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Apr 19, 2026
What Makes a Great Fam trip?
What Makes a Great Fam trip?
00:00
49:53
Transcript
0:00
[singing] Hey, hey, hey. Russell of Hotels going live just for a couple minutes. You guys know how I do it, and Miss Tiffany is back with us. She's been doing her thing somewhere. Who...
0:15
God knows where, where she's been, but she's here to talk a little bit about it. Hey, Miss Tiffany, how are you? Hey. Let's just get a quick recap, you know. [laughs] Things are going well. Travel's been good.
0:25
Okay, so Miss Tiffany just attended a FAM trip. So before we get into the FAM trip that you attended, what is a FAM trip, Miss Tiffany? FAM. You know what? Short for Familiarization trip.
0:39
It's just to get you familiar with either the destination or the resort in hopes that you do business with them. So give me- So this particular FAM trip was a destination FAM trip. Okay.
0:50
Uh, seeing if the destination would work for any events. And had you been to this destination before? Uh, one time. One time. Maybe about ten, maybe ten, twelve years ago. Yeah.
0:59
Okay, so but you were in a different capacity than you are now 'cause- Yeah, it was, it was a girls' trip. It was girls' weekend trip, so that's different. Oh, okay. It was a girls' weekend trip. Yeah. Okay.
1:08
Mention the, you know, the hotel you stayed in, if you will. So okay.
1:13
Well, FAM trip was, um, to Memphis, and interesting from the lens of a, you know, event professional, now you're looking at every little detail, right? Even, hey, how far is it from an airport to where we're going?
1:26
So we're timing it. Mm-hmm. Like, okay, you know, it's easy airport access, get to downtown in about ten, fifteen minutes. This is Memphis.
1:33
Stayed at the iconic Peabody Hotel that's right there in the heart- The Peabody...of downtown. And then funny enough, I did go there that first time I was in Memphis to see the ducks.
1:43
So that's a very popular thing for people to do, even if they're not staying at the Peabody. It's open to the public. You can go in and view the ducks.
1:51
They have a, um, they have a duck march twice a day, so eleven and five clock, so that's when people come in and take pictures and video, you know? Did you do that? Did I see the ducks?
2:02
Take photos of and, and video of the ducks walking in, marching in. Yeah. Okay. I d- I did when I went there. I mean, I felt like it was so quick that I was like I, I kinda want it more.
2:14
[laughs] It was, it was, it was blink and you missed it. You better make sure you're on time and you're waiting for those ducks to march out or you'll miss it. But yeah, I did that twice a day.
2:24
When they come down from... Uh, they live on the, on the roof. They live in the penthouse. They live on the roof, but when I checked in there was a few ducks in the little pond area just, just chilling, just hanging out.
2:34
People... Those are the same ducks. Oh. Those are the ones that march out. So when- They march out- And then they go home?...and they march in. All right.
2:41
They march in in the morning, and they march out in the afternoon. Look at you knowing. Watchu- Okay, so what I did the evening, so five o'clock. Yeah. Okay. They were leaving the pond, right? Yeah. Yeah. So you- Hello.
2:52
And we were in the mezzanine area, so we saw like kind of below. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yep. And we were able to see where they live, you know, [laughs] the little, the little house on the roof. Yeah.
3:03
Yeah, that's cool. So you- Okay, so you know all about it. You've been to Memphis. I've stayed in that hotel before. I've been to that destination before.
3:12
Um, yeah, I have been there before, but I've never been on a FAM trip to, to that destination before. Oh, lord. That's the thing. Still to this day, never been on a FAM trip.
3:21
[laughs] To this day I've never done a FAM to Memphis. At this moment you have not. Well, I think I mentioned as to see if that's a viable location for any meetings, events, retreats, conferences, being able to...
3:35
So th-this, because this is a destination FAM, it's usually put together with the CVB. So being able to see all the components of that destination- Mm-hmm...to see if that would work for any other programs.
3:47
And so when CVBs put together FAMs, they're not only giving you hotel options but maybe activities, maybe things that are iconic to the city, maybe things that will stand out. So there's a whole lot.
4:01
And what I've noticed, too, when they do FAMs, they, I mean, they condense a lot into one or two days 'cause they wanna get you a little taste of it, you know? Is that a good thing? Is that a good thing?
4:11
I mean, I understand why they do it, but it's hard on a planner, you know? Um- What do you mean? What does that mean exactly?
4:18
Because, Russell, I think people that are outside our industry are like, "Oh my gosh, you go to these amazing events, and you go to these destinations, and you're put up in these hotels."
4:27
And I'm like, "Y'all, this is work." I'm up before I'm normally [laughs] up for these things. When I tell you they were like, "Be downstairs at eight." Eight, not eight oh five, not eight oh two, not e- like eight.
4:38
And so you're on a schedule. And a lot of these FAMs, when you start, you don't come back until, you know, eight, nine, ten o'clock. Like, you don't come back to the hotel. You don't see anything.
4:50
You're just out and about. So when you say, "Is it a good thing?" You're getting a lot in one day, but it's, it's a lot of work. You know, you're walking around, you're doing things, you're on the go and yeah.
5:01
And I get it. If it was a perfect world, they'll give you, you know, three or four days, but think about FAM trips are not-- they're still a, an expense. They're putting you up in hotels.
5:12
You know, some of them are flying you out. They're like, "Look, the budget does not allow us to [laughs] have you here for five or six, seven days." [laughs] "So here's what we got. Two days of hotel...
5:21
Uh, two nights of your hotel, and in that time we're going to just jam everything we can- Hmm. "...in those two days." Hmm. Okay. Okay. So you attended this FAM trip.
5:32
The, the purpose- Yeah...is to kind of get familiar with that destination and some of the hotels that it, they have to offer and some of the other things that maybe you didn't know about.
5:43
Now, did you see the, is it Elvis? What, what is it called? Oh, s- um- Graceland? Graceland. Graceland. Yeah. So yeah, the Graceland Museum. Again, we, we went kind of by it.
5:53
We did a quick walk, and then we had a- Oh, you went in. No. But it's an eighty-five dollar pass I heard. It's like this all-inclusive pass that you can spend, and it's a self-guided tour.So we did not do that part.
6:06
We just kind of looked at some of the... There's some unique space in Graceland. You can-- There's some staging that you can do, some outside like reception events right around the museum. Mm-hmm.
