The Neverending Fam Scammer Nightmare

Call them what you will: fam scammers, unethical humans, or just planners who don’t understand the rules. But every fam trip (short for ‘familiarization trip,’ an event to showcase a destination to interested planners) seems to have that person who has slipped past the radar by falsifying his or her meeting history or who expects to get VIP treatment, comped tickets or exclusive access.

One organizer of a popular hosted buyer event shared this anecdote with Skift Meetings: 

“An outraged sponsor approached me during our program about one of our attendees. The attendee had asked — no, insisted — that the sponsor put up him and his wife (who he had brought with him) for a couple of nights at her resort.”

When she would not commit, he started texting and pressuring her. “To say I was horrified is an understatement.”

Michel Couturier, managing partner of MarketID, vividly recalls his most egregious violator: a planner he invited to Paris with his business partner. “We reserved two single rooms. After they checked in, we learned that the planner and business partner were married and used one room. They gave the other room to their daughter, who came from the U.K. to spend time with them. The host provided a chauffeur-driven car for a half-day tour, and the planner insisted on keeping the car for the rest of the day without covering the additional cost. It was a nightmare, and we almost lost the client.”

Other stories range from people using a fam to cover the airfare for their vacation by asking for a return flight to that city instead, to, even worse, registering for an event and, after the air is booked, canceling and cashing in the credit for their personal use.

Novice planners might not understand the rules, said Jennifer W. Brown, president & CEO of Meeting Sites Resource. “When you’re new to the industry and everything ‘seems’ to be free, many times the inexperienced planner might not realize that their requests are unreasonable or unethical.

“But we have also seen well-known planning companies and large third parties who significantly inflate their business and expect that all expenses and freebies should be extended to them. Planners who work for prestigious companies sometimes feel that the hotel should be honored to have their business,” she said. “Somehow, the understanding that hotels are ‘for profit’ is missed.”

Planners Beware

CVBs and tourist boards try their best to keep the fam scammer situation under control. The Vienna Convention Bureau reported that it organizes three to four fam trips per year, each with up to 10 meeting planners, and has had no scammers. “We work closely with marketing and sales agencies who rely on a pool of potential attendees, which they build through ongoing market presence, industry events, networking and targeted desk research,” said Helena Steinhart, International Media Relations Manager. 

There have been attempts in the past to compile individual convention bureaus’ scammer sightings. Cindy Hoddeson, former director, North America, at the Monaco Government Tourist Office, recalled many of the European tourist offices forming a group called EuroMeet. “We met periodically and shared information and our experiences with FAM trips. At one time there was a list, but then it was no longer printed due to potential legalities.”

For now, the best tool they have is to communicate with each other. Many international DMOs belong to the Strategic Alliance of the National Convention Bureaux of Europe, a group of 29 organizations.  “The international CVB community is well connected. We respect each other as friendly competitors,” said Leila Heller, Business Events Director, Americas & Australasia, VisitBritain/VisitEngland. “We do connect with each other when we are recruiting for fam trips and on a range of other projects. If it helps us all in creating a greater experience for the buyers, and likewise helps our partners in each destination, it’s a win-win.”