ometimes the most fun you can have on a vacation is with a group of close friends, creating an experience together to make life-long memories. Of course, rounding up a bunch of people who have different schedules and different preferences on where they might go can get challenging.
Have no fear. AffordableTours.com offers you a few tips to aid you in preparation and planning so you can have a successful group vacation:
1. Choose a group leader.
Once you have all the people in your group agreed upon, it’s advised to choose a leader among the bunch. (An additional tip: If you’re trying to get discounted group rates, it may be smart to invite a few more people than is necessary for the discount, in case emergencies force people to drop out of the vacation.)
Read: The Advantages Of Small Group Travel
The group leader needs to be someone capable and willing of handling the necessary responsibilities, as well as motivated to do so. Don’t pick someone who is going to be pressured for time as it is.
Some operators will even include extra benefits for those who plan and arrange the group travels. These are generally known as “Group Leader” benefits.
2. Choose a destination together, and check its availability early.
It’s always important to have the input of everyone in the group for the destination, because you want to make sure the destination (or destinations, if you’re on a tour) can suit everyone’s vacation preferences.
When planning for a group, you’ll want to check far in advance on your destination, because, simply put, the larger the block of rooms or accommodations needed for the group, the harder it is to reserve them all at once. Six to nine months in advance is a good timeline for checking availability.
3. Share the work.
Don’t leave everything up to the group leader. Share the workload of planning and preparing for the trip among everybody. This will have several benefits:
- You can distribute the workload according to everyone’s talents, meaning the planning not only gets done, but done well;
- By taking some of the workload of your group leader’s shoulders, you can ensure that he or she doesn’t feel overwhelmed, which would put the planning in danger;
- People can feel resentful if they feel their opinions and ideas about the trip aren’t heard. By giving everyone a role, you can curb a source of that resentment.
Hopefully these tips will help you put together and organize your group for its next group vacation. When you’re ready, visit AffordableTours.com and register your group tour with us. Our professionals will help you plan your group vacation to ensure a success.