Planning an Amazing Group Trip with Best In Travel – How Does the Process Work?
Planning and hosting a group trip can be a big task, but at Best In Travel we’ve got you covered! Let’s dive into how the planning process works to make your group getaway a smash hit. 🤩🙏
Step 1: Start with an Expression of Interest Campaign or Survey
First things first, you want to know where your crew wants to go and what kind of trip they’re dreaming about. Or if they share the excitement of YOUR dream trip. Running a quick audience survey or an expression of interest (EOI) campaign is the perfect way to get the scoop, and we can set these up for you really easily.
Use a survey when you want to really nail down what your audience wants. You can ask them where they most want to go, what kinds of things they want to do, what time of year they want to go etc – you can even ask them for a budget range which can be helpful. 💡Pro tip – it’s helpful to limit options somewhat, otherwise you might end up with more questions than answers!
👉 Click here to check out an example audience survey.
If you already know where you want to go, and want to see how many people are keen, you can skip the above and jump straight into an EOI. Provide a few details about the trip, and collect names and email addresses.
👉 Click here to check out an example EOI form.
But, Do I REALLY Need to Survey My Audience First?
This is a question we get a lot, and in most cases the answer is yes – even if you already have a large following and/or a very engaged audience.
A lot of work goes into planning a trip. We spend a lot of time working on details with you, and with our trip operators. And then once the trip is ready, you’ll put time and effort into launching, promoting and selling the trip.
💡 Pro tip – completing an audience survey or EOI early helps you figure out if there’s enough buzz to keep planning, AND also lets you capture some of those all-important email addresses early. These come in super handy later when you are ready to launch your trip.
Didn’t get a great response? It might be worth reconsidering your plans before putting more time into it. Got a great response? Awesome, time to get planning!
Step 2: Choose an Itinerary
When choosing an itinerary, you have the choice of going for something customised or picking from one of our nearly 800 curated itineraries. You don’t always have to reinvent the wheel! Our ready-made itineraries are tried and true, so you know they’re going to be awesome. They also cater to a wide range of interests.
Choosing a ready-made itinerary has its benefits. They’re quicker and easier to plan, which means less hassle for you and more time to get excited about the trip. They also tend to come in a lot cheaper.
There is always the option of taking an existing itinerary and modifying it to include or exclude things to make it unique and more suited to yours and your audience’s interests. We’re all about creating unique trips that represent you as host, and sometimes all this takes is a few little changes to an existing trip. As a general rule, the more you modify and customise a trip, the longer it will take to plan and the larger the impact on pricing.
We can of course also look to create something entirely customised for you!
Step 3: Plan Your Perfect Adventure
Here’s where the magic happens, and where you’ll know that partnering with Best In Travel to plan your small group adventure was the right choice.
Best In Travel has a global network of top-notch operators who know their stuff. Our team and our on-location partners put in tons of work to craft the perfect itinerary to meet your goals. They are experts at finding amazing locations, hidden gems within locations, the best activities, a range of accommodation options, and having access to great prices. We also actively focus on planning trips that embrace sustainable travel practices and support local communities where possible.
The time it takes to plan a trip can vary, depending on the location and the nature of the trip. As mentioned earlier, the closer you adhere to a pre-prepared itinerary, the quicker planning will most likely be.
Step 4: Finalise Planning & Create Trip Page
With the main aspects of your perfect trip planned – including accommodation, activities, included meals, and of course dates – it’s time to put the icing on the cake. 🍰
We’ll work with you to get the pricing right, which is a balance between finding an attractive price for guests, and ensuring that hosting the trip is financially rewarding for you. For more information on how to price your trip, check out our guide here.
We’ll then set up a trip page for you on the Best In Travel website, that showcases your amazing adventure in all its beautiful glory. This plays a huge role in bringing your vision to life, and presenting it in a way that makes it hard for your audience NOT to jump in and book it immediately.
The trip page will feature beautiful imagery from your chosen destination, a description highlighting the trip’s main features, inclusions, detailed itinerary, your host profile, and of course the all-important “book now” button!
💡 Pro tip – if you have your own photo and video content from the location you’re travelling to, featuring this on the trip page is always way better than using stock content.
👉 Click here to check out our latest trips and see what your trip page might look like!
Step 5: Get Ready to Launch!
Your trip is ready to go, and it’s time to plan your launch and promotional strategy! Here’s where those emails you collected earlier in your survey or EOI will come in handy – you’ve got a ready-made list of people already interested in your trip.
It’s even a great idea to conduct another EOI at this point to get a few more emails before going live. And now that the trip is planned, you can share all the juicy details to build hype and get people excited!
Trust us when we say that even perfectly planned trips need a solid marketing strategy. You can find out all about that in our guide to promoting, launching and selling your trip here.
Want to learn more or have questions about planning the perfect group trip with Best In Travel? Reach out to us via email to hello@bestintravelgroup.com
