Why T.A.T.T. Exists
The journey, the philosophy, and the principles behind every T.A.T.T. trip.
From Corporate to Travel Advisor to This
I didn’t come to travel advising through the traditional path.
I’m originally from Australia — which means I arrived in this industry as an outsider to the American travel bubble, with a traveler’s instincts rather than an industry insider’s assumptions. I spent years in corporate project management and operations before making the shift to travel advising three years ago.
The move made complete sense to me. I’ve always believed that the best travel experiences are built the same way the best projects are — with careful planning, genuine attention to detail, and a deep respect for the person at the centre of it all.
What I didn’t expect was how quickly I’d find something that needed fixing.
Originally from
Australia
Background in
Corporate project management & operations
Based in
San Diego, California
Destination specialties
Australia · New Zealand · Portugal · Spain · Ireland
One FAM Trip Changed Everything
My first FAM trip was to Mexico.
I didn’t know what to expect. I went in open-minded, genuinely excited, and ready to learn. What I came home with was something I hadn’t anticipated — a clear picture of everything a professional development trip for travel advisors should not be.
We moved constantly. So many properties, so many briefings, so many handshakes — and no time, not a single moment, to actually sit with any of it. You can visit twenty places and come home knowing none of them. Reflection is how experience becomes knowledge. And knowledge is what we actually sell.
We were often thrown into supplier meetings with no introduction, no context, no idea where we were going until we got there. You’d find yourself shaking hands with someone whose product you knew nothing about, in a room you’d never been told you were visiting. It’s hard to ask good questions when you don’t know what you’re walking into.
The heat and pace were relentless. But what stayed with me longest wasn’t the exhaustion. It was watching how some of the advisors on that trip treated the BDM who had organised everything — and the properties who had opened their doors to us. There was no respect. No recognition of what it takes to put something like that together.
I came home and started writing down what I thought a trip for travel advisors should actually look like.
That document became T.A.T.T.
That FAM Trip
- Constant movement, no time to reflect
- Cold supplier introductions with no context
- No idea where you were going until you arrived
- Supplier-driven agenda from start to finish
- Left more exhausted than inspired
T.A.T.T.
- Intentional pace with space to absorb what you’ve seen
- Supplier video introductions before you travel
- Full itinerary and context shared in advance
- Peer-led, advisor-first experience throughout
- Come home genuinely inspired and equipped
What I Believe About Professional Development Travel
The travel industry has a professional development problem. FAM trips — at their best — are a genuine and valuable tool. I’m not here to dismiss them entirely. But too many of them have become rushed, supplier-driven, checkbox exercises that leave advisors more exhausted than inspired and no more confident to sell than when they left.
We deserve better than that.
Professional development travel should feel like the kind of trip you’d design for your best client — intentional, unhurried, with space to actually absorb what you’re experiencing.
Small groups create better learning than large ones. When a group gets too big, conversations get shallower, flexibility disappears, and the peer connection that makes a trip genuinely valuable stops happening naturally.
Peer conversations over dinner are worth more than a supplier presentation before breakfast. The learning that happens between advisors — informally, honestly, without an agenda — is irreplaceable.
When you experience a destination as a traveller and as a professional simultaneously, something shifts. That shift — seeing it through both sets of eyes at once — is what makes you genuinely good at selling it.
T.A.T.T. is built on those beliefs. Every decision about how our trips are structured comes back to one question:
Does this help advisors come home more confident, more knowledgeable, and more connected than when they left?
The Work Behind the Work
Several years ago I trained as a Byron Katie “The Work” Facilitator.
For those unfamiliar — The Work is a method of inquiry that invites you to examine the thoughts and stories that create stress, resistance, and limitation in your life. It’s not therapy. It’s not positive thinking. It’s something quieter and more precise than either of those things.
What it taught me, above everything else, is this: most of the barriers we experience aren’t in the world. They’re in the stories we tell ourselves about the world.
I’ve watched travel advisors carry this exact dynamic into their professional lives. The story that they can’t justify the cost of investing in their own development. The story that a rushed FAM trip is good enough. The story that firsthand experience is a luxury rather than a professional necessity. These aren’t facts. They’re thoughts. And thoughts can be questioned.
T.A.T.T. isn’t a Byron Katie program. We won’t be doing inquiry over breakfast in Melbourne. But the philosophy that underpins every T.A.T.T. trip — that real experience creates real confidence, that space for reflection matters, that the right environment changes what’s possible — comes directly from that training.
I design these trips the way I do because I understand that the best professional development happens when you remove the noise and let people actually experience something.
That’s what T.A.T.T. is built to do.
The Principles Behind Every Trip
These aren’t marketing statements. They’re the actual decisions we make when planning every T.A.T.T. trip.
Small is intentional
Maximum 15 advisors per trip. Not because we can’t fill more spots — because the quality of the experience changes when a group gets larger. Conversations get shallower. Flexibility disappears. The peer connection that makes T.A.T.T. valuable stops happening naturally.
Reflection is not optional
Every T.A.T.T. itinerary builds in breathing room. Time to sit with what you’ve seen. Time to talk to the person next to you about what it means for your clients. Time that a standard FAM would fill with another hotel lobby.
Respect is non-negotiable
Every participant agrees to a Code of Conduct before joining a T.A.T.T. trip. This exists because of what I witnessed on that first FAM in Mexico — and because the suppliers, DMC partners, and destination hosts who open their doors to us deserve to be treated with genuine appreciation.
Peer learning over presentations
We work with exceptional DMC partners and suppliers. But T.A.T.T. is not a showcase for their products. It’s an environment where advisors experience a destination and learn from each other. The difference matters.
No surprises, no cold introductions
On a standard FAM you’re often thrown into supplier meetings with no context — no idea where you’re going, who you’re meeting, or what their product actually means for your clients. T.A.T.T. works differently. Before every trip I create a series of videos where I sit down with each supplier and have a real conversation about their product — what it genuinely offers, who it’s right for, and what your clients will actually experience. Not a sales pitch. A real conversation, recorded so you can watch it before you travel and return to it afterwards. You arrive already knowing the people and the properties. The experience on the ground becomes confirmation, not introduction.
Come home equipped, not just inspired
Pre-trip destination training and supplier videos. On-the-ground experiences designed for advisors. Post-trip resources including Travel Joy and Tern task lists and email templates for each destination. T.A.T.T. is built around the full arc — before, during, and after — because the trip itself is only part of the value.
An Invitation
I carried this idea for three years before I launched T.A.T.T.
Not because I didn’t believe in it — I believed in it from the moment I stepped off that bus in Mexico. But because starting something new is uncomfortable. Because the stories we tell ourselves about why now isn’t the right time are very convincing.
In March 2027, a small group of travel advisors will spend ten days in Sydney and Melbourne experiencing Australia the way it deserves to be experienced. They’ll come home knowing the destination, knowing each other, and knowing exactly how to sell it.
If any part of what you’ve read on this page feels true to you — about how professional development travel should work, about what advisors deserve, about what’s possible when you invest properly in your own expertise — then T.A.T.T. might be exactly what you’ve been looking for.
I’d love you to be part of it.