6:16
But we did not go into the museum, which- Okay. -I get, you know, time permitting. But they do have the hotel across the street called The Guest House, beautiful hotel.
6:26
And what they explain is that it's not heavy involved with the whole Elvis thing. So for people that, you know, want the whole Elvis experience, it's more of a like just very, uh, subtle. So it's not in your face.
6:39
They don't have anything that says, you know, "Here's Elvis here." They have... It's very great aesthetically beautiful space. They have a lot of, uh, unique meeting space.
6:49
And then if you want your Elvis fix, you go across the street, you immerse yourself in the, in the museum.
6:54
And I really appreciate that as me, not so much of a, an Elvis fan, like a lot of people, so I don't need it [laughs] you know, I don't need it in my face, but it's nice to visit.
7:06
But it was a beautiful hotel and, you know, that's outside of the downtown area, so kind of keeping in mind. That's another thing too with these FAMs, thinking about what hotel makes sense for your group.
7:16
Do you want a group that's downtown that just wants to walk? You know, that things are easily accessible.
7:21
You wanna be outside the city where you now you have to book transportation and making sure that they're coordinating and getting back to their activities. Mm-hmm. So those are also things to consider.
7:30
Location of hotels. Location, location, location. Yeah. Okay. How was the food there? Oh. So they-- Somebody mentioned that they're a baby New Orleans at first, and I could, I could see that.
7:42
The food is- They're a baby New Orleans. Right. I, I get this. It's like, wait, did I hear this-- Okay. Let me... Did I hear this correctly that Mardi Gras started in Memphis or something like that? Oh, I have no idea.
7:54
There was- Is there a Mardi Gras in Memphis? There... I'm trying to re-- There's something, there's some correlation between Mardi Gras, Memphis, Mardi Gras, and New Orleans. Okay? I mean- Really? All right.
8:05
Of course we all associate... And I, and I could be getting that wrong. I could be getting the destination wrong. Right. Um, but I just remembered attending one of these shows where they mentioned something.
8:16
Now, and it may, it may not have been Memphis, okay? So- Interesting. I know, right? I had to look it up real quick. Did you look it up? Did you say Memphis and Mardi Gras? Just put- Well, it just has... No.
8:25
A restaurant came up, Mardi Gras Memphis. [laughs] Oh, maybe it, you know, it was something I can't remember. Yeah. Maybe it wasn't Memphis. Maybe it wasn't.
8:33
Well, it's, it's, I think there's a, um, an event, so it's called Mardi Gras Memphis Is Back, and then they have a, a celebration. Well, you know, a lot of cities do, though. Celebrate. Oh, speaking... Okay.
8:45
Look at you with always singing. Speaking of music, Memphis, heart of, you know, heart of the, uh, you know, rock 'n' roll, soul, and, um- Blues. Blues, absolutely, and then Beale Street.
8:57
But one of the things that stuck out, when you talk about FAM trips with all these activities and then just having time to just let things naturally happen.
9:05
So we walk down Beale Street, and we end up at this outside kind of area, and the band is playing, and we end up staying there for a couple hours because it was, I mean, it was so good. And the- Wow.
9:17
-the weather was great. They had this little, um, bar outside 'cause, you know, you can, you know, it's open container, so you can just walk around with your cup. And I'm sure you were doing that, right?
9:26
No, because I told you we were sitting on these like picnic, uh, tables that were just right outside and, I mean- Okay. -you just happen to stumble upon them saying like, "Oh, this music is great. We're gonna..."
9:36
And so, you know, the dancing and just, oh my god, it was a time. Okay. It's a time. Okay. And that wasn't scheduled.
9:43
It was literally part of the itinerary to go to Beale Street, but it wasn't like, "We're going here to this venue," and listen to this music. The Beatles times. So you had a time. We had a time. Okay. Okay. Very good.
9:54
Very good. Okay. I, I just, I changed the... Should you-- This is FAM trips. Should you do them? Should you do FAM trips? How should they be done? Okay, so you did this FAM. It seemed like you had a wonderful time.
10:08
I mean, you're- A little. You had a time. That's what you said. We had a time. You had a time. Okay. That's- Yeah. That's- That's your words. So should you do 'em? I mean, who should do them? Well, okay.
10:18
That, I think that should be the question, who should do them? 'Cause I was like, who's the you when you're talking about hospitality and you're looking to attract your planners?
10:27
And I, I think I mentioned it, this to you earlier. It's a difference between sending out communication and email and specs about your destination, your hotel, than to actually let your planners experience it- Mm-hmm.
10:40
-firsthand. Mm-hmm. You know? You're always going to get a better result doing that. So if you're a hotel, i-if you're a destination, yes, you should be doing FAMs. You should budget for FAM trips. Okay.
10:53
If you're talking about looking at your overall budget and going to these shows, and you know, Russell, we do this, the twelve-minute appointments, and you're bombarded by everybody else and everybody's information, and I've already zoned out because I can't, [laughs] you know, can't even hold all the information.
11:09
But then when you bring, you know, qualified planners to your destination, to your hotel, that's your spotlight. You don't have any other ex-- distractions. You don't have someone else hotel in the planner's ear.
11:22
You have our captive attention, right? [laughs] Mm-hmm. You've flown us out. You've hosted us. You have our a-attention for those, uh, few days. So absolutely you should be doing FAM trips. Okay. You mentioned one thing.
11:36
Before we go on to the next thing, you mentioned one thing. You said qualified planners. Okay? Sure. That was-- What does that mean, qualified planners? Well, I think it means different to, depending on who you are.
11:48
You know what I mean? Because- Like for you. For you. Well, no, for me, a qualified planner is someone who's doing, who's, who's planning, who's doing business.
11:56
Okay, I'm a qualified planner because what-- this is what I do full-time, but am I qualified to do a FAM trip to Greece? Maybe not.
12:04
I don't know because I'm not doing business in Greece, so that might make me unqualified. So when we talk about qualified, we talk about the potential business that you're gonna bring.Depending on your market. Okay.
12:15
And so we mentioned that. Okay. So she-- Okay, I knew you were gonna say that. [laughs] So you, you just jumped r-- fell into the trap. Oh, goodness. So based on market segments that you happen to represent- Sure...
