How to plan a group travel trip
Are you planning a corporate getaway, school trip or other group travel experience?
We understand how complicated it can be to organise a large group of people, sorting out travel arrangements, accommodation, money, time-keeping and everything else that goes along with it.
However, having a better understanding of the process and how to plan a group travel trip can make things much easier.
That’s why we’ve put together this guide.
Below, we’ll share each step of the process, as well as some top tips for effective group travel planning.
Let's get started.
Decide on dates and destination
The first thing you need to do when planning a group trip is to choose the dates and destination. This may already be pre-determined, for example, if you’re booking corporate travel for an event or meeting, the time and location may already be set.
However, if you’re on the fence about when and where to go, the first stage is to choose your destination and the ideal dates you’d like to travel.
This will also influence how you travel and therefore, the arrangements you need to make. For example, how far are you travelling? Will you need to book a coach, ferry, flight, etc.?
Do some research
With that in mind, you can now start to do some research into travel arrangements, accommodation and any other important aspects of your trip that you may need to consider.
You should do this to get a rough idea of how much this will cost. This stage can be really important, for example, when creating student travel packages as you need to give them (and their parents) a rough idea of the price before they commit to attending the trip.
Confirm numbers
With a rough idea of how much it’s going to cost, you can now confirm the numbers. This will be important for arrangements such as group flight booking, sorting appropriate accommodation and deciding on activities when you get there.
The good thing with group air travel is that it tends to be more flexible, so don’t panic if these numbers change slightly over the coming weeks. With that said, it’s best to try and get the most accurate number of attendees possible to stop you from having to rearrange plans and accommodation at a later date.
Book the key elements of your trip
Now you’re ready to get booking.
When tackling group travel trips, it’s likely that you’ll have to go directly to companies to book. For example, going directly to airlines to book group flights or reaching out to hotels to ensure they have enough available rooms for the dates you plan to travel.
In doing this, you can start to book each key aspect of your trip and get solid plans in place.
But there is also another far easier option that means you don’t have to spend hours trawling the internet, comparing quotes and making phone calls.
Instead, you could employ the services of a group travel agency.
They will be able to handle group air travel and other important aspects of your trip so that you don’t have to. That way, once you've got your travel and accommodation booked, you can move on to the next stage of travel planning.
Plan your activities
Now you can get down to the finer details and begin planning your activities while on the trip. As we’ve said, corporate travel may have less flexibility, though it’s likely professionals will still have some free time to enjoy.
But if you’re booking student travel or a friendly group trip, setting out an itinerary can be really fun. Plus, this gives you a chance to book tickets to events and to make reservations where required.
This will also allow you to add any activities to the final cost of the trip.
Split expenses
Once everything has been booked or reserved, you can split the final cost between all attendees. Unless, of course, the business is paying for travel.
But for school trips and other getaways, you can now split the costs between everyone involved, and either gather the full amount or at least enough to cover the deposits. That part is up to you.
Confirm the essentials are in order
The final stage of the planning process is to ensure everything is in order. This could mean printing out itineraries and booking confirmations for attendees.
It could also mean ensuring that all documents and confirmation emails are filed in an easily accessible place.
That way, you can ensure all payments are made on time and that when the trip arrives, you can quickly access the information you need for a smooth trip.
At this stage, you might also wish to sort out group travel insurance to ensure all your documents are together and everything is in place.
Are you planning a group travel experience?
If you're planning a group travel experience and need a little assistance, you’re in the right place. BTG Travel Management is a group travel agency that can assist you with travel planning and booking group flights.
If you’d like some assistance with your trip, get in touch with the friendly team today.