Group Travel Scoop - Groople.com

International Group Travel Advisory Resources

We know that not all of our Groups are traveling to Kansas City or Denver. Many of you travel to foreign places that are "foreign" to you. Customs, history, even current events may be unfamiliar.

I suggest attacking your ignorance with a twofold plan. First, find first hand accounts of those who have traveled to your destination and read the words of those who have walked in the path you’re heading.

Two…make sure some local group has not declared war on the locations you’re planning to travel to with your group.

Here’s some great resources:

Travel Warnings brought to you courtesy of the US State Department. Go here for information on the general condition of a particular country.

Travel Alerts also brought you courtesy of the US State Department. Go here for short term warning associated with current events.

Health Advisories brought to you by the Center for Disease control. Go here for health information from general advice to recommended vaccinations.

Group Travel Scoop brought to you courtesy of Groople.com. I’ve traveled with Groups all around the world and would be glad to offer specific advice to my readers. Email me here.

Best location for Youth Sporting Events

Looking through the annals of the group scoop I see that we haven’t dispensed much advice to folks in charge of setting up a youth sporting event. This is changing. I have some suggestions if you or someone you know is charged with the task of selecting a city to host a youth sporting event.

First and foremost go where you’re wanted and where they know the special needs of the youth sports traveler.

Indianapolis, Springfield, Columbus, and Lansing are four cities that have both the expertise and facilities to help you host your event. These cities host many youth sporting events and everything from the local CVB (conventions and visitors bureau) to the area hotels are welcoming and ready to accommodate any event you can throw at them.

Quick Facts:

Indianapolis, IN – hosts more than 400 national and international sporting events. Home to several sports governing bodies including the NCAA. Better suited to high school level teams

Big Events: Indianapolis 500, NFL Scouting Combine

Springfield, IL – host to many youth sports national events. Cooperative CVB known to facilitate event location logistics

Big Events: National High School Finals Rodeo, BMX Championships

Columbus, OH – Home to a variety of youth sports friendly venues including the nation’s largest softball facility, 1,750 seat aquatic facility, and the 10,000 seat Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. Has the greater Columbus sports commission available to help with location planning.

Big Events: USA Junior Outdoor Track and Field Champtionships, NCAA men’s soccer College Cup

Lansing – The recently appointed Greater Lansing Sports Commission is on a mission to attract large and small sporting events of all sizes. Lansing has a strong infrastructure and background in hosting events.

Big Events- USA Hockey 14 and under championships, Women’s NCAA tournament

Group Amenities, and Coordination, and Hotels, Oh My!

What’s going on? What’s happening? What’s new?

Lots going on with Groople these days folks, and questions like what’s going on? Have very interesting answers! To start with Groople has gone big time with its media coverage. Groople was recently featured in the NY Times. Here’s a preview, "top online group travel companies — Groople...developed tools that help groups of five or more set up Web sites that can be customized for their trips; group members can share information and book and pay for travel…offer discounted rates, particularly for hotel rooms." This NY Times article was part of a larger media blitz Groople has enjoyed lately. Including articles and mentions in some of the web’s top blogs, like mashable.com (social networking news).

Beyond the exciting media attention, Groople is busy making itself better. Here’s one for you- an internal audit has showed that Groople saves its customers a lot of money! Groople has found that they save their customers an average of 21% over the competition.

Here’s the BIG news. New search results! Groople has improved its group hotels search process. The new search results process combines form and function like never before in online group travel. Groople displays your group type’s top hotel choice based on amenities, price, and star rating. You can use Groople’s suggestions or customize the search as you see fit. If you haven’t done a group hotel search on Groople lately, you’ll be impressed with the new look.

More news. GroopVine is getting better all the time. GroopVine, for the uninitiated, is an online community dedicated to the planners and people going on group trips. It’s a place to get your own dedicated webpage to serve as a central place to coordinate, plan, shop for travel, and have fun leading up to a trip. Groople is very focused on working with user suggestions to change and evolve GroopVine. I’d like to highlight two major improvements that Groople has your suggestions to thank for:

Email your group. You wanted the ability to email everyone signed up for your group trip and you got it.

Look and Feel. Groople had some stylish folks come through and give their ideas to make GroopVine more streamlined in appearance and navigation. It’s a sleek machine these days.

More to come in the days ahead. If you like these updates for what’s new at Groople, make sure you come to Groople on Oct 18th…I can’t say exactly what’s going to happen but it’s going to be something special. The only clue I con give is in this sentence...

Happy Trails.