12:30
was, was that a good fit for you to go to that one? W- do you see your clients going there? I'm just, I'm just asking a question. Well, as an independent planner, I have different segments of clients.
12:41
When you're talking about... Because my market is primarily corporate, it wasn't exact. You know what? The jury is still out. And when I say that about- The jury is still out.
12:52
There are certain things that I can see us there. We did tour the Hilton. When I walked in the Hilton, I was like, "Oh, Hilton gets it."
12:59
It was-- The lobby was this open air lobby, had plenty of workspace, had comfortable chairs, had an ambiance, and then, I mean, they're crunching out events like that.
13:08
And I walk in, and I'm like, "That's usually the venue I would book." However, it was a little bit aways from the downtown area. So I'm like, "Okay, does this... would this work for location-wise?"
13:20
Another thing, too, Memphis, when I look at, is the affordability.
13:24
And so because I do events in different regions, the Southeast region is always gonna offset something where we have to have a bigger budget for, let's say, California.
13:34
[laughs] So when you think about if you have this, you know, overall budget and you're like, "Well, I want my money to, you know, work for me," the Southeast market is always gonna be a reasonable option.
13:45
So now you think about can Memphis fit that Southeast market. I think there's a lot of great components, great food, great people, great energy.
13:55
I'm still on the fence about certain hotels, honestly, and that's just my opinion. And is that because of proximity to downtown? D- were these areas walkable?
14:05
Were they still accessible to the downtown, to the Beale Street? Because that's a huge draw right there. Sure. Yeah. Yeah.
14:13
So you would need to kinda contract, uh, transportation to some of the, the corporate-style hotels. I just didn't feel... Not yet. I just didn't feel that I had a, a downtown option for my market. Okay.
14:25
So you're saying that the, the Peabody wouldn't be ideal for your corporate groups? You know what? That's- Let me-- Wait, let's, let's go there. I was really excited to...
14:35
I-- Peabody is iconic, and I was really excited about going to visit it. Service was great. I just... The rooms didn't do it for me. I did learn that they have sixteen variations of rooms.
14:49
And then I was like, "Ooh, that's gonna be a sticky situation if I'm booking a room," [laughs] and then you got your attendee saying, "Well, so-and-so has a different room. So-and-so has a couch in their room.
15:00
So-and-so has a chaise in their room." They had so many configurations. To me, it's more of a leisure, an upscale leisure hotel for me. Now, they do have great event space.
15:10
They do have good rooftop space, ballroom space, really great unique rooms, weddings, corporate events. But room-wise, hotel-wise, I'm still on the fence on that. Hmm. Yeah. Interesting. Yeah.
15:23
But like you- Well, so I guess, I guess I can only go off of the room that I received when I was at the Peabody. How was your room? Did you like it? It was very nice. Okay.
15:29
It was ve-- It was new and it-- but it was an upgrade because the gentleman at the front desk, I told him I had never been there before, and I was dreamed of coming to that hotel. He said, "Okay, I'ma-" I got you.
15:41
"I'ma give you a different experience." Right? Yeah. So he gave me a different type of room. And the room I th-- And I thought everybody had that type of room, right? See?
15:48
Then find out that, oh no, my room doesn't have a couch, and it had a separate little sitting area and ev-- It wasn't a suite, but it just a... And I thought all the rooms were that size.
15:56
The room was pretty substantial in size. So let me tell you about that. And I-- See, and it's interesting you say that because that's what you have in your mind. And I mentioned this.
16:06
I said, "Hey, when you're doing a FAM trip and you're attracting planners, and planners are going to sell and talk about it." So they gave us run-of-house rooms. And I know this because I changed my room.
16:16
[laughs] So my room was not up to my standards. It was not, it was not as clean. The carpet wasn't clean. And I showed it to them, and they said, "Oh, we're gonna upgrade you."
16:26
And I get in there and to your point, it's not a suite, but you can tell it was a deluxe king. And I was like, "Oh." Now, had they started with that room, it would've been in our mind.
16:36
And then when you go to contract that room, that's what... I mean, you're building higher sales when you do that.
16:42
So when you think about, "I'm gonna set aside some upgraded rooms for planners," I know it's a little bit costly, but at the end, that's what we're going to contract. But because you put us in these run-of-house rooms...
16:56
So I think keeping in mind that, and there's been some FAM trips where I'm just blown away by the rooms. I don't even care what the other rooms look like. This, this is my room, and that's the room I'm gonna speak on.
17:06
When I go to send the RFP, I'm gonna be like, "Can you contract these rooms and these room only?" We're not even looking at run-of-house rooms. And that's how you- Mm. You know, you, you build your contract. Yeah.
17:15
Why wouldn't you do it? It's a win-win. So- So you're saying that hotels should show the best of the best? You, you need to start with, you know, upgrade. Don't give us that run-of-house.
17:26
Now, I'm-- Did I say we have to all be in the penthouse, in the suites? No. But- You didn't say that. You just said- [laughs] But a lu- You just said don't give us run-of-house. Yeah. What does run-of-house mean?
17:35
What does that mean, run-of-house? It's just a sta-- [laughs] It's so funny you say that. So the standard room, but when I think of run-of-house, I think about when you book on Ex-Expedia.
17:45
[laughs] I mean, when I think about you get the top room, it's the run-of-house room. So when you talk about groups and events and you talk about upscale and upgrade, I wish they would've understood the impact of that.
17:59
Yeah. And even our tour, if you're telling me we have sixteen variations, what, what does that mean? What is a good... What do we start with? You know? Hmm. And as a planner, I'm so busy.
18:09
I can't go through and see, like, what sixteen ones look like. But can you tell me, "Okay, you know, based on your group, let's start with some deluxe."Let's contract a few upgrades, maybe a couple suites.
18:22
We didn't see any suites on our tour. I think they were all booked. Mm-hmm. I don't think they had that many. But again, they were all different.
18:29
And you know, keeping in mind the iconic hotel, the historic hotel, they're like that. So you can't compare a historic hotel to, you know, a lifestyle brand.
18:39
You know, a, a trendier, you know, Autograph Collection of Marriott. It's completely- Mm-hmm... different because they're constrained by the, you know, what they can do. Mm. Now, they were renovated, I could tell, right?
