Supplier Fam Trips Explained: How They Work for Agents
What a supplier fam trip is, who pays, what happens on one, how to get invited, and how bedbanks fit in. A plain UK guide for new and aspiring travel agents.
A fam trip is short for familiarisation trip: a hosted visit that lets people who sell travel experience a hotel, cruise, resort or destination first-hand. A supplier fam trip is one run by the business that owns the product, such as a hotel group, tour operator or cruise line, so the people who sell it can see it for themselves. The host usually covers most of the cost, you cover the rest, and you are expected to come back and sell. This guide covers what happens, who pays, how to get invited, what to check first and where bedbanks come in.
TL;DR
- A fam trip is an educational, hosted visit for travel trade professionals. A supplier fam is run by the hotel, operator or cruise line itself.
- Hosts typically cover accommodation, meals, excursions and transfers. Flights, tips and insurance are usually down to you.
- Invitations tend to go to agents who can show they sell, so build a client base and a track record first.
- Take business travel insurance, disclose hosted travel when you post about it, and treat the trip as work.
- A bedbank is a B2B hotel wholesaler. It is one of the supply routes behind the hotel rates you may sell.
Table of Contents
- What a fam trip is
- What happens on a fam trip
- Do travel agents pay for fam trips?
- How to get invited
- Before you say yes: a checklist
- Benefits and risks
- Where bedbanks fit in
- Our perspective
- Start your own travel brand
- FAQ
- Sources
What a fam trip is
The term stands for familiarisation. VisitBritain describes these visits as a way of letting travel trade professionals experience a product or destination in person, so they can sell it with confidence.
There are a few flavours, and the label matters because it tells you who is trying to win your business:
- Supplier fam trips: run by one business, such as a hotel, resort group, attraction, tour operator or cruise line, to showcase its own product to the people who sell it.
- Destination or tourist board fams: run by a tourism body to show a whole region, usually with several suppliers involved.
- Showcase and trade events: shorter, often a day or an evening, where suppliers meet agents in a room rather than on location.
A supplier fam is the most commercial of the three. The host is paying to put its product in front of you, and it wants bookings in return. That is not a problem. It is simply the deal, and it is worth keeping in mind when you decide how to spend the time.
What happens on a fam trip
Formats vary, but most supplier fams share the same shape.
- Before you go. You get an itinerary, a list of who else is attending and, often, a briefing on the product. Read it. Work out what your clients would ask and what you cannot answer yet.
- Site inspections. You see room categories, not just the best suite. You walk from the lobby to the pool, the beach and the restaurants, and you see which rooms are noisy, which are far from the lift and which have the view the brochure promises.
- Experiences. Dinners, excursions, spa sessions, boat trips or tastings. These are the things your clients will buy, so you test them as a customer would.
- Meetings with the team. Sales managers, reservations staff, guest relations. This is where you learn who to ring when a booking goes wrong, and it is arguably the most valuable part.
- Networking. You meet other agents. Over time these relationships turn into referrals and shared knowledge.
- After you return. The host will usually follow up. This is the moment the trip either pays for itself or does not.
The itinerary can be packed. A fam is a working trip, not a free holiday, and experienced agents plan their notes and photos with that in mind.
What to do while you are there
A simple routine makes the trip count:
- Photograph room types, bathrooms, corridors, signage and the walk to facilities, so you can show clients what they will actually get.
- Note the practical details: transfer times from the airport, check-in times, what is included in each board basis, and what costs extra.
- Ask who the product suits and who it does not. A good host will tell you honestly, and your clients will thank you for matching them correctly.
- Collect contact names for sales and for emergencies.
- Write up your notes the same evening, while the details are still fresh.
Do travel agents pay for fam trips?
Usually you pay something, but not much compared with the full cost. Tourism and Events NT notes that fam trips range from free to discounted, with lodging, meals, excursions and transfers generally included, and airfare, tips and travel insurance usually not. That guidance comes from an Australian tourism body, but the pattern is common across the industry, and your invitation will spell out the specifics.
| Item | Typically covered by host | Typically covered by you |
|---|---|---|
| Accommodation | Yes | |
| Meals | Yes | |
| Excursions and activities | Yes | |
| Local transfers | Yes | |
| Flights | Sometimes discounted | Often |
| Tips | Yes | |
| Travel insurance | Yes | |
| Time away from your business | Yes |
The last row is the one people forget. If you are building a business, a week away is a week not selling, so choose fams that match the products your clients actually buy.
How to get invited
Fam trips are generally by invitation, and hosts decide who to ask. The same few things tend to matter:
- You sell. Hosts want agents who will turn knowledge into bookings. A record of sales, even a small one, speaks louder than enthusiasm.
- You are findable. A professional brand, a booking site and an active audience tell a supplier you are a real business.
- You are on their radar. Introduce yourself to supplier sales teams and ask how they choose agents for fams. Say what you sell and to whom.
- You turn up and follow through. Agents who attend, engage and then book get asked again. Agents who treat it as a holiday do not.
If you are starting out, the order matters: first clients, then sales, then invitations. Our guide to selling travel to clients sets out how independent UK agents build that base around client fit.