Planning and Organizing Trips for Friends, Family, and Co-workers

If you have ever organize a group trip for your close friends, your family, or for a group of colleagues, you know how difficult and time consuming it can be to coordinate communications, make all the arrangements, collect payments, and keep everyone in the loop. We are conducting a poll to find out what was the most difficult or frustrating part of organizing your group trip(s). Please participate by answering the following one question poll:

Opinion Polls & Market Research

Summer Mountain Getaways - Fantastic Destinations for Group Travel

The summer is a fun time to head up to the mountains. Many towns that are crawling with people during ski season are not nearly as crowded in the summer months. The great thing about it is that most of these mountain destinations are also a great warm weather destinations. I have a few personal favorite summer mountain destinations. Some are from Colorado, where I live, and others are places I visited as a child and over the years.

Telluride, Colorado

Telluride is one of my favorite towns in Colorado. During ski season, Telluride is a bustling ski destination. The main town is beautiful, with old victorian homes and great places to dine. You couldn't ask for a more beautiful setting. There are some amazing hiking and biking spots easily accessible from town. Bridal Veil Falls is a great hike to a gorgeous spot, and the trailhead is just outside the town.

Summer is a much slower time for Telluride, and it is an amazing time of year to visit. The natural beauty is awe inspiring, and there are lots of things to keep you busy: hiking, biking, fly fishing, photography, and festivals Telluride has a great film festival and is best known for the Telluride Bluegrass Festival. That is probably the busiest time for Telluride's summer season, but for much of the summer you can easily rent a condo or vacation rental right in town for a very reasonable price.

Steamboat Springs, Colorado

Steamboat is also at the top of my list for summer mountain trips. I live in Denver, and you can usually get to Steamboat in about three hours during the warm months. Steamboat Springs is a great destination whether you are taking a family vacation in a two-bedroom condo or are spending a week in the wilderness backpacking. The Yampa Valley is a beautiful vacation spot with lots of mountain activities.

The Elk River is a great fly fishing spot. I definitely recommend you give it a try if fishing is your passion. Some stretches of the Yampa River also offer quality angling.

Pearl Lake is a more secluded, quiet place you can check out when you vacation in Steamboat. The lake has crystal clear water, and you can bring your canoes, kayak's and small motor boats (the lake has a "no wake" policy, so go slow).

Summer in Steamboat Springs also means lots of hiking and biking opportunities on the mountain trails. Wildlife viewing, bird watching are a lot of fun, too.

Don't forget to include a visit to Strawberry Park Hot Springs. The water is hot, and there is a series of three cascading pools along the creek with a temperature to suit anyone, even children. The facilities are on the rustic side but very nice, and you can purchase massage treatments on-site, including watsu, a kind of water massage.

Mammoth, California

Mammoth, California is a memorable place from my childhood. I love it there, and I really hope to make a return visit soon. Near Bishop in Northern California, Mammoth offers a great summer vacation in a beautiful mountain setting. I can't tell you everything there is to do in the area, but here are a few activities and places that really stand out in my memory:

Devil's Postpile - This is an interesting and beautiful natural rock feature in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The formation is made of columnar basalt, which is a rare kind of rock formation. The tallest columns are 60 feet high are beautiful. Devil's Postpile National Monument is easily accessible from Mammoth.

Hot Creek - The hot springs at Hot Creek are maintained by the Park Service, and they are easy to get to from Mammoth. They are about 25 miles south of Lake Mono, and the access is good.

Schat's Bakery - This place has great bread and baked goods, plain and simple. Most people go through Bishop to get to Mammoth, and if you do I highly recommend you stop at Schat's for something to take with you. I absolutely love their bread, especially the chili cheese bread. Their fruit tarts are amazing, too. Give them a try.

Group Travel Planning Poll

Have you ever planned a trip for a group of people traveling together? This could be for a sports team, corporate meeting, family reunion trip, destination wedding, girlfriends getaway, religous travel, or any other group trip you can think of. If you have, please answer my poll question below. After you answer, let me know what single planning or shopping feature would have been most helpful for your group trip planning by leaving a comment or sending me an email.

Opinion Polls & Market Research

Thanks,

Patrick Soch, Senior Marketing Manager

patricksoch@groople.com

Summer Vacations - What are You Doing This Year?

Here' a question for you. What are you doing for your summer travel this year?

Personally, I plan to take a fun trip with my kids to Steamboat Springs, Colorado. We'll do some hiking, fishing, camp fires, and quality time together. I can't wait to take our trip.

I wouldn't mind an exotic vacation, too - Tahiti or New Zealand or one of the many great places I want to visit.

Share your own exciting plans by submitting your comments.