18:50
You could tell that they were. They, they were renovated or not? They were- Okay. I think in the last few years. Okay. I think '20, '21. Yeah. Very good. That sounds good. Okay. So how should these be done? Okay.
19:05
Oh, and I wanna mention this 'cause I think this is a key differentiator that... What is it? Visit-- No, Memphis Tourism, they are all from Memphis, born and raised, and you could tell.
19:16
I mean, when you talk about the history that they have behind and knowing things and being very knowledgeable and talking about-- So you get that local knowledge, and you can tell the difference between a CVB- How old are these people?
19:28
My point is they're giving all this, like, insight and giving these little tips and I feel like that's a difference between somebody who just works at a CVB, like, "This is my job." Mm-hmm.
19:37
Like, they're passionate about their city. They're like, "How can we bring you here? What can we do?" And I, ooh, I love working with people like that. I'm like, "Well, can you throw this in?"
19:45
[laughs] "Can you add this?" No, but they were talking about different, you know, activities you can add on to, um, different tours, the Civil Rights Museum, getting just really some unique things.
19:57
You could do a tour on the shuttle on the way from your hotel to downtown, so those are, you know, just different options. Okay. Okay. Very good. I really enjoyed it because I think I got the room.
20:08
I, I didn't know what to expect, but I know I got an upgraded room, so- Yeah... uh, just by letting them know that, "Hey, um, this is my first time here.
20:16
I've always wanted to stay at this hotel," and he kinda hooked me up, and I appre- and I appreciate it. And you know what I did? And I normally don't do this. I give this...
20:23
I send this guy a card, and I put some money in this, in the card for him. Is that, um, from them? I still did. I've never done that before in my life. Okay. And but I thought that was-- He didn't have to do that.
20:34
And I happened to look at some of the other rooms, like, you know, you walk by and the housekeeper- Yeah... cleaning the room. I, like, look in there. It's like, "Well, my room don't look like that.
20:41
Well, thank God I didn't get that." [laughs] Right. [laughs] So I appreciate that, and I, yeah, I, I kinda tipped him on that, so. Nice. Very nice. Fam trips are important. Okay, I was gonna talk about the fam.
20:53
So you already d- we talked about who should do them- Mm-hmm... how they should be done, meaning who attends, who's invited to go? How would one CVB determine who should be invited to a fam trip?
21:09
Uh, I know you're not a CVB. I know. I was like, "Wait." [laughs] But wait, wait, wait. You know the makeup of the people that were there, okay? The people that were at the attendees of this fam trip. Sure.
21:19
You're one of them. There were several other people there, and you knew that knowing you, you know who they are, at least what they do. Did they represent what this fam or what the CVB was looking for?
21:31
Because I know Memphis looks for certain market segments, okay? And that could be corporate. That could be SMURF or Social Military Educational Religious Fraternal. That could be, did I say sports?
21:43
That could be association. What were they actually looking for? And did you fit, and did you fit, uh, within that box? Well, interesting enough, I didn't know who was gonna be there. So sometimes it's different.
21:53
I mean, different fams, they'll send a list and then, and you'll see who, you know, and, and they'll put everyone's name in there.
22:00
I showed up, and I was like, "I, I didn't know how big it was gonna be [laughs] and who was coming." But we ended up meeting for lunch, and I wanna say it was about twelve of us total. And it was heavily sports-focused.
22:14
And I think it was-- It could have been, like, a sports-specific fam that I just got added to. [laughs] I don't know. I really didn't ask about what... if it, if it was a specific fam.
22:24
Yeah, I think, like, eighty percent of them were sports and then, like, small groups. And me being corporate, I... Yeah, I felt kinda like, "Huh." But you know what? I think a lot of, of fams that I attend, it's a mix.
22:37
It's usually, like, you got a few corporate, you got a few, few sports, a few SMURF, and so I like that mix. But this one happened to be, like, primarily sports. So then I kinda felt like, "Oh, [laughs]
22:51
I'm kinda seeing things differently." And I say that to say it was very, you know, even our sites were focused on different stages and, and bigger space, which I just, me personally, don't need. Mm-hmm.
23:04
So I was kind of, uh, you know, off to the side. I still think it was a good fam. I don't think it needed to be focused on corporate.
23:12
I could see that specific destination is more for the sports groups, and it reflects that in, uh, budget as well, so for the m- more affordable city. Yeah, and a lot of sports teams- Yeah...
23:24
wouldn't use a lot of space either. They wouldn't use a lot of space- Yeah... depending on where the venue, like, if it's a basketball team, if they're playing at a certain venue. Right. Right.
23:32
Sometimes it doesn't matter where they stay because they're gonna... they have vans or- Right... transportation anyway. And think about just little things they're not very meticulous about, "Oh, you know, is this right?"
23:44
So when [laughs]... So you know, I'm u- I'm using, utilizing my corporate eye, and I'm over here like, "Are there bathrobes in the closet?" You know what I'm saying? You know, when you talk about- Yeah. Yeah, we know.
23:55
We know what you're looking for. [laughs] And, yeah. Which I will say my upgraded room, Peabody, had both a bathrobe and slippers. But yeah, so you're looking at different things.
24:04
I think I mentioned, uh, went to the Hilton, and I immediately said, "Oh, there's plenty of space to get work done." Mm-hmm. Where a lot of the hotels we saw were more of a social aspect, you know? So I don't know.
24:16
I don't know, Russell. I think it depends. I think it, the CVBs need to be very specific about who they invite and not just being like-Oh, I met her at an event. She can come.
24:26
Like, making sure that they kind of sit down and say, "Hey, we wanna do this." If they're gonna do a specific sports fam, we wanna bring these specific planners out. Yeah. That makes sense. That makes sense. Well, I...
24:39
And I do wanna mention, so because I was in the corporate market and a couple other people were too, we ended up splitting off. So we, we split off before lunch- Mm-hmm.
24:49
-and we took transportation to go see the Hilton while the other group, about nine of them, went to see a sports facility. Oh. And I did appreciate that because I would have probably been bored. [chuckles] It just- Yeah.
25:03
That, that venue would not have worked. I mean, sometimes it's really nice to see venues even though you're not in that market, so you can tell others about. Mm-hmm.
25:09
And sometimes you're just like, "Well, let's maximize our time." Mm-hmm. And I think they did a really good job by saying, "Hey, do you wanna go see the Hilton?"
