Group Travel Scoop - Groople.com

Take your group to "America's Paradise" . . . Hawaii

Are you trying to find the perfect destination for your upcoming family reunion, destination wedding or "just for fun group"? I have the scoop for you! My name is Lisa and I am the resident "Vacation Destination Specialist". My experience comes from 8 years in the travel industry specializing in planning the perfect vacation for my clients. I want to talk about Hawaii today, which is my all-time personal favorite!

The Hawaiian islands are truly "America's Paradise" in many ways. Hawaii is a safe and wonderful destination for your family and/or group of friends. The range of activities is limitless from helicopter rides over the beautiful Na Pali coastline of Kauai to the snorkeling Molokini, a half sunken crater off the coast of Maui. There is something for everyone in Hawaii. For those who love to shop I recommend Front Street in Lahaina Town Maui as well as the International Market Place in Waikiki. Kauai and The Big island offer a eco-tourist's dream from the Wailua River to the mountains of Mauna Kea. There is also a huge range of dinning options on all the islands from 5 star restaurants like Chris Ruth's Steakhouse to good old McDonalds. Hawaii is a destination that can be done on any type of budget.

Another reason to consider Hawaii is romance. I had the wonderful experience of getting married on Maui's Makena beach, it was a breathtaking location. The wedding planners on the islands are wonderful and you will truly feel the Spirit of Aloha when working with them. The islands and pristine pacific ocean provide a back drop like no other for your wedding ceremony and celebration. And with the wealth of activities the islands provide, your friends and family will be thanking you for years to come for the experience of Hawaii and the many wonderful memories they will take home with them. I could go on and on about the wonders of Hawaii but I need to keep this to a blog entry and not a novel! Please feel free to call or email me, and I would be happy to share more of my experiences with you and answer any questions you may have.

Mahalo Nui Loa,
(Thank You Very Much)
Lisa

Groople.com Announces the Group Travel Scoop - A blog for group travelers

How do you create a great group travel experience, you know, one that makes you, the group travel leader, look like a hero? When we got our team together to think about that, we had to let go of how we’ve always thought about online travel. That means we couldn’t be afraid to make big changes, changes that would make our site drastically different than sites you visit for your individual travel needs. That’s because we know that groups have completely different needs, from the hotels they want to search to the ability to communicate with other members of the group about travel plans.

Group-specific Search Results

We think the results of our redesign will meet – and exceed – your group travel needs. Sure, the homepage, where you tell us where and when you want to go is similar to other travel sites. But once you tell us your group type, the similarity stops. We recognized that not all group types are the same, and some hotels are better than others for different types of groups. Your daughter’s wedding party, for example, has very different needs in a hotel than your son’s soccer team. We’ve collected hotel amenities for each group, and we’ve designed our results to show you the best hotels for your group in the destination for which you are searching. The results aren’t presented according to those hotels that will make Groople the most money but rather on the hotels that are going to make sense for you. This is the first area on which we’ve focused our efforts.

The second is in how we present our results. We thought it was not good enough just to show you the best group hotels but also to put the results in an easy-to-use format. After all, while price is an important consideration in booking a hotel, we realized that it’s not the only consideration. That’s why our results don’t look like those on any other travel site. Instead, we’re giving you the ability to immediately compare hotels on a side-by-side grid format. This way you don’t have to scroll through endless hotels. Simply click on the “Select This Hotel” box, and in an instant your chosen hotels will highlight and slide next to each other.

Online Collaboration & Communication

The next areas we focused on were communication and colloboration. Let’s face it: If you have ever been the group leader for a trip, you’ve probably found all the back-and-forth emailing and phone calls to be extremely time consuming. So, once you have chosen a hotel or a set of hotels, we give you the option of emailing them to your group. They can click on a link in the email and be taken to a custom page for your group where they’ll not only see the hotels you’ve chosen but also have the ability to cast their vote and add messages. All the communication for your event is now in one place.

Take a look around the new Groople.com and please email me at MichaelS@Groople.com with your thoughts and ideas that you have on how we can improve our site. Our team has worked extremely hard over the past nine months to bring you this new site, and we’re not stopping here. You can expect several new enhancements over the coming months that will make your group trip memorable. You’ll be remembered as the hero who made it all possible.

Mike Stacy, CEO

Groople.com