come from this kind of depth. And we design our FAMs with the same care and purpose that guide every itinerary we create.
See What Our FAM Trips Can Do for You
We know that FAM trips set the tone for how travel advisors understand and talk about a destination and we don’t take that responsibility lightly. For us, this model matters because it reflects everything we believe travel should be: respectful, immersive, human-centered, and intentional.
From our recent FAM trip in Puglia to our latest journey through the Dolomites, we’ve seen how this approach allows advisors to engage with a place more meaningfully. They leave not only with practical insights, but with stories, connections, and a stronger sense of how to design experiences that go beyond the expected.
These trips are small by design, and reserved for partners who already work closely with us, but if you’re a like-minded advisor who’s curious to learn more, we’d love to hear from you. The work we do is only possible because of strong relationships, and we’re always open to building new ones with those who care as deeply about the details as we do.