Ebook Tripeese: How to Plan a Group Trip

How to plan a group trip
Your guide to finding group
discounts, creating itineraries
and having the best
friendcation
by the Tripeese Team

About the authors
Tripeese Team
Bobbi Lee Hitchon is a freelance writer
whose work you can find on the Tripeese
blog. A lifelong vagabond, she’s been
traveling for three years straight and has
traveled with loads of different people along
the way. Her favorite place for group travel:
Las Vegas.
Matheus Riolfi is a travel and tech
enthusiast. He is proud to be Brazilian but
claims to be a citizen of the world after he
visiting and living in different countries.
Perfect trip: 5-10 friends having fun in a
beach party in places like Rio, Koh Phangan,
or Playa del Carmen
Rodrigo Boscolo is Tripeese's co-founder.
He has already used hundreds of excuses to
go traveling around the world and can't get
enough of it. He likes to travel by himself,
but he loves to travel with friends. The ideal
group size? Five...or nine.

Travel seems easy enough
when you daydream about it
in your head.
Pick a destination, buy a ticket,
see the world.
But it gets a bit more
complicated as more and
more people join the trip.
A lot of people talk big when it
comes to travel, but which of
your friends will actually
follow through? Are you going
to have the same dream
destination and activities in
mind? The same budget? Plus,
will you and your friends be
able to figure out a date when
you can all travel together?
Introduction
Planning a group trip should be fun
// Page 3

That day dream just got a bit trickier. Luckily this guide will make
planning a group trip simple.
We break down your vacation with friends into seven easy steps.
Then list all the things you must consider, like finding hotels and
activities that offer discounts to groups and how to split money
with everyone traveling, and give you tips on the best way to
organize and plan accordingly.
Group travel can be confusing, but it doesn't have to be...
// Page 4

-How to plan a group trip-
in 7 easy steps
1.) Decide who is traveling
2.) Pick a date, location and
length
3.) Choose accommodation with
group discounts
4.) Pick activities and restaurants -
arrange itinerary
5.) Organize transportation
6.) Split money before and during
the trip
7.) Enjoy the trip!

Sometimes it's an entire group of friends that comes up with the idea
to go on a trip together, but usually it’s one or a few people that are
the brains and force behind it.
Whether you own a company and want to treat your employees to a
trip or you recently graduated college and just want one last
weekend together before you and your friends go your separate
ways, there are some things to think about when deciding who to
invite on a group trip.
Step 1:
Decide who is traveling
// Page 6

Do you want it to be with your company or just one particular
group of friends or are you happy leaving this trip open to
everyone?
 Contact everyone to see what they think about going on a trip
together. Don't forget to open up a trip to their boyfriends,
girlfriends, husbands and wives.
 Create a Google Document or Spreadsheet and invite them to
join. This is a free, private service offered by Google, where
everyone can not only pitch in with ideas, but also see
everyone else's in one online file. Follow these instructions if
you’re not sure how to create a Google Document.
 Arrange it to collect ideas. If you’re using Spreadsheet, label
each column name, destination, budget, length of stay and
dates. That way, you’ll learn every person’s wants and needs
for the trip. You’ll see an example of this on the previous page.
 An alternative is to do this all in a Facebook event or group,
you’ll just have to set up your own form of organization that
way.
// Page 7
The truth
Some people might not be able to go. Not everyone is on the
same schedule, so do what is best for the group.

Step 2:
Pick a date, location and length
// Page 8
This can go one of two ways, simple
and quick or impossible. As
mentioned in previous pages, group
travel is more about the people with
whom you share the experience,
than the destination you end up
visiting. So if you get upset that your
desired destination is not picked,
remember that there will be other
opportunities in the future to make
that trip.
For this trip, it’s all about what the
group wants. So give and take and
choose according to what is best for
everyone.