Patrick Soch, Senior Marketing Manager

Mancations - The verdict is in

All right, I think we can put this question to rest. The verdict is in, and one of the latest marketing buzzwards, "mancation" is apparently very lame. The word just doesn't roll off the tongue. It almost makes you gag to say it. So apparently marketers aren't as hip as we like to think.

Nearly 80 percent of those who took the mancation poll think mancation is either "very lame" or would never admit to having participated in a mancation. I am firmly in your camp, and I believe that a guys weekend or friends getaway and any number of much more appropriate terms describe the great trips you are already taking.

Now is definitely a great time to plan that guys weekend for the upcoming summer season. In another poll I recently ran, Napa Valley topped a list including Vegas and San Diego as a favorite destination for trips with friends. Decide for yourself, and find the perfect hotel for your trip today.

Now is the Time to Book Summer Group Travel

This just in: group travel destinations are filling up quickly. It is not my intention to scare you, but many smaller summer destinations are starting to fill up, especially around popular travel times.

Here is what I know for sure. Many sports teams and student groups are finding hotel availability limited for late spring and early summer. If you are planning these trips, you really do not want to delay finalizing your group hotel reservations. Start your hotel search today. Don't put it off any longer.

Find group hotel rates for your sports team and student trips today.

If you have had trouble finding a hotel for your group, chime in with your comments, and we will all put our heads together and help you figure something out.

Patrick Soch, Senior Marketing Manater

Booking Group Travel Online

Because I am a marketer in the travel industry, I pay a lot of attention to articles on how consumers book their travel. It is really interesting to see how many articles come out touting the advantages of booking your travel in X, Y, or Z manner. Of course, the hotels recommend the advantages of booking direct. The major online travel sites proclaim their superiority, and other discount brands pontificate on the great deals to be found online. While I am certain that every travel provider has only the consumer's best interest in mind every time they  put out a press release or provide a quotation to a journalist, one point is often missed.

You, as a consumer have more choices in how you book travel than ever before. I try to be aware of this every day I come to work because I know that every Groople customer chooses our company from a range of options. We work hard to provide something of value to the travel consumer. We take pride in what we put up on our website. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter how proud we are of our website. What matters is how you, the traveler feel about our website. Here are features I value on our website:

• Group or event specific hotel search results - we return a different set of hotel options depending on whether you tell us you are a corporate meeting trip or a sports team traveling to a weekend tournament. We help you find the right hotel for you
• We do not charge additional cancellation fees if you have to cancel your booking - many online travel sites charge cancellation penalties in addition to any cancellation penalties the hotel might charge. Many sites have severe cancellation penalties that go along with their discounted rates. At Groople, we certainly adhere to the cancellation policies set forth by our hotel partners. However, we never charge additional cancellation penalties or fees beyond what the hotel requires. We always do give our best effort to explain clearly what the cancellation deadlines are and the penalties incurred once a deadline is past.
• The ability to book your hotel rooms as a group and to let each individual group member pay for his or her room. That way, no one is left footing the bill
• At Groople, you can book exactly the number of rooms you need for your trip. Other sites limit the number of rooms you can book on a single booking

The best place for you to book travel is measured by where you shop and buy travel - not by where someone tells you to shop. There is no one size fits all travel site, and that is clear from all the options you have available to you. We are working dilligently to create smarter, easier to use travel planning and booking tools. Our business is growing, and we appreciate each customer that chooses to book with Groople.

Perhaps you just like to check in on the Group Travel Scoop and have not chosen to book with Groople. Is there something you would like to see on our site? Are there tools, articles, and information that would help make it easier for you to plan and book travel online?

Please let us know. We are eager to hear your comments and suggestions,

Patrick Soch, Senior Marketing Manager

As alwasy, feel free to contact me directly at patricksoch@groople.com , or post your comments right here for everyone's benefit.

Spring & Summer Sports Team Travel

My son started spring baseball this week. I started thinking that it is time to plan and book travel for spring and summer sports. If you coach youth soccer, baseball, softball, tennis, track, and even perhaps club volleyball or basketball there is a good chance you may need to travel to away games and tournaments this spring or summer.

If you coach a club team, or especially if you coach for a designated "traveling team" you are certain to compete at some high profile, highly popular tournaments over the course of a season. I'd like you to get the best location for your hotels, the best rates possible, and the best service as well for this season's travel.

This afternoon, I had a conversation with our Sales Center to get some timely planning tips for you coaches and team parents that book team travel. These tips are from Olivia, one of our experienced group travel experts:

Tip #1

While I always try to encourage people to book group travel as early as possible, it is actually possible to book your trip too early. You can certainly start shopping for locations and deals at any time, but hotels typically do not have discounted rates and inventory loaded outside of eleven months. You probably do not need to start shopping in earnest if your tournament or travel needs are more than eleven months from now. That still leaves a lot of time to plan your trip, but I still feel strongly that you have the best chance of getting a great location for your team if you book at least 90 to 120 in advance. This is especially true for the big, highly attended tournaments. If you book outside of eleven months you might not get the best rates. However, if you book too late, there may be no room at the inn.

