Agree budgets prior to booking. Not just for your accommodation, but also for food and activities and alcohol! Champagne v plonk, fine dining v self catering, expensive spa v a walk in the country. Ensure all your group are comfortable with what is proposed.
Everyone deserves a holiday, so ensure that tasks are equally allocated (or at least not all the responsibility of one, overworked guest). Agree prior to travelling. Share the planning (venue selection, budgeting, activity booking) and whilst on holiday (eg cooking, babysitting, food buying, etc).
Is the bedroom configuration suitable for your group?
How are you going to allocate bedrooms (ask the venue for a floor plan so you can pre allocate or operate a first come first served policy?).
Does it have enough outside space (and is this yours exclusively)?
Are there near neighbours?
Is the dining room large enough for you all to dine together (and is the kitchen separate if you want a more glamorous experience?)
Is it easy to reach?
Identify broadly what, where and when you are going to eat so you can pre plan food shopping etc. Maybe self cater breakfast and have a casual supper the first night. Then enjoy pub lunches and invite in a chef for private dining in the evening? Party Houses can provide contact details of chefs that previous guests have recommended. Supermarkets can deliver your food order to all Party Houses. Even a local brewery can set up a barrel of ale for your arrival!
5. Be Flexible
The more flexibility you have with dates and locations, the best deal you can secure and the best choice of accommodation and activities.
At the earliest planning sage, set up a social media group to help organise your trip and share ideas for activities. Splitwiase.com is a program that can help you keep a record of collected monies.
Try to accommodate everyone’s ideas. Not all of your party may want to bungee jump – so ensure that there is lots of choice.
There is no rule that you have to be together all the time, so we recommend that you don’t over-plan activities. Let everyone have some down time to chill out or do their own thing. So recommend that they pack headphones and a good book too for time between socialising!
Small things can make a difference. Make sure all guests have the directions, a contact number and the earliest time of arrival. Depending upon the type of gathering you are having; a timetable, a list of other invitees and ideas of what to pack (no point planning a long hike if your guests only bring stilettos!) could be useful too.
Chill out, arrange an easy dinner the first night (take some frozen pizza or order in a take away), and spend the first evening just catching up with each other without big activities organised. Take lots of photos and have an amazing time!
