I got an email invite on 24 September for a press trip/fam (familiarization) tour in early November.

Y’all know I’m not much into group fams, right? Right.

Bunch of people mostly looking at the same stuff, on a forced timetable and usually little or no understanding by the host of the social media skills I bring to the table.  Plus, they get a bunch of free content and coverage and I get….nothing that pays my bills.

The fam location and focus did interest me, though, and because sometimes a fam trip leads to amazing things or supports destinations I care about, I decided to overlook my general dislike of Jurassic PR and responded quickly that I’d attend.

Nothing heard back. Silence. Crickets chirping.

I pinged them after a few days, saying, um, is this thing still on?

Heard back that sure, they would let me know if I was “selected.” This, after their original email that said the trip was “planned especially for you.”

Meantime, I’m comparing notes with another writer and photographer friend who was also invited and who was also bemused by the, er, breezy handling.  You know how PR folks compare notes about the content creators who are invited to visit their town?  Well, the shoe goes on the other foot, too.

Today, I got an email at the end of the day that said, Oh boy, you’re invited on our press trip.  The one that lasts four days in another state and starts in a week.

Nope, it’s not happening even if they rolled a private jet up my suburban cul-de-sac.

I’ve made other plans for that week to meet with some tourism folks in that same niche, in that same state, but one-on-one and with an eye to a business partnership.

You know, social media training for tourism. That thing I do for a living.

I don’t need free travel or free hotel rooms or free trips. I need professional courtesy.

I’m sure they’ll be fine without me.

Is this an unreasonable approach? Happy to hear down in the comments.

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