Tip #2

Olivia said that teams should "know their radius." Your tournament will be at a sports complex, a stadium, or some other sports facility. That's no surprise, but don't forget to figure out the location of that facility and to consider that in your choice of hotels. Better yet, ask one of our group travel experts to find you a hotel in close proximity to your desired location. Olivia recommends 10-25 miles as a good outside limit for how far you are willing to be from your venue. Outside of that and you are sure to get complaints from players and parents. It also makes logistics and scheduling much more difficult when you stay farther than that from the event location. Search online for team hotel rates. When you look at your hotel choices, you will find one thing to be true most of the time: the hotels with the best locations will have higher rates. As the person responsible for making travel arrangements, your players and team parents will hold you accountable for the location you choose. Give your team some options. Discuss the two options. Either they can have a great location at a higher rate, or you can take the trade off of a lower hotel rate for a 10-minute drive to the tournament site. Get your team's input, and then everyone knows ahead of time what they are choosing with no surprises.

We love to see sports teams traveling around to tournaments and games. It is fun and exciting to see our children compete, win, lose, try their best, and grow. Use our smart tools to book your team travel so you can focus on the coaching and supporting your players or sons and daughters.

Happy travels to our spring and summer athletes,

Patrick Soch, Senior Marketing Manager

PS - feel free to contact me directly with feedback and suggestions at patricksoch@groople.com. Or you can post your comments and suggestions directly right here!

Group Travel Destination Pages

Check out our new group travel destination pages. Bookmark the places you go, and easily come back to find hotels for your next trip. We're building new pages every week for top destinations for sports team travel, corporate meetings, student groups, and religious groups.

Visit our destination page list.

Patrick Soch, Senior Marketing Manager

Groople.com

Group Travel Tip - Communicate With Your Group About Options Before You Book

One of the best ways to ensure a great group travel experience is for the group coordinator to talk to the group about options well in advance of the trip. Of course, as the coordinator you will communicate with everyone involved, but here are a few specific suggestions of what you can communicate with your group about.

Hotel Options - You may think that everyone will be happy with your hotel selection. You know you need 50 rooms for two nights, and now you are ready to go out and get it done. Well, with Groople.com's communication tools, you can do the preliminary research for your destination and identify the hotels that you think are best for your trip. Our hotel search results are specific to the event or group type you specify, so we help you in that arena as well. Once you identify a set of your favorites, you can save those selections and invite your fellow travelers to vote for their favorite choice. If you communicate with your group about their options ahead of time, two things will happen. First, your fellow travelers will be much more excited about the trip and engaged in the planning. Second, you will ensure that everyobody has input and is satisfied with the final accommodations. As the group coordinator, you still have the final authority to book the best hotel choice based on your knowledge and your group's input.

Activities - Talk to your group about activity options. Few travelers want to be presented with a list from dawn until dusk of what they have scheduled on their trip. Make some executive decisions around big activities, such as banquets, tours, and gatherings, but be sure to leave free time for people to explore on their own. Communicate with your groupabout your destination, and ask group members to provide suggested activities. Then you can present a nice balance of scheduled activities along with suggested activities contributed by your fellow travelers.

If you communicate with your group about your upcoming group trip, I think you will be pleasantly surprised at how great the experience is for everyone. More people will thank you for your planning and organization efforts. They won't even realize how much they helped you along the way. When you talk to your group about an upcoming event or gathering, you will still get the credit for making it a huge success.

Patrick Soch, Senior Marketing Manager

patricksoch@groople.com

Remember, if you want to contribute to the Group Travel Scoop, send me an email. I will invite you to be a guest author, and we will post your group travel contributions so everyone benefits.

Summer Corporate Meetings Ideas

Summer - corporate meetings season? Lots of folks are on vacation during the summer months, and it is not typically the biggest meeting season of the year. During the summer months, we see some team building trips and a variety of corporate events.

My suggestion for this summer if you are trying to plan a meeting is to opt for simplicity. Summer is an excellent time to plan a meeting that also makes your team feel like they are being rewarded for their knowledge, expertise, and hard work. Plan an off-site corporate meeting based around a great location or beautiful setting, where people can feel relaxed. I am not suggesting you take everyone on a free vacation this year, but I do think you will be pleasantly surprised if you take a slightly different approach.