25:16
'Cause I've already mentioned them three times, [chuckles] because that makes sense for my market. Okay. So would you say they did a good job of, um, based on that location or that destination?
25:27
And this is just me outside looking in because I wasn't there. Well- But I'm just gonna ask this, you were there. Did it seem sports folk?
25:34
I mean, you said it was eighty percent of the people were s-sports, some type of sports planners, right? So do you think this was a sports kinda fam, and they just threw you in there? I'm just asking.
25:46
And you may have said this already. Well, they had representatives from all. So, you know, Josh, who invited me, is part of, like, the smurf market and social and things like that too.
25:57
And knowing that I do have other programs, so they were all represented. So there was someone doing corporate, there was someone doing sports.
26:06
I don't necessarily think it was supposed to be like, "It's a sports fam, but you can come." I think it was because the planners that they invited just happened to be that.
26:15
And then once they saw that, they were kinda gearing that to the planners. I don't- But what do you mean once, once they saw that? Don't they know who they invited? Well, I'm just saying I don't, I, I...
26:23
So I don't think they said, "We're gonna do a sports fam, and we're gonna invite people." I think the people that they invited were- Just happened to be more sports? Were more sports and...
26:32
Look, Russell, I don't think that's a question for me. I don't know who-- why or the reasoning they invited who they invited.
26:37
Well, I, I guess what I'm saying, the reason why I said that, Tiffany, is that if you're intentional about who you want to come, and you have to be very intentional. Right. Okay?
26:46
I mean, just like if there's three fams that are going on for us and we're invited to. Right. And we know our focus on what our groups would want, our clients would want, we're not gonna...
26:58
We shouldn't choose all three of them because maybe those destinations aren't geared towards, like, corporate or whatever. They could be more leisure, just like you said.
27:06
Or it can be more, it's a big play, big hotel, big destination, more for association. So we have to be intentional about where we go because we can't be spinning our wheels, wasting time going to different things, right?
27:17
So I guess what I'm saying is it ain't one size fits all. It's not one fam fits all for everyone. Right. Okay? But that's what I'm saying.
27:26
So on both sides, this, it benefits us if we know exactly what we're dealing with, and it benefits them if they know where their focus is, right? So that's what I mean about intentional. It has to be a...
27:37
It's a two-way street. So it's not just I'm not picking on them for doing the wrong thing. I'm not picking on you for going because you got invited. I'm saying that we [chuckles]
27:48
as professionals on both sides, 'cause remember, I've been on both sides. Well, I've been on the hotel, or the destination side- Oh.
27:53
-but I've been on the hotel side, and I've been on the meeting planner side or the hotel site selection side where you get invited to go a lot of different places, but you have to be strategic in what you're doing.
28:04
You gotta be intentional about what you do, okay? So that's what I'm saying for the people.
28:08
Because one thing about this ven-- or this platform that I have, I wanna educate the people that have no idea what the hell hospitality is, hotels, DMOs or CVBs. There's different levels of hotels.
28:21
I mean, there's luxury, there's economy, there's middle of the road. I mean, different types of brands. So that's my job to kinda educate people that are not hospitality focused. Mm-hmm.
28:33
That's kind of the purpose of why I do some of these shows, right? To do certain hotels to people that may not even known that they ve- even existed. Just so happened, quick segue here. Okay. I get this, uh, in the chat.
28:46
Gregory Lewis says, "Memphis is cool." I just put it on the screen. "Memphis is cool. We'll have to try this hotel." So we talked about the Peabody, right? He's talking about that. So that's what I'm talking about.
28:58
That's my, you know... That's why I do what I do, right? Because anytime we talk, we're gonna talk about a hotel or a destination, okay?
29:07
So we happened to talk about the destination, he, uh, mentioned it, and the hotel, which was the Peabody. So he's never been there before. He's been to Memphis before, but maybe he'll try the Peabody next time.
29:17
So that's what it's all about. Yeah. That's what you get from this platform, okay? [chuckles] I hear you. Thank you. Um- That's all I'm saying, what I'm saying.
29:28
Well, you make a good point about tailoring the trips to who you're targeting.
29:33
So like you said, if you have a whole bunch of plan-- You need to showcase your destination, but you still need to be intentional on what that looks like.
29:41
As much as fam trips are this, sounds this exciting program, you need to sit down and develop what are your goals, what are your strategy behind it? What am I gonna do? And not just...
29:50
It's not just something you just put together. Oh, you know what? I got some budget. I'm gonna invite my people that I talk-- [chuckles] that wanna hang out for two days.
29:58
And to your point, like, that's a missed opportunity if you're not focusing on that particular market for that planner. Yeah. Yes. Yes. Yes. You're, you're right. Yeah.
30:07
You know, certain destinations- And not to mention, there's others too that do that same thing with fam trips where you're just- Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Well, this is for everybody. This ain't just for- Right.
30:15
-folks who happen to go to this one. Right. I mean, it's just for everyone. You know, you gotta be strategic. What are your goals of what do you hope to get from this? I mean, all those things.
30:24
I mean, yeah, of course, the more eyes on your destination, I, I understand that, butYou gotta be intentional, you gotta be strategic. You want people that are...
30:33
if they don't book, you want people that are gonna talk about you. Yeah. In a good way. Oh, do you do that? Huh? Do you do that? What's that? Do you do that? Do you talk about what- Uh, yeah...
30:42
what you found out [laughs]. Especially if I'm invited, you know. Especially if I'm invited [laughs]. But you, you talk about it. I'm gonna talk about it. Oh, God. But guess what?
30:51
If I'm not invited, those conversations about certain destinations will be... they won't exist.
30:57
So other than because you're on here and that's where you came from, so this is what I, you know, this is what we're talking about, so. But no, I mean, that's just it. Uh, but no- Well, wait. Okay, wait, wait.
31:06
Well, let's talk about this real quick. So this... and I think you mentioned it earlier. So how do you get on these things? How are you inviting people to your, your FAM trips?
31:15
I mean, we said you have to be strategic, but is that happening? This industry is a relationship business, and a lot of my invites are, I'm talking with somebody and they're like, "Oh, okay, you seem cool."