Use the information from step one to narrow down the choice of
destinations, dates and length of stay. You might have to put it to
a vote in which case there are two options.
// Page9
The truth
Be prepared to compromise. This trip is more about the people
than the destination, so give and take.
Open voting
A. You can do this in a Google Doc. again and just have everyone vote
from the narrowed down list at their leisure.
B. You could also have a group chat. If you want to do so online,
Google has a group chat option, as does Facebook. You can also send
out a group email or Facebook message in an open message, so you
can see everyone’s response. Doodle is also a valuable tool for this
step.
Closed voting
Ideal for people who are afraid of the drama that might come with
open votes or just don’t want the hassle of going back and forth.
There are a few online poll services that are free to use and allow
people to create their own polls and have others vote. One is
Easypolls, which is pretty straightforward. Just follow the steps
prompted to you.

// Page 10
Step 3:
Choose accommodation with group
discounts
The main reason is that
everyone books their trips
separately online using
services like Kayak, Orbitz,
and Expedia. While it may
be convenient, travelers lose
the chance of saving up to
50% on their hotel rates.
We all love to travel. We all love discounts. But surprisingly most
people don't take advantage of group discounts when traveling
with friends. Think about the last time you’ve been group trip: a
bachelor or bachelorette party in Las Vegas, a getaway with MBA
friends in Mexico, a party weekend in Miami with your best
friends. For all of these vacations, you could have saved money in
accommodations and spent more in the rest of your trip.

The good news is that access to these discounts isn’t only
available to professional travel agents. Hotel group discounts are
available to anyone who has some time to invest in organizing
the trip.
 Short list your preferred hotels: Select the three to five hotels
the group may like. The criteria to create this list include price,
location, numbers of starts, etc.
 Contact the group coordinator for each hotel: Most hotels
have group (or small group) managers who can provide you
discounted rates of up to 50% off the public rate. While most
of them require you to book at least ten rooms, if you
negotiate well, you can have discounts for smaller groups also.
 Make the decision: Email your group the options and prices,
and have them help you to make the final decision.
 Book the rooms: Call the group manager to confirm your
reservation. You will likely be required to pay a non-
refundable deposit to secure the group discounts.
// Page 11
The truth
This process can save you a lot of money, but it will cost you a lot
of time, so you need to decide what is more important to you. Try
breaking up duties amongst friends and collect money prior to
this step if possible.

Step 4:
Pick activities & restaurants-
Arrange itinerary
// Page 12
This is where the real fun
starts. Picking dates,
destinations and
accommodation can become
tedious sometimes, but when
you and your friends start
planning exactly what you’ll
be doing, the trip becomes
more and more exciting.
Some groups prefer to go
without planning and booking
activities, which can work
sometimes. However, this
strategy gets more risky the
larger the group, as certain
activities may sell out or may
not be able to accommodate
the number of guests in the
group.

Since people always do more than one activity on a trip, this part
of the planning requires less negotiating, because everyone can
pick one thing each. You just need some tips on narrowing things
down.
 Every person picks one thing: In a new Google Document,
have everyone write down one activity they want to do and
restaurant they want to visit. Visit the Tripeese blog for
inspiration on destinations like Nashville, TN.
 Narrow things down: Deduct places based on what the
majority wants and which options cater to groups. Go to a vote
if you have to. But remember, the group doesn’t have to do the
same thing the entire trip.
 Make reservations: Find out what times are available at top
priority activities and restaurants. Some websites such as
Viator and Peek provide online booking for activities and can
be useful, although they normally don't provide group rates.
 Start a calendar: There are several ways to do this, one is with
the app Tripit, which is free. First add reservations to the
calendar, then start plugging in the rest based on location, etc.
Give yourself enough time to get from one point to the next.
// Page 13
The truth
Planning activities in advance can be quite time-consuming, but
must be done. Remember to ask friends for money before the
trip, as certain activities might require deposits.

Step Five:
Organize transportation
// Page 14
One nice thing about group travel is that usually the more
people on the trip, the more people to split the bill and the
more likely you are to receive more for your money. This is
definitely the case with transportation, but it depends on a lot
of things.

