It’s not just you — travel has become shockingly expensive.
At every level, from bargain-basement to the lap of luxury, travelers are facing higher prices than they ever have before. And if you’re trying to run trips that are widely affordable for your faith community, these high prices can be a problem.
Fortunately, there are some things you can do to moderate the prices of the trips you offer. Here are five tips for minimizing your costs while maximizing the value you deliver to your travelers.
Sick Closer to Home
Transportation represents a large portion of the cost of any group trip, and it’s even larger in an environment with high fuel prices. To keep your transportation expenses low, consider visiting some destinations that are closer to home. There are wonderful places to see in every region of the country, and chances are you can find some that many of your travelers have never visited before. Taking trips to these closer destinations allows you to cut down on fuel use and travel time — and perhaps even shave a day or two off the itinerary — while still having a lot of fun.
Avoid Busy Times
You probably already know that hotel prices go up with demand, which means that busy season is the most expensive time to go anywhere. Ideal weather, high-profile events and other seasonal factors drive up expenses. To save money, work with destination professionals to identify low-traffic times that are still pleasant to visit. You’ll benefit from smaller crowds, better service and, most importantly, lower prices. Similarly, some destinations are packed on weekends but empty on weekdays (or vice versa). If you can learn those occupancy patterns, you can leverage them to your advantage.
Maximize Free Attractions
Attractions and experiences aren’t usually the lion’s share of your expenses on the road, but in a high-priced environment, any little bit of savings helps. To that end, consider making the most of free or very low-priced attractions in the places you visit. Many beautiful parks and natural sites are available free of charge, as are some museums, including notable ones such as the Smithsonian Institution. And a lot of historic sites or other places run by nonprofits are happy to let your group visit in exchange for a small donation. With the right guide, these visits can be every bit as enriching as big-name, high-price attractions.
Share Trips
Nothing ruins the economics of group travel more than empty seats on a motorcoach. Scaling up makes a substantial difference in per-person cost, so it’s to your advantage to run your trips as full as possible. If your group doesn’t have the numbers to fill more than half a motorcoach, consider inviting another church or nonprofit in your area to join you. Even if they only bring a few travelers, it could help moderate the pricing for everyone. Plus, your travelers get to make new friends, and you get to help strengthen bonds in your local faith community.
Leverage Professional Savings
If you want to take your group to a popular destination that often has higher prices, you might save substantial money by working with a local tour company or receptive operator. Because they have deep relationships in their areas, these operators often have access to exclusive pricing that is not available to the general public or even to other tour groups. Sometimes, those savings are so substantial that they more than offset the operator’s markup, which makes it cheaper to work with them than to go it alone. And beyond favorable rates, these destination pros can offer activity suggestions and itinerary guidance that will further save you time and money.
