When I’m out and about, people often ask me, “What is Good
to Go?” The quick reply is “It a travel
company specializing in organized group travel.” Then the next question often
follows. “What is a group?” A group of
bears is called a sleuth. A group of crows is called a murder. A group of birds
is called a flock. A group of cows is called a herd. And so on and so on. But,
what IS a group of travelers in “Group Traveling”?
Good question. What is a group? I’ve been gallivanting with
groups for about 25 years, and groups keep changing. Let me try to take a run
at an answer.
(Please allow me to throw my head back and drag out the
words as I say…..) “Well, back in the day…..a group was considered 20 or more
people paying by one check.” Yep, that was an accurate description. It was all
about the number. A large enough number of travelers entitled one to ‘Group
rates’ which usually was a lower fare. Most of the time, the hotel/restaurant/attraction
would also give the organizer a complimentary fare for organizing the group.
Ahhhhh, those were the days. We could honestly say that going with a group
usually resulted in a lower fare. That was back in the day. Sigh.
A couple of things have happened in this crazy travel
business. One, our senior adults who made up the major part of the group travel
business have gotten younger. Maybe not in years, but they are well traveled, they are technology savvy, and they
don’t NEED a group to travel, but enjoy the benefits of going with like minded
people.
The second thing is there is so much more competition with
marketing of travel. Sure, you can call a travel agent, that that is just one
of dozens of ways the cruise lines, hotels, and tour companies get your
attention for their products.
Our younger, savvy traveler is looking for more free time,
more hand on experiences and more unique opportunities. This same traveler
wants a smaller group AND a really good price. So we are spreading the costs over
20 people, what we group leaders used to count on 40 folks to share the costs.
Ouch.
So , let’s consider the question again, “What is a group?”
It could be some friends that want to do something together, but want someone
to organize them and make it happen. It could be a club or organization that
already has a group in place that wants to travel like a women’s group or a
social club. It could be people interested in the benefits of group travel such
as safety, companionship and less time planning and more time enjoying. We love
helping travelers find travel buddies and the friendships that evolve during a
tour. People may leave as strangers but always return as friends.
When
everything goes right, travelers truly believe they could have managed the trip
without the help of a tour organizer aka Fearless Leader. But when things go
wrong, it’s really nice to have someone to fight your battles and figure out
Plan B or Q or whatever it takes.
What is a Good to Go Group? It’s an organized adventure.
Life is short, take the trip.