Before you say yes: a checklist
Insurance
Ask the host what cover they provide, then arrange your own. Business travel insurance matters because off-the-shelf holiday policies typically do not cover time spent working, and a fam is work. Ideally you hold a policy built for business travel, and you tell the insurer exactly what the trip involves. If you want a sense of how to read a policy for activities and exclusions, these travel insurance checks before flying show the kind of detail worth reading.
Costs and commitments
Get in writing what is included, what is not, the dates, the cancellation terms and whether you are expected to deliver anything afterwards, such as a number of bookings or social content.
Disclosure
If you write or post about the trip, say you travelled at the host’s invitation. Failing to disclose can damage customer trust, and your credibility is your most valuable asset as an independent seller.
Fit
Ask whether the product suits your clients. A beautiful resort that none of your customers would book is a pleasant week and a poor use of your time.
Benefits and risks
The benefits are real. You gain first-hand product knowledge, content for your marketing, and contacts at the supplier. Travel agents who have experienced a product can advise more precisely, and clients tend to respond to personal experience. The main risks are reputational damage and missed business if you fail to gather useful information or make a good impression.
The practical answer is to go with a plan: three things you want to learn, three people you want to meet and a follow-up schedule for when you get back.
Where bedbanks fit in
Searchers often ask about fam trips and bedbanks together, because both concern how a hotel ends up in front of your client.
A bedbank is a B2B accommodation wholesaler. It contracts net rates with hotels and resells to online travel agencies, tour operators and travel agents at a marked-up price. Bedbanks are also described as aggregators that spare hotels the work of dealing with many separate commercial partners, as Hosteltur explains.
Bedbank versus booking direct
| Bedbank | Direct with the hotel | |
|---|---|---|
| Who you deal with | One wholesaler with many hotels | One hotel at a time |
| Rates | Net rates, which you mark up | Whatever the hotel offers you, such as a trade rate or commission |
| Choice | Wide, across destinations | Limited to that property |
| Relationship | With the wholesaler | With the hotel’s team |
| Best for | Breadth and speed when quoting | Depth, perks and a personal contact |
The two are not rivals. A fam trip builds the direct relationship and product knowledge that lets you add value on a hotel. A bedbank gives you the breadth to quote alternatives quickly. For the platform side of that choice, see our comparison of GDS and bedbank supply.
The money side in the UK
When you work with a bedbank, be clear on whether it acts as principal or agent, who invoices whom, and how payment flows affect VAT. Antravia, a UK advisory firm, sets out these questions following a high-profile VAT case. Take advice from an accountant who knows the travel sector before you sell on net rates. Our piece on contract checks for net rates covers the cash flow side.
Our perspective
We talk to a lot of people who want to sell travel and who assume the route in is a fam trip. We see it differently. A fam trip is a reward for having a business, not a way to start one.
The agents who get the best invitations already have clients, a brand people recognise and a clear idea of what they sell. That is why we built TimesHunters the way we did. Partners trade under their own name, keep their client relationships and keep 70% of the commission, while the ATOL-protected licence and the booking infrastructure sit behind them, invisible to the customer. There is no cost to start.
It changes what a supplier sees when you introduce yourself. You are not a hobbyist with a nice Instagram, you are a branded agency with wholesale access to hotels, cruises and tours and a system that handles booking management and follow-up. When a hotel sales manager weighs up whom to invite, that matters.
Our advice is to use the fam trips you earn to deepen the products you already sell, and to rely on wholesale supply for breadth. Know a few suppliers well rather than many badly. If you want the thinking behind that, read about preferred supplier programmes.
— Sam
Start your own travel brand
If you want to be the agent suppliers invite, you need clients and a business behind you first. TimesHunters gives you a branded booking site, wholesale access to hotels, cruises and tours, managed payments and financial protection under ATOL-protected licences, with a 70% commission split in your favour. Look at the white-label travel agency offer to see what is included.
If you would like structured training before your first booking, our UK agent training page explains how a launch works.
FAQ
What is a fam trip?
A fam trip is a familiarisation trip, an educational visit for travel trade professionals to experience a destination or product first-hand. It is usually hosted by a supplier, such as a hotel, tour operator or cruise line, or by a tourism board. The aim is to help agents sell with real knowledge.
What happens on a fam trip?
You usually tour properties, inspect room types, try experiences, meet the host’s sales and operations teams and network with other agents. Days are often full. You are expected to gather information, then follow up with bookings and useful content on your return.
Do travel agents pay for fam trips?
Often a little. Hosts commonly cover accommodation, meals, excursions and transfers, while flights, tips and insurance usually fall to you. Some fams are free and others are discounted, so check the invitation for exactly what is included.
How do I get invited on a fam trip?
Invitations are typically by invitation only, from suppliers and tourism boards. Build a client base, show you sell, introduce yourself to supplier sales teams and attend and follow through on the first trips you are offered.
What is a bedbank?
A bedbank is a B2B wholesaler of hotel rooms. It agrees net rates with hotels and resells them to tour operators, online travel agencies and travel agents, who add their own margin.
Sources
- VisitBritain: presenting your business or destination to the travel trade
- Tourism and Events NT: hosting familiarisations
- Fam trips for travel agents: what to look out for
- Travel trade glossary
- Hosteltur: what is a bedbank
- Antravia: the Hotelbeds VAT case
