A lot of travel advisors are parents. And juggling the demands of a family while building a business can make it hard for advisors to expand their knowledge with in-person learning and experiences.
It was an issue Henley Vazquez, co-founder of New York-based host agency Fora, heard about from members, who asked for family-friendly fam trips but found it wasn't always practical to have children in tow.
However, that sparked an idea for something else entirely: Fora Summer Camp, a weeks-long, in-destination coworking trip that enables advisors to work with each other, be close to Fora staffers, experience a new destination and hear from suppliers, all while their families are having fun nearby.
"Our advisors want two things," Vazquez said. "One is to discover amazing places and have the flexibility to do it. But then the other is to work with each other and be in proximity to us and to other colleagues that they may not know already."
Fora held a test version of Summer Camp last year, bringing around 15 advisors to Rancho Santana on Nicaragua's Emerald Coast for two weeks. They were encouraged to cowork during the day, then they often joined each other and their families for dinner, getting to know each other on a more personal level. The event also featured a small roadshow with suppliers.
"It was wonderful for community building, wonderful for getting to know Nicaragua," Vazquez said.
After the success of the test version, she decided to host another Summer Camp this year, with three, one-week sessions.
It is set to be held in Las Catalinas, Costa Rica, July 13 to 31.
This year, advisors will cowork during the day in a space with room for up to 25.
Each week will be a different mix of the agency's top advisors. Some are returning after the Nicaragua event in 2025. The focus on this year's second week of Summer Camp will specifically be on Fora's international advisors.
A return to Fora's roots
For Vazquez, the trip to Las Catalinas is a return to Fora's origins: It's where she was living when she started Fora five years ago.
While returning to the car-free, private resort town in the Guanacaste province last fall, it became clear to her that it was the right place for Summer Camp 2026.
"When I was standing outside the house that I lived in, where I was doing investor calls from a balcony with iguanas climbing around behind me, I was like, I want to bring the community back here," she said.
Fora's 2026 Summer Camp will be held in Las Catalinas, Costa Rica. Photo Credit: Las Catalinas
Vazquez is planning other activities, like hiking and volunteering at the dog shelter where she adopted a pooch.
"We actually get to spend the week in a space where we're just working next to one another," Vazquez said. "Our office here is an in-person culture, and I think you get a lot from sitting next to a colleague."
Her one goal, she said, is building community among advisors, especially in a way that fits their lifestyles and enables them to bring families along.
"Yes, we're a tech platform, but we're a community, and anytime we can reinforce that, I love it," she said.
The next five years
Reflecting on the past five years, she said a major theme for the agency was proving the concept could welcome a large number of new advisors into the industry. Fora has always encouraged part-time advisors just starting their careers.
"Five years ago, people were like, 'What are you doing?'" she said. "This was very different, the way we were approaching business-building and agency-building and how we thought that it was possible to onboard lots of new advisors into the business.
"I think now the numbers show we've proven the concept."
Fora co-founder Henley Vazquez, left, at last year’s Summer Camp in Nicaragua with Mark Harmon, founder of the Auberge Resorts Collection, and his wife, Joanna. Photo Credit: Fora
Looking to the next five years, Vazquez said the focus will be on what Fora's platform for advisors and its tech stack look like. For instance, five years ago, generative and agentic AI had not yet burst onto the scene.
Today, a lot of Fora's advisor tools are powered by AI, enabling advisors to be more efficient and productive.
Measuring what happens will be part of the focus in the coming years.
"It's that intersection of the humans with the technology that I think is going to prove, ultimately, this is the way that travel's got to be," Vazquez said.