 Are you attending a FAM trip soon? Well this week's video is for you. We're talking about simple etiquette tips for when you're attending your next familiarization trip. Hey it's Leanne from conference source.net and Stephen and I have attended a number of FAMs over the years but it never fails to surprise me how many people still lack proper FAM etiquette when attending these graciously hosted events by destinations and hotels. Now let me be clear there is extreme value in attending a FAM. It really is the best way for you to touch, taste, see, and feel a destination so that you can sell that back to your organization who in turn then can sell it to your future delegates at your conferences. Ironically if you're watching this video you're likely not a FAM offender but here are a few things to keep in mind the next time you're out on a FAM trip. Number one never accept a FAM invitation to a destination that you have absolutely no intention of ever doing business with. This is the biggest one that I see all the time of people accepting FAM invitations for places so outside of their ideal client profile and their business profile they're never going to get there with a program and then it does become like a vacation versus a familiarization trip and that's really not fair to your hosts. Again you have likely never done this or else you wouldn't be watching this video but I bet you know of someone who may have in the past when you were on a FAM especially to those destinations that are high on vacation bucket lists like those in Mexico or the Bahamas or Hawaiian FAMs. Number two ensure that you have your organization's support. FAM trips are working trips so ensure that your organization understands that you are working while away from the office and you plan on bringing ROI back to the office. Number three don't commit to a FAM trip and then not show up. Again I have seen this where people just simply don't show because it wasn't on their dime there was no investment and they didn't have to attend. Please don't do that if you're going to commit treat it like a work commitment and make sure that you show up for your FAM. Number four when you're on the FAM be on time for all the functions take notes and ask questions. Again this is a learning opportunity so you need to keep some programs in mind or some future programs in mind and take some relevant notes that you can easily refer to when it's time to work on that program back in the office. Number five limit your alcohol intake and I know this is a hard one and it's hard even for me when they're whining and dining you with wine and mocktails and cocktails and all these kinds of things but drinking too much alcohol now clouds your opportunity to learn more about the destination or the hotel that you're at. So just limit your alcohol intake and be on your best professional behavior when on a FAM. Number six send thank yous now whether it's a handwritten note or an email or something of the like ensure that you thank your hosts afterwards it was a massive time investment and financial investment for them to host this FAM for you so make sure you acknowledge the hard work that went into it and finally share your knowledge you went for a reason this is a learning opportunity now that you have this bucket of information share it with your colleagues share it with your organization share it with other meeting planners that you might know in the community especially if you had a fantastic experience and you can encourage other meeting planners to experience it for their programs as well ensure that you do something with the information when you get back to the office. Those are my FAM etiquette tips I probably missed a few are there any ones that you want to add to the list please comment on this video below and share it with the community. Remember FAMs are an excellent use of your time if you use your time wisely only commit to one or two FAMs a year because again when you're out of office you're unable to work on the strategic things at hand in the office and if you're heading out on a FAM trip soon pop on over to conference source net and download our site visit notes worksheet in our resource library you may find that it's useful when walking through the spaces in the destination if you're interested in seeing a particular destination will you please let us know we see FAM invitations all the time and we want to make sure that they get in your hands as well if there's a particular destination that you have business that you want to send there let us know and we will point you in the right direction our conference direct FAMs also appear on our industry calendar that you can access by being a newsletter member hop on over to conference source net sign up for the newsletter and you'll get the calendar as well thanks for watching this week's video and we'll see you next time bye for now