When traveling alone or just with one other person, public
transportation is easily the most affordable option. But when you
have a few people with you, taxis, chauffeurs or personal rentals
can actually be cheaper and a lot easier. For this reason, we’re
going to give you tips on booking private cars (rentals and
chauffeur services), then you can weigh the price difference with
public transportation.
 Pick a size, vehicle and agency: Look at our vehicle capacity
chart on the previous page to see what size is needed for your
group. You’ll find rental and chauffeur agencies online. You can
also find recommendations airport websites or your hotel.
 Get a quote: Inquire with a few different places for the entire
holiday if you know you’ll be driving a lot or just a few one-
hour services, if your destination is pretty walkable.
 Compare prices: Look online for the price of public
transportation and check the difference based on how many
people would be paying for it.
 Some other things to keep in mind: Will someone offer to be
DD each night? The price of parking. The price of gas. What is
the furthest you’ll want to drive? Are you going to have a lot of
late nights?
// Page 15
The truth
It’s worth it to look into getting a chauffeur or renting your own
vehicle, because it’s a much nicer option when trying to keep the
group together, but it can take a lot of time to plan.

Step Six:
Split money before and during the trip
// Page 16
That awkward moment.
A bill for $142 arrives after dinner with friends.
You're on a group trip together and while it's the perfect getaway,
splitting costs has been somewhat annoying. Some people pay
less, others don't take the initiative and one person seems to
always feel like he or she has overpaid.
Like anything in life, money shouldn't put a damper on your group
holiday and it doesn't have to. There are plenty of ways to avoid
any debate over everyone paying their fair share on a holiday. A
lot of it is planning and discussing ahead, but there are also tools
and routines that make splitting the bill amongst you and your
friends a lot easier on a holiday.

// Page 17
The truth
Though we’ve left this section to the end it should be treated by
you and your friends as priority number one. Money woes can
ruin the trip for one person or everyone, so it’s very important to
talk about things before the trip even starts.
Discuss money before you leave
Nobody likes to talk about money, but you don't want to put it
off until it becomes an issue. Work out details on how you are
going to split money, who is going to pay for what and what kind
of budget everyone is on long before leaving.
Put together a kitty for the trip
Thing can be confused or forgotten when everyone is paying for
something different. Avoid this by collecting a lump sum of
money prior and keeping it in a kitty (bag of shared money) while
on the trip and deposit it all into one person’s Paypal account for
booking this before the trip..
There’s an app for that
On top of having a calculator on you at all times in the form of
your phone, there are several applications to help with splitting
the costs of things amongst groups.These include Splitwise, Billr,
Divvy and more They’re free to download and make splitting the
bill of an entire trip hassle free.

Step Seven:
Enjoy the trip
// Page 18
Some things to try on your next holiday that will add to the
traveling experience:
1. Eat like the locals.
2. Say yes to something you normally would not (food,
adventure, sport).
3. Only pack half your suitcase and shop for a new wardrobe
somewhere else.
4. Try restaurants you find on local blogs, rather than those just
featured in guide books.
5. Get off the tourist trail.
6. Practice your photography
7. Wake up earlier than normal or stay up later.

Closing:
Would you like to make it easier?
// Page 19
As you can see, group travel is a lot of work until you can actually
enjoy the trip. If you really want to go on vacation with friends, but
don’t want the hassle of planning it, Tripeese is here to help.
We love to travel. We love our friends. We are techies and business
people. We want to make travel more fun for all.
We always had a question on our minds: Why does organizing a trip
with friends have to be so hard? Think about all those hours and days
spent in discussions, deciding where to go, what hotel to pick, how to
pay, who pays how much. We understand the pain that organizers
feel.
What if we bring travel, technology, and business together to help
people organize and book their trips in an easy and fun way? What if
we leverage the power of the Web and mobile devices to make this
process social, interactive, and simple?
Welcome to Tripeese. Tripeese enables you and your friends to plan
and to book your trips online at group discounts, in the most
collaborative and hassle-free way. Using our fun, simple one-page
interface you can create your itinerary, invite friends, and book flights,
hotels, car rentals. And you can even split payments!
Find out how it works at www.tripeese.com and start planning your
group holiday today!

Ebook Tripeese: How to Plan a Group Trip

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