Planning Ahead for Student Travel
If you are thinking of planning a trip for students, you may be feeling overwhelmed about where to begin and how soon to do so. There are several factors involved with travel in any form that have to be considered, but especially with student travel.
The biggest issue for travel of any kind is availability. Availability of hotels, attractions, and transportation. Every location you want to visit has a busy season and an off one. They have city-wide events that create traffic for hotels, restaurants and the sights – events you may want to join but may want to avoid. Planning ahead is the best weapon in your arsenal. And, without argument, one year is not too soon to begin.
Consider this as well: Things cost less when the demand is lower. As with realty, find out when the buyer’s season is. If a hotel has trouble filling up during a certain week in February, for instance, they will be more likely to quote you a beautiful price. And, again, how will you discover the buyer’s season and be able to take advantage of it unless you plan?
With educational tours, the availability issue may actually come secondary to some others not faced by families and single travelers. For instance – the red tape. Consider how many people will need to be involved in the final decision as to when, where, and who. Not only will the school board or administration for your student organization need to approve the trip, but usually so will the parents. Also consider chaperones. The recommended ratio is usually one chaperone per ten students. Remember, you’ll need to convince them as well!
After the administration approves the trip but just before the parents do, you have to get the students on board. Why? You need the students behind their own trip so they will be motivated to return permission slips on time and, sometimes more importantly, to raise funds. When you consider this step, think of how many students you hope to bring. A good number to consider is 55. This is the maximum capacity for most motor coach/tour buses. A group of 55 will split the transportation cost beautifully. However, 60 throws things off considerably. It would be better in that case to convince several more and get an even 110.
Here is a good rule of thumb for students. For any given trip, try to get it approved and the students on board before they leave for spring break the school year previous to the trip. Was that too wordy? Try this – for senior class trips, get things arranged when they are juniors and before they leave for Cocoa Beach.
The most popular cities for students include New York City, Washington D.C., Chicago, and Orlando. Several of the best attractions in these cities absolutely require advanced planning. In D.C., students can meet with their congressman if the proper arrangements are made. And the White House itself, as you may imagine, cannot be approached by simply marching up and knocking on the door. Tours are still available, but only after some serious communication and planning. Don’t let your groups miss out on these amazing opportunities because you failed to plan.
For an excellent atmosphere for students, you may be considering Orlando educational tours or class trips. As you may have noticed from that exhausting but wonderful trip you took with your own kids in elementary school, these parks can be extremely crowded, and they definitely have on and off seasons. Of course, this is one time when you may actually want to hit the popular dates. Disney’s theme parks offer a great option for seniors called Disney Grad Nite. These can actually sell out, so plan it during junior year and get those kids in some fundraisers over the summer.
If you are working with a travel agency, planning ahead gives you options. You need to research the company. Find out if previous customers were satisfied. Is the company certified with the National Tour Association, the National Bus Association, and/or SYTA (Student and Youth Travel Association)? Do they offer any sort of cancellation insurance or liability? For that matter, will they give you options or are the trips they offer one-size-fits-all? You can usually find the answers to these questions through one simple phone call.
Transportation is actually one cost that cannot be specifically quoted as much as one year in advance. Consider this as all the more reason to book your trip early. With other fluctuating prices, such as specific attractions, perhaps you can get a deal by early booking. Pay the current year’s rate for instance, even if your trip is planned for the next. Transportation will almost undoubtedly be the greatest expense for any trip. Plan early for everything else, and the transportation cost will be more manageable.
You would not even be looking into student travel if you did not have a heart to educate. All educators know that the best way to teach is by example. Take the initiative to plan ahead for your students. Show them that through diligence and excellence, anything can be accomplished. At the very least, it might get them out of bed on Saturday morning for that fundraiser!
Tags: senior class trips | senior class trips | educational tours | educational tours | student travel
September 4th, 2008 at 12:55 pm
I couldn’t agree more. Once you know your groups final head count (and deposits), it is imperative that you book your lodging and transportation. Having just accompanied my cousin, who is a teacher, on a trip to Italy with 25 high schoolers, we were unable to partake in certain tours due to the limit of availability.