Brandon Folkes started working with Vancouver-based Detours Travel about six years ago. He had been managing a Vancouver nightclub and was having an existential crisis. “What am I going to do with my life? What is the next step? I wanted to do something I’m passionate about, something that I feel connected with,” says Folkes.
Through Vancouver’s LGBTQ2S+ community, he knew the owner of Detours, Miles Mitchinson, who founded the company in 2012 to provide immerse adventures to gay travellers, and saw on social media that he was looking to hire trip leaders. He was hired, and six months later he joined head office staff as their brand and marketing manager. “It was like a dream come true in the sense of being able to travel around the world with people in my community,” says Folkes.
When he’s not working at the office, Folkes leads 12 to 14 trips a year, so he has a good idea of all the things that can go wrong—and right—during a group tour. Wander+Lust asked him about his most challenging and most satisfying moments leading group tours.
What does it take to be a good trip leader? I’m guessing you have to be able to look at the upside of things when they’re going sideways.
You definitely have to be a particular person. You have to love people, love being with people, interacting with people, learning from people. Patience is a key element. Patience in the sense that you’re leading a group of men around the world and things don’t always go right. Something gets delayed, you have to think on your feet and keep things rolling. You have to have the ability to stay calm and think outside of the box.
A couple of years back, I was leading a Portugal-Morocco tour. We were supposed to go from Porto to Lisbon. There was a train strike and we had tickets to board a train to make that journey. We showed up at the train station, me and 16 guys, with all of our luggage, and all of the signs were, “Cancelled, cancelled, cancelled.” I had to say, “Hey, guys, there are some food places across the street where you can grab a snack while I figure this out.” I ended up calling this transport company who were able to get us a bus very fast—it showed up in 20 minutes. It ended up being the better option, because we started playing music. We were singing and dancing, making the best of the situation.
Do you have strategies for setting expectations, especially for travellers who might not be realistic about how things will unfold?
By the time you get to a destination, you should already know the intricacies of said destination. When we meet for the first time, for our welcome meeting, we usually go through the whole trip and what to expect. We set the expectation level right away, people relax, and they trust you and are able to enjoy the experience.
What have you brought from working in nightclubs to being a trip leader?
The aspect of production, producing entertainment, producing an environment that’s fun for people. Yes, you have an itinerary, you’re supposed to get from point A to point B. But at the same time, there’s a lot of free time on our tours where people can choose to do different activities. There might be a cooking class in Seville, Spain, or a samurai sword–wielding lesson in Kyoto, Japan. Being able to create these experiences is similar to managing a nightclub and producing experiences for people in those spaces.
What do you do if you’ve got a Debbie Downer on your trip?
A big part of our job is making sure everybody is having a good time. You will always have certain people that might not be, or at least they’re relaying that they’re not. We have to figure out what’s causing them to react that way. Or maybe that’s just the type of person they are, someone who is more critical of things. I try to find out: Is there something I can do to make this trip better for you? Those people may need some tweaks.
Do you have any secrets for staying upbeat for so many hours of the day? After a trip, do you want to lock yourself in your room for a week?
I think I’m a naturally optimistic person. A lot of people call me the Energizer Bunny because I just keep going. I get inspired by the situation and being around people—showing people an interesting place or activity keeps me rolling. But after some tours, when I come home I’ll sit on the couch and watch Netflix and order pizza for a few days to recharge. But I never have the issue on a tour of finding the energy or inspiration to keep going.
What’s your favourite destination for group trips?
If you’re making me choose, I can’t compare Berlin to Tokyo, or Budapest to the Wadi Rum desert. But the tour that I love leading is Greece. Greece is the first tour I ever ran with Detours. I look forward to it every year because there’s something special about the Greek islands, especially Milos, which is my favourite island in the world. Just the beauty and the vibe of it, it’s so authentically Greek. We go around on ATVs exploring the island, going to beaches, getting food in small fishing villages. We hike up to the top of a mountain to see the sunset.
What destination tends to throw a lot of unexpected things at you so that you are always on your toes?
That would be one of our most recent trips: Japan. It’s more of a challenge for multiple reasons. The Japanese language is very different from most European languages. It’s harder to read road signs or signs on the transit system, so managing the various modes of transportation is more of a challenge. Culturally, the Japanese people have their own traditions and rules that must be respected, and we make a huge effort to inform our travellers about these unspoken rules and traditions. You don’t eat on the go. There’s a certain way you put your chopsticks down. You walk on the right side of the sidewalk when you’re in Tokyo, but on the left when you’re in Osaka.You don’t say a word on the transit, which is part of the respect that everybody has for everybody else. There are so many small things.
What’s something funny that’s happened on a trip?
Group dynamics are always interesting to me. I’ve been to Costa Rica at least a dozen times, but every group is different. I’ve had quiet groups where I’ve thought, “Oh, this is going to be more of a challenge,” but then after a few days, everybody is on the bus singing show tunes and joking with one another. It’s like you’ve become friends overnight. So one of the funniest things for me is seeing strangers become friends.
What’s something touching that’s happened on a trip?
Everybody comes on a trip for a different reason. Some people just want to get away from work, some people want to experience adventure. But sometimes people are looking for something to inspire them. There was one specific tour in Costa Rica, in 2022. We usually stay at this small villa in Tinamaste and most of the time we spend the days going for hikes to waterfalls, hanging out by the pool, just enjoying each other’s company. But there was something about this particular group. Everybody there was looking for something in their lives and the trip was sort of a catalyst for that. Everybody connected on a deeper level. I remember the conversations we would have. We were almost like brothers by the end of it. At our final dinner, everybody was tearing up, nearly crying. And we had just met each other nine days previous. It’s incredible seeing gay men enjoying each other’s company, being open and free. This experience has been so incredible, seeing gay men just living and enjoying each other.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
