How totravel

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free

The larger the group, the better the incentives can be, or the more negotiating power a group could have. Destinations, travel season and properties in high demand also determine if there is any room for negotiation or incentives. The most common incentive is free travel for the tour organizer – and that person could be you!

Becoming a group leader however requires a commitment of time and energy, but the rewards are worthwhile. Follow this guide to learning how to book group tours and travel for free.

DiD you know many travel companies offer incentives for groups – often for as few as ten people?

Get involved with local clubs in which you are a member

Get familiar with travel companies serving the destinations you have an interest in visiting

Find a connection for your club to visit the destinations you choose

Work with travel companies and learn about their group policies and discount possibilities

Be organized, communicate to your group, be the leader from start to finish – the job isn’t done until you return

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Clubs and affinity groups of all kinds get together to participate in activities around which a club may be organized. Often clubs enjoy traveling together to participate in their favorite activities. The first place to start is with any sort of club or organization in which you are a member.

Some examples include bicycle clubs, hiking clubs, gardening clubs, art clubs, book clubs and architecture clubs. Bicycle groups exist in all styles in just about every locale. National organizations for cyclists are probably less likely prospects but some exist, like the Bicycle Adventure Club. Other national groups like the Audubon Society or the Sierra Club have local chapters. Language and culture groups such as Alliance Francaise, American-Italian Club and others specifically related to foreign culture and language have chapters all over the country and around the world.

Working with a local group is where most group leaders will have success getting started. Getting your local group to get together for a trip involves initiative and long term planning.

step 1:finD tHe iDeal group

A good starting point for prospective group leaders is to research trips that are of interest to yourself and your group. For example, if you are a cyclist and you want to organize a group to Italy for a cycling tour of Tuscany; do

you know of enough people that you ride with who ‘have the means’ to take such a trip? If you want to do a cycling trip to Italy, who are the operators in the regions of interest to you? What do they propose as incentives for groups and how many people are needed for any incentive level proposed? Often, a group with 10 paying participants can negotiate the

11th person free! There is where you can go free! HOWEVER, will that be acceptable to your traveling friends? Maybe not, so what many group leaders do is to take the free place and reduce everyone’s cost by a proportionate amount. A group leader ultimately has this decision to make.

step 2:researcH trip iDeas

Before going to your club with an idea, it is important to know what your goals are in taking on a leadership position such as organizing a group for travel, possibly foreign travel. Is it simply to earn a free trip? This may cause problems in some clubs; the politics some clubs may defeat the best ideas. Find common areas of interest between a club and its membership, plus the WIIFM (whats in it for me) to show how your idea has merit for all.

Remember, group travel is not easy! Earning a free place is tied to the amount of work involved. It is the group leader’s role to act as the spokesperson for the group and the tour company. Group travel, especially involving free places, requires everyone getting the same thing: same room category, same inclusions, same meal plan, etc. It is through volume that discounts are available. A group leader can’t expect to have different or upgraded services and a group can’t expect to have 15 different versions of the same tour. As a spokesperson, a group leader needs to communicate all the options and help the group come to consensus about what the best options are and what is in the best interest of the group.

step 3:manage goals anD expectations

Planning group travel is hard work. Here are common planning hurdles leaders may face.

From Tour Operators:Deposits have to be paid early; have them ready and don’t play games with space as you risk losing it.Signing Terms and Conditions and contracts; be prepared.

From Groups/Clubs:Why you? Other people in the group may have ideas like yours. Be prepared to defend your leadership role.Alleviate concerns for any club liability.Screening club members as suitable participants.WIIFM – show how your idea can benefit the club: will it raise funds, increase membership, etc?

wHat to expect

The group leader must pass along deadlines, payment details, sometimes even collecting all the payments from participants directly and remitting one payment to the tour company. The group leader is during the tour as well. If there are any issues among the group participants, the group leader must take charge to get resolutions. The group leader may need to quash any ideas by group participants that would compromise and change the program that was agreed upon and booked. The bottom line, the more work a group leader is required to do, the better the argument for an earned free spot. Becoming a strong, well organized, and respected group leader among your club members and your preferred tour company will pay long term dividends for travel lovers. This is a great way to work very little and do something you love.

step 4:be a great group leaDer

Loren Siekman is the President and founder of Pure Adventures. Loren believes in value and self sufficiency and is a pioneer in offering self guided European vacations. He can be reached by email: loren@pure-adventures.com or on LinkedIn and Twitter.

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