Bang for the Buck

Perhaps the biggest advantage of choosing group travel is that it can be cheaper than traveling on your own. While the up-front price tag might seem large (even short excursions can cost more than $1,000), the actual cost of the trip as a whole usually is quite a bargain.

Hotels

For instance, practically all hotels, particularly large hotels and resorts, offer group discount rates. Hotel managers need to keep as many rooms as possible full as much as possible and offering discounts to attract larger parties is a good way to do it. Group tour providers also often have special arrangements with specific hotels that reduce lodging costs more than normal group rates.

Group travelers also can benefit at hotels by not having to spend as much time in line at the check-in desk or by not having to lug their own baggage around the lobby. It also is not unusual for hotels to make special offers to groups, such as reduced rate tickets to near-by attractions or restaurants.

For example, you might think that the four- and five-star Radisson Edwardian Hotels in London would not need to go out of their way to attract guests, but the hotels offer discount rates for as few as a group of 15 people. In addition, they offer what they call “priority group check-in,” group meal service, and even theater tickets.

Air Fare

The same is true for air fare, often the most expensive part of “seeing the world.” While cheap rates can be found through the Internet, these fares only are for a short duration. Group air travelers get the discount and still book far in advance of when they want to leave. Group travelers also get these benefits without having to spend the time searching and comparing rates from various websites.

In addition to the lower air fares, group travelers often benefit by being able to get into and out of airports more quickly. Passing Customs can be streamlined for groups, and your luggage gets sent straight to your hotel with you on the group’s special bus. That means fewer porters and cab drivers to tip.

Special Offers

The financial benefits of group travel do not stop once your group gets to the hotel. Presumably travelers on a group tour have at least a few group activities or excursions planned as part of the trip, usually included in the price of the trip. These also usually come at a reduced rate. Beyond that, group travelers often receive reduced-price or free tickets to area attractions.

For example, groups visiting Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla., get a behind-the-scenes tour of the amusement park not offered to individual travelers. Stay at the right hotel and you will get discount tickets to all the Orlando-area major attractions, not just the Disney parks.

Travelers on group tours do surrender some flexibility of going where they want to when they want to in order to get these discounts. But, as in the case of the Disney tour, you get to experience some things individual travelers cannot even pay for.