31:26
All of a sudden it's like, "You know what? I have this trip coming up." So when does that become that indication that they wanna invite you [laughs] to a FAM? I have no idea. That's a good question [laughs].
31:36
I mean, it's all about the relationships, right? Yeah. It's all about the relationships. It's all about how you vibe with certain people or whatever. I, I get that. But they gotta look past that, right?
31:45
They have to kinda look, "Okay, yeah, I vibe with this person. Oh, s- this person would be real cool on a FAM trip. Yeah, okay."
31:51
But at the end of the day, at the end of that rainbow, you hope there's a pot of gold, meaning they're going to eventually book with you. Now, we know that everyone goes to these things.
32:01
They, they don't have an RFP for that destination, and more than likely you won't get anything from that. Yeah. But you get some exposure, okay? So what is the goal of that FAM trip? Right.
32:11
Of course, we all know that, "Oh, it's to get all this business." Well, that didn't happen on the first go-round. It goes with, you know, continued conversation, continued relationship, all those kinda things.
32:21
So hopefully, whoever your contact is with that will continue to, to cultivate this relationship- Sure... and like, "Hey, how was the FAM?" and get some feedback or whatever. Right. And then say, "Do you happen..."
32:33
You know, and once they know you well enough, "Hey, you know, do you, you, do you think we'll work for your next group?" Or whatever. Have they even asked you that? Huh? Yes. Okay. So- Yeah. It was a FAM.
32:43
They were like, "Hey, can you see something like this?" Getting my opinion about, you know, what hotel. There's an hotel that I wish I would have seen that may even work. But yeah.
32:53
Yeah, I think the FAM trips allow you to have those conversations that you can't have at, you know, a, an industry event, at a conference, at IMEX or whatever.
33:03
So you sitting at dinner and it's like you're really getting to know each other, and you're getting to know how they'll work with you. 'Cause you know, I'll be listening for keywords. "Hey, we can be flexible."
33:14
"Hey, this is the low [laughs] low season." "Hey, you know what? We can throw in some upgrades." I'm like, "Okay." Mm. So utilizing that FAM trip to, uh, for us to see how that working relationship's gonna be. Yeah.
33:27
You know? That, that, that makes sense 'cause you, you can't get any more immersed in that- Right... whole situation than being on a FAM. Exactly.
33:35
So you're not just evaluating the destination or the hotels, you're evaluating them as people you wanna work with. Right. They may be cool as hell, okay?
33:45
They're cooler than the, the other side of the pillow, but they may be jerks when you get to their city, you know? But that wasn't the case here. No.
33:52
But you get to see how people are and kinda see how they would operate or, or whatever. But I mean, I'm sure everybody's on their best behavior, everybody's putting on the, the great face- Yeah. Right...
34:03
and that and that. Yeah. But you can still see within, even within that, you can still see if those are people that you wanna work with. So- Yeah...
34:11
and once again, it's strengthening the relationship because now, okay, they've invited you, and now subconsciously you're thinking about that destination for any future meetings you have.
34:22
Like, "Will this one ni-- you know, will this one work in a destination like this one or that or whatever?" Right. So... 'cause that's what I do. I mean, I go to these things.
34:30
I just wanna be introduced to different destinations, right? Because I don't know where my clients are gonna wanna go next, but I m- have an idea of what they're looking for. Right.
34:40
And sometimes they throw a monkey wrench in the plans like, "Hey, we wanna go..." A destination that you didn't think that it would even... they would even suggest, but all of a sudden now it's an option.
34:49
You know what I mean? So- Yeah... you just never know. So it's important that... Yeah, I said a little while ago that, you know, we gotta be intentional and s- strategic about the ones we go to. Mm-hmm.
34:58
But, and again, but if you're working with clients who sometimes throw a monkey wrench and you're like, "Well, damn, I didn't see that one coming." You know what I mean? Yeah. So you just never know.
35:07
So it, it behooves us as planners or hotel site selection people to, to see as many destinations in as many parts of the country as we can, because we never know what the client is gonna want. Okay. And then we're...
35:21
I mean, we're getting the destination knowledge.
35:24
We've had some political things lately, so it's like if you're a destination where you've been in the news, I mean, that's your time to be like, "Hey, let me give you the local insight," so you can go and pass this information back to your client.
35:35
So even just being [laughs] in business, I'm like, "Where am I?" So I always say, "Explain the geography."
35:42
[laughs] I was in Sonoma last month and I'm like, "You guys gotta explain, like, how far is this from this airport?" And, you know, really educating us.
35:50
You wanna bring business to your city, educate us, so we can pass that information. Like you said, you know, sometimes your clients throw a monkey wrench, but the more information they know, the better- Exactly...
36:01
as far as the destination. Sometimes they don't need to know all the information. But specifically dest-destinations to make a decision. Mm-hmm. So I, I do utilize FAMs that way. Okay. That's very good. Yeah.
36:12
That's good to hear. Oh, did we talk about agenda? Um, did we ta- Let's see. Let me see. Did, did we talk about what you- Well-... you should do on a FAM, CBBs? Can we talk about that?
36:24
We talked about what is a FAM, we talked about what is a FAM trip, the purpose of attending, who should do them, and how should they be done. Is that part of it? Hey, sure. And how they should be done?
36:34
Mm-hmm.Okay, let's put that one back up here. Where's it at? Okay, there we go. Okay. How could it be done? Ooh. Yes. Okay. I've had so many variations.
36:44
So I, I, you know, everyone does them differently, but what I will say is that a lot of these FAMs don't utilize the need for some-- a little bit of downtime.
36:55
It's okay to schedule some downtime because when I tell you it's like from ten to ten fifteen, from ten fifteen to two [laughing] like, especially that in between when we're doing so many sites and then maybe going to dinner, it's okay to have a break to just kinda recalibrate yourself.
37:13
And I find that not many FAM trips get that. Mm. You're just going from one place to the other, and- So it's so funny too. I talked to someone who talked me out of applying for a FAM trip.
37:25
She was like, "Oh, I went to this FAM trip." And I was like, "Oh, I'm thinking about doing that in November." She was like, "Let me tell you." She was like, "You don't get an ounce of rest."
37:33
I was like, "Okay, never mind." [laughs] She was like, "They go from this and this and this and this till about ten PM." I don't know, Russell, I just think- Well, what do you think about that in its current...
