Latest posts for the topic "Organising non-family group trip for first time - any things to do or avoid?"

Organising non-family group trip for first time - any things to do or avoid?

Wed, 18 Mar 2015 21:11:25 GMT

I am considering organising a group ski trip for March 2016 - work colleagues and friends - and have only organised family trips before.

Will be Thursday-Monday, or something like that.

Numbers will be anything between 5 and 20, I expect (probably about 5-10, being realistic)

Nowhere near deciding where to go at this stage - just wondered whether anyone had got any tips or tales of woe.

Cheers

Dobby

Re:Organising non-family group trip for first time - any things to do or avoid?

Wed, 18 Mar 2015 21:14:28 GMT

Tried to sort out a ski holiday with family and friends last year. Potential group of 13. Lots of initial interest but no one would commit despite me putting together a very comprehensive pack of information. I don't think I could find the energy to try again.

Best of luck!!

Re:Organising non-family group trip for first time - any things to do or avoid?

Wed, 18 Mar 2015 21:16:07 GMT

Sounds about right, Bedrock. I get the impression you've got to get the money in to make sure people are committed

Re:Organising non-family group trip for first time - any things to do or avoid?

Wed, 18 Mar 2015 21:19:43 GMT

I do it twice every winter, it's easy enough.
I tend to go to Italy in March so fly to Milan of Geneva and go from there.
Decide which resort you want first, then which airport suits best.
Geneva is hard to beat as you can be in a huge amount of resorts within about two hours.
What are you looking for? Great skiing, good apres???

I tend to decide where to go and then let my friends know what the flight will cost and pass on all the rest of the details. I usually find that a handful book right away and others follow in their own time.

Re:Organising non-family group trip for first time - any things to do or avoid?

Wed, 18 Mar 2015 21:29:22 GMT

Cheers, Gareth. I was going to do a SurveyMonkey to see what people want - for me, it's skiing with a few quiet beers. I can get mullered anytime.

Re:Organising non-family group trip for first time - any things to do or avoid?

Wed, 18 Mar 2015 23:34:53 GMT

You are organising it so do what suits you!

Re:Organising non-family group trip for first time - any things to do or avoid?

Thu, 19 Mar 2015 08:52:04 GMT

Dobby, I organise a small group trip each year. Luckily, those who come all seek the same things so it is just down to finding the package, destination, flights etc to suit everyone.

I usually kick off with throwing my own ideas into the fire on email, get everyone to respond with their thoughts, and go with the majority decision.

If everyone is travelling together its far easier - however some may want to fly from other airports so arriving at your destination then becomes more of a problem. Or maybe you are driving?

I also would not include ANYONE friends or family until they have sent you the money online to pay either a deposit or a good % of the cost, so they are committed financially. Then you can start to make specific plans.

It would be useful to know if you are doing DIY and if so driving or flying and renting cars, taking public transport, etc.

You also need to decide on specific destinations fairly quickly, and then start looking at travel well in advance as well.

My experience tells me a long weekend costs as much if not more than a package week, maybe thats something to consider????

Re:Organising non-family group trip for first time - any things to do or avoid?

Thu, 19 Mar 2015 10:08:41 GMT

Tell your friends where and when you are going and if they want to join you they can book themselves. One free place for a party is not worth the hassle. Trust me;

Re:Organising non-family group trip for first time - any things to do or avoid?

Thu, 19 Mar 2015 11:51:59 GMT

dobby wrote:Cheers, Gareth. I was going to do a SurveyMonkey to see what people want - for me, it's skiing with a few quiet beers. I can get mullered anytime.

The first time I organized the J2Ski group holiday I used Survey Monkey and posted it up on J2Ski. It worked quite well. But now that those who have already been on one of these group holidays know each other (Old Andy is currently organizing the 4th one) we discuss dates, resorts, and chalets/hotels in our private FB group in order to get a short list, and then we vote on it to reach a decision and book the accommodation before we post the holiday up on J2Ski so that other people can join us.

Best of luck with organising your group holiday! :)

This is what I put in my Survey Monkey questionnaire:

1. Would you like to go during the school holidays?
I have no preference
Yes
No
2. Which resort would you like to go to?
(Put a selection of about 5 resorts)
3. Which sort of accommodation would you prefer?
Self-catering
Hotel
Catered chalet
4. How would you like to get to the resort?
Self-drive
Train
Fly
5. Which month would you prefer to go?
January
February
March
6. How many people would be coming in your family group?
1
2
3
4
5
7. How much would you be willing to pay for the accommodation and airport transfers?
GBP200 - GBP400
GBP400 - GBP600
GBP600 - GBP800
GBP800 - GBP1000
8. How would you describe your skiing ability?
Beginner
Lower intermediate
Upper intermediate
Advanced
Expert
9. Would you need to hire these?
I don't need to hire anything
I need to hire skis
I need to hire boots
I need to hire skis and boots
I need to hire a snowboard
10. Are you willing to share your room?
No, I want sole occupancy and I am willing to pay the extra if necessary
I am only willing to share with my own friends
I am willing to share with other J2Skiers
It will depend on whether the accommodation is S/C, hotel, or catered chalet

Re:Organising non-family group trip for first time - any things to do or avoid?

Thu, 19 Mar 2015 21:10:00 GMT

Tony is right about cost, four days DIY is usually the same cost as a week with a tour operator.
However if like my ski buddies and I you have young kids or a non skiing partner its far easier to get away for a short break.

Have a think about where you want to go and let your group know, most people are delighted to be told where and when and how much rather than do the hard work themselves.

Re:Organising non-family group trip for first time - any things to do or avoid?

Wed, 25 Mar 2015 17:46:11 GMT

The survey mechanism is fine but the problem is when you get a conflict of preferences.

An alternative is to decide for yourself first, get a couple of others to financially commit, and organise for this 'core' group. Then make it a fait accompli for the rest. At least that way all you're looking for is a yes/no, not a "Yes, but only if I can fly to Zurich" / "Yes, but only if it's ski-in, ski-out." / "Yes, but only if there's a spa and masseuse available." etc ...".

In practical terms, my sister-in-law did this and booked self-catering accommodation for the 'core' set of 4 family who financially committed early on. Then as other people came in, she booked another 4-person apartment, and then another.

People can be surprisingly selfish about 'provisionally' reserving a place and then dropping-out and then calling you at the last minute to say "Actually, you'll be pleased to know I can make it after all!"

Re:Organising non-family group trip for first time - any things to do or avoid?

Wed, 25 Mar 2015 21:23:01 GMT

Brucie wrote:Tell your friends where and when you are going and if they want to join you they can book themselves. One free place for a party is not worth the hassle. Trust me;

Re:Organising non-family group trip for first time - any things to do or avoid?

Fri, 27 Mar 2015 17:48:19 GMT

When we went Thursay - monday to Andorra and Italy it was fine .The last 2years we've gone to Austria and we had to wait to book are accommodation with about 3-4 weeks before going.They hold on to rooms for Saturday-Saturday / Sunday-Sunday bookings and don't release spare dates until the last minute .ie this year we were going to Ischgl but couldnt find any rooms within budget so had to switch to St Anton and even then we struggled .
They dont like splitting weeks .