“Together in Cancun. A group adventure in the tropics.”

Our first tip for a group that is in the beginning stages of organizing a trip to Cancun is to start with an open discussion with everyone in the group. Our second tip is to pick one or two people who will connect with the Travel Agent. If you have two leaders raising their hand for this job you will want to make sure you establish a group chat with your Travel Agent right from the beginning.

Here are some ideas of how to get started and the questions to ask the group based on a one week All Inclusive Vacation:

1. Create a Group Chat
   • These can be both helpful and overwhelming for everyone. When setting this up let the group know that you will have specific questions in this chat and any additional questions can be sent directly to the “Group Leader or Leaders”. This way you can avoid a very distracting group thread and have your questions answered quickly.
2. Begin with asking everyone the most important question and probably the hardest one:
   • What is the ideal budget that you have in mind per person or for your family? Chances are no one will want to go first with answering this question so our suggestion as the leader is that you begin with asking questions such as this. Are you comfortable spending approximately $1500-$2000 per person or are you comfortable spending approximately $2500 – $3000 per person? If you have a family going you can ask the question like this. Are you comfortable spending approximately $6000-$7000 for your family or are you comfortable spending approximately $8000 – $10,000 for your family? Of course this will look a little different for everyone depending on the ages of their kids, how many kids they have or if they have any kids at all. What it will do though is quickly get all of you on the same page right from the beginning. Once you have heard from everyone you can move to the next questions. If anyone hasn’t answered make sure you reach out to them privately before moving on.
3. Now we need to know if there are any dates that don’t work for anyone:
   • This is so important and can save everyone so much time. Here is your next question for the group. Can you please let me know if there are any dates that you can’t be away? Once you have an answer from everyone, move to the next question.
4. Ask the group what part of Cancun are they are wanting to be in:
   • If you have read my other blogs you will see that there are many options of where to stay around Cancun. Your next question should be clear like this. Would you like to stay in the Cancun hotel zone, Playa Mujeres, Playa Del Carmen or the Riviera Maya area? The most economical resorts will be in the Playa Del Carmen and Riviera Maya areas, the nicest beaches however are out in Playa Mujeres.
5. These are the most important question to finish with:
   • It can get complicated with groups when everyone is in search of something a little different when it comes to a resort and all of its amenities. You will want to ask the group these clear questions. What are the most important amenities for you at a resort? Share some examples such as the room layout, waterparks, pools, beaches, the size of a resort and if you want to be connected to a sister resort. This is also a good time to ask everyone if there are any resorts that they do not want to go to again and if there are any that they have on their bucket list that they would like to look into.
6. Now it’s time to reach out to your Travel Agent:
   • When you contact our agency we will ask you if you prefer to be contacted by text or email. Texting pictures of the resort and flight schedules can work great with group leaders to narrow the options down fairly quickly. Once you have selected two options that the group is happy with we will send out an email that you can forward to the group with the full quote and details of the flight and resort.
7. Final step for the group Leader or Leaders:
   • Now you will want to go back to your group chat and ask the group the final question. Which option is everyone happiest with? Option #1 or option #2?
8. It’s time to finalize the booking:
   • Once your group has agreed on a vacation package our agency will ask that each traveler or family email us their names exactly as they are on their passports, date of birth and a billing address that matches their credit card. If we are doing a group rate with 12 or more adults a deposit of $150 per person is due at the time of booking and the full payment is due 70 days prior to the departure date. If you have 10 adults or less we will need to collect a deposit of $250/person and then final payment 45 days prior to the departure date. This is the moment that the group leader gets to step back and allow the Travel Agent to take over. Remember to thank your group leader, it is a challenging taste to take on.

Traveling as a group can be a lot of fun. The most important thing to do right from the beginning is to work together and let go of being in control of making all of the decisions as an individual. Some things will be exactly what you had hoped for and other things will be different than what you would choose if you were going on your own. The important thing to focus on for this vacation is the people you are going with and the enjoyable experience that you will have together in Cancun.