37:44
Well, you've experienced some of those, right? So you've experienced it. Yeah.
37:47
And as a planner, as someone that's trying to bring something to the destination and maybe that particular hotel or some of those hotels- Yeah...is that the best use of your time? You know what?
37:58
Sometimes you just can't process the amount of, one, information and just two, sites. So one example was we did about, I don't know, six site visits, and each site had like four or five rooms they wanted to show us.
38:13
And by like the fourth or fifth hotel, we were zoned out, so we couldn't even process what they were talking about.
38:18
So it actually is counterproductive when you tack on too much because now we don't even hear you [laughs]. Yeah.
38:25
And so then you put that experience to that particular hotel [laughs] 'cause you just remember being in that hotel, being hot, being tired, being hungry [laughs].
38:34
[laughs] So it goes back to when you sit down and do this at FAM, and you know, all these hotels wanna participate, you gotta say, "Hey, no. I-- look, our cap is four or five hotels.
38:44
We can't have eight hotels" [laughs] "We will get you next time." Or to your point, knowing who your planner audience is and showing them the right hotels. So if I'm in the luxury market, why am I seeing a [coughs]
38:57
a budget hotel? Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
38:59
And you bring up a good point about bringing the right planners and tailoring that FAM to them, so we're not bombarded with eight hotels or eight different destinations because they all wanna participate. Yeah.
39:11
I think, uh, you know, the destination, the DMOs or the CVBs have a hard-- some of them have a hard job because if every hotel wants to participate in it, of course they want-- that means they want to showcase their hotel.
39:25
That's where it becomes kinda, we can't-- basically, they pay us to be here. You know what I mean? Yeah. We can't like discount any of these hotels. But that's, maybe that's where you have a FAM within a FAM. Sure.
39:36
Everyone would go, like you just said, split it down the middle. Like there's more planners that are, there's maybe several planners that are more on the luxury side. They only do luxury things.
39:45
Only show them those particular hotels. Yeah. The other ones show the, the other group show, you know, the other hotels. So- Or like a boutique. You know what? I've gotten questionnaires about my market. I was at a FAM.
39:57
I was sitting at lunch [laughs] with a hotel, and she was like, "Oh, I heard your dream destination is Greece." And I was like, "What you know about that?" Well, they shared the survey results with them. Oh, okay.
40:07
And that was a great talking point. What should we do for this FAM, or where should we take them? Don't hesitate to get some answers. Ask us. That's true.
40:16
Have you ever been-- like let me ask you, have you ever been asked pre-FAM about what you wanna do? [laughs] What you wanna do- No...where you wanna go? No. I mean, we get the post surveys, right? Mm-hmm.
40:26
We, we get, you know, what did you like about this FAM? Yeah. Could we do anything better? Got you. But what if you do that from the beginning? That's true. That is a good point. Hmm. Yeah.
40:34
It'd be a lot more productive, that's for sure. Yeah. You know? Uh, especially, I mean, getting back to [chuckles] how this whole con-- this conversation started, the not seeing everything. Yeah.
40:45
Planners need to see every damn thing. And we don't need to see every single room. We don't need to see... Like I wanna see-- and then show me the best of the best. Show me what I can't see on the website.
40:55
Show me your suites, show me your hospitality, show me your penthouse. Don't show me that run-of-house room. Exactly. You can send that to me [laughs]. Exactly. Don't show me the room I'm currently in [laughs]. Yes.
41:07
You know what I mean? Yes. Yeah, that gets me when we're doing the tours at certain hotels, you know, we're at IPAC or whatever, and they show you the same type of room that you're in. What does that do?
41:17
[laughs] Oh, that makes me very like... They showed my room one time. It's like, "This is my room." Yeah. "Why are they showing me that room?" I, I love a good site tour, but like more than three rooms, I'm out. I can't.
41:28
[laughs] I cannot. Like show me your best of your best. We're not gonna keep going. [laughs] And so, and that's another thing too when you think about these FAM trips.
41:36
Your hotel, you're not the only one that's doing a site visit.
41:39
I can understand if this is just our one site visit, but if it's hotel number one, hotel number two, hotel number three, and we've seen- Yes...three or four rooms. Yes.
41:47
And you wonder why we have no energy by the time we hit the fourth hotel. [laughs] Yes. There has to be some downtime. Do they even offer snacks on those, like between hotels or whatever?
41:56
Like, okay, now this one- [laughs]...this is one that I went to, and every time you went to a hotel, they offered something. Like- Yeah...maybe it was a cocktail.
42:05
They, maybe they had a signature cocktail for that particular FAM. It keeps people's interest, right? Yeah. Things are different. Although you're seeing a whole bunch of shit that maybe you don't need to see- [laughs]
42:16
...at least you know [laughs] every hotel- Yeah...is a different hotel. I'm getting a different cocktail. I'm getting a different snack.
42:21
Maybe they're big on making crème brûlée or maybe, you know, they're good on making signature drinks or, you know, they have this sandwich that they always sell out on or whatever the heck it is.
42:32
Whatever you're known for, break up the, the-You know, so people know for a fact, okay, we went to the Marriott, and we got the crème brûlée. We went to the Hilton, and we got this Monte Cristo sandwich that they make.
42:45
[chuckles] Oh, my God, it was so good. I mean, you know, that kind of stuff. So something that's, I guess, a signature item for that particular hotel.
42:53
So if you're gonna jam-pack them with all this information, at least give them something that's distinctive. And a lot of people love food, okay? We love food, we love drinks, okay? All right. You know me.
43:03
You know I'm gonna remember you when you give me something to eat or drink. There you go. Yes. Even if it's some french fries and a beer, okay? Not this again. Yes. No but, no but you make a good point. I was at, um...
43:15
I did something with Stations Casinos. I see all their signage about their three-dollar margaritas, and I'm like, "Are they any good?"
43:21
And so we go to one hotel, and they have the three-dollar margaritas, and I was like, "Oh, my goodness." So I remember that now. And somebody asked me about that. They're like, "Oh, those three-dollar margaritas."
43:30
I'm like, "I had one." [laughs] It was, it was delicious. Make them memorable. Mm-hmm. So they have to be memorable. Each ho-- each stop, if you're gonna show a bunch of hotels, each one of them has to be memorable. Yes.