Opt for a little less planning and structure and a little more for spontaneity, creativity, and pleasure. There are beautiful retreat locations, mountain cabins, lake houses, beach properties, and golf resorts all over the United States. I have a few suggestions of places you might want to consider for something a little different in an off-site meeting venue. These places won't break the bank, either:

Northeastern U.S.:

Consider a trip to the Poconos. These mountains are stunning in their beauty, and offer everything from hiking to fishing. The town of Hawley is in the northerneastern Lake Region of the Poconos Mountains and offers several great resort properties. Plan ahead, and choose a great escape from the city for your next corporate meeting.

West Coast:

Not far from Los Angeles is the town of Ojai, a great place to host a small off-site meeting. Ojai is home to Lake Casitas, which is a great place to spend a summer day. Ojai Valley Inn and Spa offers world-class golf. In fact, it was rated the #1 golf resort in California by Conde Nast readers. Ojai, California has summer festivals, a Shakespeare festival and offers you and your colleagues the opportunity to really get away for a few days.

Rocky Mountain Region:

In northern New Mexico is The Inn of the Mountain Gods Resort and Casino. In the town of Mescalero, just outside of Ruidoso enjoy an incredible retreat at the Inn of the Mountain Gods. The meetings facilities are top-notch. The golf course is excellent, and the setting could not be more beautiful. The resort is owned and operated by the Mescalero Apache Tribe as a world-class resort facility in the heart of the New Mexico Mountains. Skiing in winter, golf in summer, hiking, fishing, and gorgeous scenery make the Inn of the Mountain Gods an ideal choice for an off-site meeting.

I just gave you some of my ideas. Please contribute some of your own by commenting on this post. Remember to keep it simple this summer when it comes to meetings. A winning idea might come on the trail or at the lakeshore instead of at the conference table.

Patrick Soch, Senior Marketing Manager

Summer Family Vacation Destinations

If you haven't already planned a late spring or summer trip for your family, now is the perfect time to start planning your family vacation. Maybe you want to jump in the car with your spouse and kids and head out for an adventure, or perhaps you want to call your brothers and sisters and get together with nieces and nephews for a larger gathering. Either way, summer is a fun time to take a family vacation. What are some of your favorite family vacation spots?

Below are some of my favorite family-friendly destinations that you may not have considered:

Hershey, Pennsylvania - Hershey, PA is a town built around fun and chocolate. This is an exciting family destination, just an hour and a half from Baltimore and about three hours from New York City. Hershey is a lot of fun for a weekend family trip. Hersheypark is a great amusement park with water rides and roller coasters. It is open daily from May 23 through September 8 with weekend hours in early May and late September. And there is also Hershey's Chocolate World, which is a tour ride through a chocolate factory, including samples. ZooAmerica North American Wildlife Park features animals native to North America in "naturalized habitats". What started out as a home for a private animal collection in the early twentieth century was re-opened in 1978 as ZooAmerica and has become one of 50 accredited zoos and aquariums in the United States.

Wisconsin Dells - Less than 50 miles from Madison, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Dells is a popular regional destination. It is easily accessible from Chicago, Milwaukee, or Madison. Some call Wisconsin Dells the water park capital of the world. Wisconsin Dell is located along the Wisconsin River and the deep gorges the river cut over time. The area offers a beautiful setting for outdoor activities such as hiking and biking, amusement parks, and river cruises. Mt. Olympus Water and Theme Park and Noah's Ark Water Park are among the favorites. In nearby Reedsburg, visit the Museum of Norman Rockwell Art, which is home to over 4,000 Rockwell creations. Ho-Chunk Casino in nearby Baraboo is a fun casino with lots of ways to play. The Casino offers great dining options, live entertainment, and resort amenities for their guests. The Ho-Chunk Wellness Center offers workout facilities, swimming pools, and more.

The Outer Banks - North Carolina's Outer Banks are a string of barrier islands that run along the Carolina Coast. The Outer Banks are more than 130 miles in length and are home to many incredible vacation spots for your family vacation. Visit towns such as Kitty Hawk, Nags Head, and Kill Devil Hills, or head for the rustic Hatteras Island. Be sure to visit Roanoake Island as well, England's first attempt to colonize the New World that ended in the mysterious disappearance of the would-be settlers in 1587. Ideally set along the Atlantic Coast and offering shelter most of the year, the Outer Banks offer lots of opportunities for beachcombing, swimming, watersports, sportfishing, birdwatching - the Outer Banks are a wonderful destination for outdoor enthusiasts. This is a fun place for your family vacation.

Find a hotel for your family vacation.

Other Resources:

Frommer's Top 2007 Travel Destinations