Mooning during karaoke, drinking till 7am and dumping fully clothed people into the swimming pool. Not the antics of a stag party or a Club 18-30 pub crawl, but a group of 45 travel agents on a recent educational to Rhodes. Travel Weekly asked some of the agents on the trip what they had learnt from the educational
Suspecting the fam trip model has finally been broken, Travel Weekly was invited by Cosmos to see what goes on during an agent educational.
A recent survey on the value of fams (Travel Weekly July 8) highlighted several aspects that can render them a useless exercise. Taking holiday was a major gripe from agents, as well as having to pay, too many hotel visits and not enough free time, while 50% of operators agreed agents don’t take them seriously enough.
But when they have to eat into their annual leave, is it any wonder they treat it as a jolly?
Cosmos area manager Anna Abery said there was no reason this trip should follow suit, with the itinerary based on the results of the investigation. Upfront fees were waived by the operator and staff holiday allowances maintained.
The trip took in more of the island than Falaraki with visits to Rhodes old town, the Acropolis in Lindos and the Valley of the Butterflies in Petaloudes. Agents also got three hours’ free time a day.
Hotel visits were also slashed with just nine checks during the week in several different areas of Rhodes including fallen angel Falaraki – a resort not unused to hosting jollies.
Now better policed and calmer than the bad publicity of recent years – where reports of rapes, a stabbing and arrests for nudity scared families off in droves – mayor of Falaraki Ioannis Iatridis is desperate to bring the holidaymakers back. “Safety is our primary concern and the British our primary market,” he said. Keen to show the town in a new light Iatridis contacted Cosmos for help and the educational was planned. Several local bars and restaurants also funded meals to an average of E700 each, confirming their belief in the power of the travel agent.
So the operator managed to tick all the boxes, but did the trip work?
After a fashion. Unsurprisingly, a group of 45 mainly female agents descending on a strip of bars in Falaraki raised its own level of interest. Many holidaymakers came to see what was going on, particularly when one agent – having downed half a fish bowl cocktail of vodka, schnapps and orange juice – started putting ice down an area manager’s pants. The subsequent arrival of 50 US marines certainly set the cat among the pigeons.
The morning after, the agent who filled in a hotel report between urgent runs to the toilet will doubtless remember whether the rooms were spacious or cramped, with sea views or otherwise.
Mealtimes were no less of an embarrassment with some agents refusing to eat the local food for fear of disliking it, preferring to ask the waiters to cook them a plate of chips than tuck into the fresh seafood or feta salad.
Fortunately, not everyone was so unadventurous, with many commending the quality of meals, while others said they would now recommend Falaraki to families.
Other positive feedback came from agents who enjoyed the combination of work hard/play hard with firm friendships established and many certain the experience would help them sell Rhodes in the future. Cosmos was also praised for a healthy mix of work, culture, fun and free time.
General manager Chris Oakes said: “I think we got the balance right. There was some racy stuff but a lot of culture, too. We’ve had many thank you cards and are already seeing initial sales coming in.”
As for Travel Weekly, despite the less than favourable behaviour on what was essentially a work trip, I was amazed at how well a group of 18-57 year-olds could get on without any gossip or tantrums. It just goes to show that no matter hard they work, girls just wanna have fun.
“The hotels were of a good standard – even the two-star properties had good facilities. I expected Falaraki to be full of drunks but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.” Natalie Haynes, 20, Avro Commercial |  |
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“Three-star really is three-star here with a great hotel product. The beaches were quiet for high season. I can convince people that the side to Falaraki they saw on the TV was a misconception.” Simon Stone, 23, Holidayclick |  |
Angela Livesey, 39, Travelcare |  |
Steve Lee, 26, Hays Travel |  |
