Planning a luxurious group getaway – bringing family or friends together for a memorable vacation or special event – can be a daunting task. Unless you’re a seasoned travel professional, you probably could use some help selecting a location, negotiating rates, and planning the details. You want to create a fabulous getaway, a worthy investment of the time and money everyone will spend. Unfortunately, it’s easy to pay too much, or to select a location that may not be the best choice for your group.

Whether you’re planning a small getaway, coordinating a formal affair, or celebrating a momentous occasion for your family or friends, Perfect Escapes can help ensure that you experience true luxury and get the best deal. Our travel specialists offer unparalleled expertise working with luxury hotels and resorts. Our team understands how to find the best location for high-end events and group vacations, and how to negotiate the best rates with hotels. Best of all, Perfect Escapes will help you select a location and negotiate competitive prices at no cost to you.

When you work with Perfect Escapes group travel services, you can rest assured that your family and friends will enjoy luxury accommodations and high-quality services that will exceed everyone’s expectations. Consult our travel specialists any business day between 8am and 8pm Eastern Time, or by e-mail at meetings@perfectescapes.com.

Before you dive into detailed planning, or even start thinking about where you would like to gather, consider the following steps:

1. Get Organized
Be sure you have a clear vision of the event’s intended purpose and participants. These factors will have the strongest influence on your choice of the perfect location.

Make sure, too, that you have a plan for how pre-travel decisions will be made. Depending on the size of your group, it may make sense to allow a single person to make key decisions, or you may wish to form a small planning committee. In either case, you will want to set a goal date – or even a series of milestones – for decisions to be made.

Next, you will want to determine key elements of your travel plans, including the size of the group, the purpose of the trip, and the duration of the trip. Use these questions to help narrow your choices:

• What is the purpose of your group getaway? Group leisure travel can often involve relaxation, adventure, bonding, education, or may focus on specific events or activities such as weddings or family reunions.
• Who will be invited? How inclusive or intimate do you want the event or trip to be?
• When should the event be held, and how long should it last? A close-to-home weekend getaway has different implications for price, availability, and attendance than a two-week stay at an exotic resort.
• Who will oversee specific tasks such as planning social activities and meals, relaying information to group members, collecting payments, coordinating transportation, etc.?

2. Choose the Perfect Location
Once you have established the event planning process that works best for you, Perfect Escapes group travel specialists can help you embark on the most challenging aspect of planning a successful group getaway: Matching your needs and budget to the perfect location. Your event venue – the hotel or resort, as well as the surrounding environment – will be a key element of its success.

Perfect Escapes specializes in helping families and groups of friends winnow hundreds of possible locations down to a few of the best options. To help you choose a great location, our travel specialists will discuss key considerations with you, including:

• How long will your event last?
• How many rooms will you need for overnight guests?
• Where will participants be traveling from, and how important is proximity to a major airport?
• What are the ages and relationships of the people attending? Will there be many families with young children, or mostly couples and singles? What kind of services or entertainment will you require at the resort or hotel?
• What types of activities do you want to have available? How much do you want these activities do be pre-arranged?
• How flexible is your timeframe? Your location?

Using your answers as a guide, our travel specialists will help you find the perfect location to create a memorable event... and meet your budget.

Once you have identified a small number of hotels that best meet your group’s needs, it’s time to negotiate directly with the hotel. Hotels often ask larger groups to submit a request for proposal (RFP). Perfect Escapes greatly simplifies this process. Our travel specialists will work closely with you to develop your RFP, and serve as intermediaries to ensure that all of the right questions are asked.

Remember, this expert guidance is free. Perfect Escapes earns 100% of its group travel fees from hotel commissions, and all major hotels pay equivalent levels of commission to agencies like ours. There is no hidden cost in the price you pay to the hotel, and there are no incentives for us to recommend one property over another. Our objective is to find the best location for your event -- we want you to use our services again and again, and recommend us to your friends.

3. Find the Best Deal
Many of our first-time clients – especially those who love planning their own vacations – wonder why they need help planning their group travel event. Of course, you could handle everything yourself, but remember that coordinating even a small group of friends or family increases the difficulty of your task. Why not take advantage of expert assistance and consider the fullest range of options? Perfect Escapes travel specialists can help you plan successful group events in a way that saves you money.

Our group travel services are free to you. Hotels will not charge you more for working with us, and, in fact, are frequently more willing to give a discount when they know you have a travel professional researching options on your behalf.

Perfect Escapes group travel specialists can also expand your search to hotels and locations that you may not have previously considered, taking advantage of special rates. Our travel specialists keep abreast of industry news that can help you find hidden bargains on luxury group travel. We know which properties are experiencing seasonal lulls, where new luxury hotels are opening, and other insider tidbits that people outside the travel industry simply can’t uncover on their own.

Once you have worked with a travel specialist to determine the right location for your group, your next step will be to sign a contract with the hotel. Our broad knowledge of the luxury hotel industry allows us to recommend specific negotiation terms. Upgrades, special amenities, and special services are often more readily negotiable than direct cash discounts, and frequently just as valuable. Knowing what to ask for, and who to ask, can have a dramatic effect on your group’s bottom-line cost.

Some of the typical advice we provide to our clients:

• Beware of expensive 'gotchas' in standard contracts. You may be subject to penalties if you incorrectly estimate attendee numbers or otherwise change your plans.
• Look closely at the contract’s termination section, including the conditions for terminating the contract due to an "Act of God" (any force beyond the control of your organization or the facility).
• Make sure all due-dates are clearly stated.
• Make sure any rentals (A/V equipment, etc.) are spelled out and included in the quote.

Although Perfect Escapes doesn’t offer event planning services (such as suggesting menus or coordinating activities), our team carefully evaluates hotels on an ongoing basis to ensure that you will receive quality event service from any property you select through Perfect Escapes.

4. Keep Communication Flowing
Although Perfect Escapes can ease the daunting process of finding a location and getting a great deal for your event, there is still work to be done to ensure that your group members are informed and excited about attending the event.

Here are some ideas for ensuring that everyone in your group feels included and excited about the event:

• Send out a save-the-date card or e-mail early, and follow up with an invitation, and then a reminder note. Some groups find that dedicated websites or e-newsletters are helpful to keeping everyone informed and instilling a sense of togetherness before the event begins.
• Keep group members informed after they arrive: Hand out packets with information so that guests know where to be, and when. Make sure to include maps, and contact information for the leaders of the group, plus local tourism information.
• Schedule down-time: Space out events throughout the duration of the getaway so people have a time to enjoy themselves. Work out meal and event details with the hotel liaison prior to everyone’s arrival.
• Keep track of expenses: Create a spreadsheet and track all expenses right from the start. If you’re organizing a large group, appoint one member to be in charge of all payments.

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We hope this guide is helpful to you in planning a memorable event. Perfect Escapes travel specialists look forward to assisting you in making your event a success. Call any business day between 8am and 8pm Eastern Time, or contact us by e-mail at meetings@perfectescapes.com.