43:42
You want people walking away like you, you still talking about this Station Casino three-dollar margarita, okay? I see. But y-you know, you make a good point. And like, so you have the opportunity to...
43:52
and even a leave behind, a simple gi-gift or something. But to your point, a lot of times they're all a blur. So we're doing three or four different hotels and you, and you, you know, you'll ask me, "What did you see?"
44:01
I'm like, "Oh, no." But yeah, let it be the Monte Cristo. [laughs] Yeah. I just pulled that out. I was about to. I just pulled that out. I was just saying. But no, you make... And even the little take behind too.
44:13
So as far as gifting, you know, every fam does it differently, but bringing something memorable from your destination. Memphis, I did- What did they give you guys? What did Memphis give you?
44:22
I did get some Memphis seasoning, so the barbecue seasoning. Oh, okay. Okay. And usable. I'm gonna use it, so functional gift. They gave us a little, um, drawstring, little backpack, put things in.
44:34
And then the Peabody, I had a little gift. It was these, the golf balls. I don't know.
44:39
I mean, you know, gifting is a whole other thing too, but, you know, something that people-- not only represents your destination or hotel, but something that people would take and not leave behind at the hotel.
44:50
A few consumables. I think there was some chocolate in there, some little candies. What I... Oh, and this is what I was gonna say on the survey, water. We needed more water, I think.
45:00
So I get on the transportation, and I left my water bottle in my bag in the back, and I was like, "Do you have any water?" And they're like, "No."
45:05
And then I get in my room or get the little welcome bag, and my room wasn't ready yet. So that's what it was. My room wasn't ready yet, and it, it just would've been nice to have like a little water bottle.
45:16
I just wanted water, actual water. So I did have my water bottle, and I was looking for, um, can I refill it? And they didn't have any refill stations, but, um, the front desk did refill my water.
45:27
And then just on the, just on the shuttle, I feel like there was a lack of water. [laughs] Mm. So that's what I was gonna write in my survey, just add a few bottles of water. Okay. Yeah.
45:37
So you don't wanna see every hotel, okay? [laughs] If you have to see every hotel, make sure it's memorable. Yeah. If that means the signature drinks, the signature food items.
45:45
Well, no, we don't need to see every hotel room. Okay. You don't, yeah. And show the best of the best of the room. The best, y'all. Not just a standard room, unless that's all you have.
45:53
And like you said, we're taking, we're taking pictures, taking photo. People wanna see the best. We're not-- We don't wanna take a photo of the room, run-of-house room. Exactly. And that's another thing.
46:01
I'm glad you said that, but that's important, right? Taking... Everyone takes photos. Everything- Yes. You want them to be...
46:08
You want the photos they're taking to be postable, meaning they're gonna post it somewhere, right? Yeah. That's one thing that they tend to forget about these things, right?
46:18
That people have access to posting things or talk about things or whatever. So you wanna show your best when you're doing these fam trips, right? So you want...
46:26
Worst case scenario, they leave, they never book with you again, but they still post things. And that's the worst case scenario, okay?
46:33
And, and remember to invite people that can not just bring you business but have platforms where they come on and they'll talk about you in a good way.
46:42
Don't even think about the- Imagine, imagine if you knew somebody who was gonna talk up your hotel. Or your destination or the-- you as a person or whatever. Yes. Whatever it is, make sure you know.
46:54
I mean, you gotta look through people's profiles, right? You don't just, okay, because I met them at this fam trip, but who are they? What do they stand for? What do they represent?
47:03
What are they doing out there in these hospitality streets, okay? Know the people that you're dealing with before you start inviting all these people. There's certain people, you know, ain't gonna make the list, okay?
47:15
We understand that. Right. But why didn't they make the list? They didn't have any business for you? I mean, what is it? Right. So there has to be some type of criteria why you do it.
47:23
Because I like that person, okay, that, that's fine, but does that person... at the end of the day, is that person doing anything for you? Right. Do they book anything or are they just there to have a good time?
47:32
Because there's a lot of people out there that are doing that too, right? So you gotta be real careful, and it comes back to being intentional. What does that person look like?
47:40
I mean, you know, their, their profile, what does that look like? What have they done in the past? Where have they booked before? I mean, all those things matter.
47:48
And I understand you gotta, you know, that's a job you have to do, right? But, you know, but that's why they pay you to, to be, you know, uh, with a DMO or a CVB or, or whatever, so. Agreed.
48:00
So you're not saying just, uh, look, you're not just inviting people just m-- eeny, meeny, miny. You're literally looking in and doing your research. Absolutely. Exactly. Exactly. And the conversation needs to come up.
48:10
So if you're inviting people from these shows, whether it's an IMEX or a Northstar, and I think I was invited to one fam because I was like, "Oh, I could see this city working for a retreat twenty seven, but I, I wish I'd know more."
48:24
You know?
48:25
So certain key conversations come up, where one, here's my historical information about where this program has been, and then if you know that you have something that resembles that, making sure that you're matching that up.
48:39
So I, I think I'm just saying the same thing you did, just doing your research. But- Yeah. I mean, yeah. It's okay to say it more than one time. It's okay. [laughs] You're finally getting it. You're getting it.
48:48
You're understanding, okay? There you go. I mean, we can do this all day, but yeah. No, we can't 'cause I got other stuff to do, so we can't do all day. Well, I-- we could. We won't. [laughs] We could, but we won't.
48:58
I feel like that was a, that was a good information heavy. I hope someone was taking notes if they're doing fam trips because that was- Yeah... good information. Yeah.
49:06
Hopefully these people, they get and they understand. Okay. Poof. So anyway. [laughs] But I hope people have a better understanding of fam trips after this. Yeah. And, and you know what?
49:17
And Tiffany, at the end of the day, that's what it's all about, educating not just the people that are, are within the industry, the people that are out of the industry that may have no idea what the hell a fam trip is.
49:27
Right. Um, so thank you so much for sharing your experiences with not just with me, with everyone else. And anyone has any questions at all, you can always reach out to me. Tiffany always, she always brings the thunder.
49:40
So we appre- [laughs] Thank you. We appreciate that. Anyway, you guys, thank you guys so much again. Appreciate you guys joining us. Tiffany, thank you again. Absolutely. Have a great rest of your week, okay? Yes.
49:51
All right. As always, peace.
The Planner Perspective
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