5 top tips for large group travel – when you book
When it comes to booking a group trip, the team at Hirasté knows a thing or two! Group trips are one of our favourite ways to travel (can you tell?!) and we love the different ways it can work for different groups. Booking a trip that will keep everyone happy is a skill though! There are so many needs, wish lists and opinions (oh the opinions!) that it’s often a wonder anything gets booked at all! Here are our top things to consider when booking your next group trip.
1. Check for places with group deals and discounts
One of the best things about travelling with a large group is that your money can go so much further than it does when there are only a couple of you. Lots of properties will offer discounts for booking multiple rooms or units with them. You can also get much nicer quality and larger places when there are a lot of you: a kitchen in a two-bed apartment is clearly going to be way smaller than one in a ten-bed mansion! It’s not just the deals that you can get for accommodation either. Check out group discounts for nearby attractions and call restaurants ahead of time to see if they can offer you anything. This is particularly good to do in the off-season and shoulder season.
2. Plan in advance so you can take advantage of sales
Advance planning is critical for group trips. Sure, everyone will have a story of that one time they all decided to go to Oktoberfest on a whim and were there the next day, but generally, the phrase “fail to plan, plan to fail” is what rules here. Planning ahead can allow you to wait for sales and deals when they come along and be ready to take advantage of them as soon as they do.
3. Take deposits ahead of payment
No one likes talking money but it is critical when you’re travelling with lots of people. Costs can quickly mount up and get expensive so getting money from people up front is the best way to ensure one person isn’t saddled with the bill and has to wait for people to pay them back. It’s also a good way to get everyone in the group to commit to the trip – there’s nothing worse than booking ahead only to find that half the group can’t make it after all.
4. Be clear on expectations and goals
Check in with the group to find out what everyone wants from the holiday and to cross reference that the place you are booking can meet those goals. Maybe you’re travelling with your parents who want everyone to eat together each evening but your childless brother eats late, while your young kids eat early. Or maybe you’re travelling with a group of friends who want to go out every night but you want nothing more than to curl up by the fire with a good book. Knowing what everyone wants to get out of the trip will help you find the ideal place to stay.
5. Be willing to compromise
Compromise is the key to any group trip! It might mean keeping the kids up a little later once or twice for a dinner but not every night or it might look like you going out for dinner and drinks with your friends but not staying out until 2am. Considering what other people want and need doesn’t mean never doing what’s right for you but it does mean that paying attention to what is really important to you will allow you to let go of the things that aren’t.
We know that making the right decisions up front can dramatically influence the success of your holiday and our top 5 things to consider when booking a group trip are critical to making sure you book the perfect place for your perfect trip.
If you’re in the market for a group holiday somewhere in the UK, check out all our awesome properties listed on this site. They’ve all been hand-picked and vetted by the Hirasté team to make sure they will fit your exact criteria. You can search by destination or by trip type. We’ve got collections covering everything from spa trips to farms stays and everything in between. Have you got specific sleeping arrangements? Maybe you want one big house or maybe you’re a group of families all wanting their own space? Or maybe you’re super flexible! Whatever you need, our unique search function lets you find exactly what you’re looking for.
Be sure to check out the rest of our top tips for a successful group trip:
Top 5 things to consider before booking a group trip
Top 5 things to consider before travelling as a group
Top 5 things to consider when on a group trip
Top 5 things to consider when you get home from a group trip