You're a member of a church that takes spiritual retreats. Perhaps your tennis or ski team travels for competition. Or your alma mater organizes football tailgate parties for home and away games. You could be a soccer parent planning away games with other parents. Or even belong to a swanky book club that travels to Italy after reading Under the Tuscan Sun. Whatever your lifestyle is, membership organizations (clubs, teams, associations, etc.) are great ways to stay active and pursue interests while meeting new people and reconnecting with old friends or colleagues.
For like-minded individuals who travel together, here are planning resources for organizing your next group trip.
How to Book Group Reservations
- Group Reservation Guide
- How to Shop Smart for a Charter Bus
- The Art of Delegation (originally written for family reunions and weddings, these principles also apply to group trips with teams, clubs, and associations)
How to Pack Properly
Tips for Traveling en Masse
- Secrets for Sharing Rooms and Personal Space
- Finding Solo Time on Group Trips
- 10 Gas and Money-Saving Road Trip Tips
- Road Trip Planning Tips for Groups
Quick Checklist for Club, Team, or Organization Group Trips
- Prepare a budget. How much will it cost? What are the shared expenses? What are deadlines for deposits, etc.? A basic spreadsheet with all big pre-trip shared expenses will help if you're organizing or on a committee for a given trip or retreat.
- Collect money for shared expenses such as hotel rooms and transportation. You can track money owed using TripHub's money tracking tool.
- Get release forms. If your trip is a school scenario with kids traveling with parents, coaches, and chaperones, you'll need to make sure release forms are signed.
- Make dining reservations and arrangements for your group. Depending on group size, some restaurants may or may not be able to accommodate you, so book well in advance (even a couple of months). Groups get cranky when not fed, which makes for a stressful, less fun experience for everyone. Arrange for meals on group trips to people sated and/or energized.
- Order custom group t-shirts. Nothing screams "team spirit" like a gaggle of people wearing matching uniforms. Geeky though it may sound to some, it's still unifying. Not only can you easily identify each other in crowds, but you'll have a memento from traveling together. You can even put a logo, photo, or pithy slogan on it.
TripHub allows you to easily plan and coordinate trip details so everyone stays informed about trip plans and itineraries. It's ideal for groups where there are varied interests, budgets, needs, etc. Here's how TripHub can help clubs, teams, and similar groups plan trips:
- Determine location and destination for the trip
- Create a trip home page
- Invite team/club/association members (ski team, church group, school mates, professional organization members)
- Discuss trip details with travel companions
- Create an event schedule of dinner reservations and other key itinerary details
- Shop for flights, hotels, rental cars, activities and attractions (or share travel information if already booked elsewhere so the group knows when people arrive, leave, and where they're staying)
- Discuss hotel options
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