Group Travel Scoop - Groople.com

The Game Plan - Sports Team Travel Tips

We here are at the group travel scoop are struck with the fact that there is another area where it’s hard to find tips- sports team travel. Just not enough quality advice out there for planning successful sports team travel. We now take it upon ourselves to remedy that situation.

The challenge of getting a kid to throw, dribble, kick, bat, or tackle can be far less intimidating than getting the team there and back safely and within budget. But like anything in sports, the right game plan will see you through.

Tips for successful sports team travel:

• Book hotels with inside corridors and with adjacent rooms or at least rooms grouped close together. Find a place to stay with an inside pool with restricted access. Reducing the opportunity for trouble is the name of the game here.

• Pick a place to stay that offers free breakfast as part of your stay. Having breakfast included will save the hassle of arranging a morning restaurant run and save you money. Killing two birds with one stone. It's also a good idea to have a restaurant or two within walking distance.

• Get your hotel rooms now! The quicker you solidify group travel for your team the better. Four months out is not too soon to plan your team’s travel, in fact, it’s ideal. Many small towns where many tournaments or events are held have limited room availability. The only way to ensure the amount of rooms you want at a price you can afford is to book well in advance. You do not want to have to ride a bus 50 miles, from the next town over, because you waited too long to make your plans.

The group travel experts at Groople can help you execute this game plan to perfection. Groople has been getting sports teams there and back, within budget, and well fed for years.

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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!

Travel Tips for Sports Teams for Smooth Travel

Here are some really great tips to ensure an easy and efficient check-in for your sports team's upcoming trip. Keep your focus on your away game or tournament by avoiding unnecessary group travel hassles for your team:

1 week prior to the cut off date to ensure a Great Team Trip:

Properties will always give you a cut off date by which your team has to make reservations in order to get the special group rate.  Contact the property prior to this date and request a rooming list. Either have a team meeting to discuss this, or email this to the team. By double checking this  list you ensure that everyone has their reservations, the reservations made are accurate, and this enables you to make any additional changes without fear of penalty from the property.  This also reduces the chance of hotels “not having you reservation” because they spelled your name Forbes instead of Vorbes!

What you can do the Day prior to check in to ensure a seamless check-in

Contact the hotel and tell them what time your group will be checking in. Advise them to turn off all incidentals and to Pre Key each room.  I don’t know if you have ever waited at a front desk trying to check in a whole team? It can take a LONG TIME if the property is not prepared for your group!  Pre Keying rooms speeds up checkin because it reduces the amount of time it takes to check in each individual room. By having the incidentals turned off prior to arrival you will avoid all those pesky movies kids tend to rent while your backs are turned! 

What you can do during your stay to make things flow easier

Nothing is worse than having a strict team schedule of events and being late because breakfast at the hotel took too long!  To avoid this call down to the restaurant when you arrive to the hotel and let them know what time you will be eating your meals. Many hotels will put together limited menus for your group with meals they can prepare rapidly. This way you can pre order your meals, and not miss any important games. It is also a good idea to call housekeeping and let them know your schedule so that they can make sure to clean your rooms while you are out.

Find the perfect hotel for your team now.

Warm Regards,

Olivia J. Thorpe, Platinum Desk Agent

Tips for Sports Teams Booking Group Travel

Big sports tournaments in small towns are a familiar scenario if you are the coach for a traveling team or the parent of a competitive athlete. Travel for softball tournaments, baseball tournaments, soccer, hockey, lacrosse, volleyball, and many other competitive sports is extremely popular.

As a coach or a chaperon for away game and tournament travel, you have some unique concerns and requirements. Here are a few tips to help you keep everyone together, well-fed, and safe when you take your team on a trip:

1) Book hotels with inside corridors and with adjacent rooms or at least grouped close together. Not that your team members would ever cause any trouble (perish the thought). However, as a coach or parent you will ultimately be held responsible, so make your life a little easier.

2) Choose hotels that offer free breakfast as part of your stay. It is very convenient to get up in the morning, hop in the shower, and all gather in the hotel lobby for breakfast. It also helps cut down on everyone's travel expenses this way, Parents and players will definitely appreciate your efforts.

3) You might think you have plenty of time to book group travel for your team, but you should consider booking your tournament travel well in advance. Many small towns have limited hotel space (especially if you have specific budget considerations). It is better to book at least 60 days in advance if possible (120 days is even better) to ensure the highest availability close to your sports venue. Your team will play at its best if you can walk to the stadium or arena rather than a 40 mile car ride the morning of the game.

Booking group travel for your sports team is very important. Plan ahead, use all the tools available, and give your players the best opportunity to win!

Find the perfect hotel for your team

Good Luck to all the players and coaches.

Patrick Soch, Senior Marketing Manager