10 Steps to Successfully Organizing a Coach Trip For Your Club
By Anonymous
Everyone likes to get out, especially the over 50's. When spring comes we all like to get out and enjoy the wide outdoors with friends and acquaintances. In summer what can be better than a carefree trip to the seaside, and come winter there are pre-Christmas shopping trips, and trips to the shows to which can be organized to delight old and young alike. Every club needs an organizer to do this.
It can be very rewarding to organize these events, it is not hard if you have guidance - and here are the steps to how to make it happen.
- The Idea
Canvas ideas: Your committee will often help with suggestions for new coach trips, but don't forget to look back over some of the most popular day trips from past years and repeat those. Write down a short list and hold a meeting at which votes are caste to find the most popular trip ideas. - The Plan
Sit down and create a program and itinerary for the trip. Use resources like the free Europe route planner at http://theaa.com to assess journey times and allow at least 45 minutes for service stops. Do consider the hazards, and it may be worthwhile to write down all possible hazards to be encountered during the trip and assess methods of minimizing the risk created by the hazards identified by this exercise, to an acceptably low level. - The Coach Company
Most organizers will have access to information on local coach and bus companies through familiarity from past event bookings, and will select a coach company through making a shortlist, but an alternative is by searching on Google and appending your town or city or name or region to the words 'coach hire'. Local directories such as www.yell.com can also provide useful links to the smaller coach operators which may be located closer to you than the larger operators, and may offer good value by running the company from a low cost rural depot, on low overheads.
However, do ask questions of the coach operator in respect of the provision of toilets, screen based entertainment, and refreshment. Also, check on their ability to offer a range of different coach sizes to suit your likely group size. As this will be hard to estimate at the outset ensure that if the booking level is low they than can provide a minibus at a lower hire rate than the coach. - Set the Budget
Make sure that the coach company provides a written quotation; negotiate for the best deal, possibly between about three coach operators. Add up all the costs and include any taxes, food and refreshments and this becomes the budget plus a percentage profit for rainy-day funds. Split the budget by the best guess of the number of attendees expected, and the charge per person is the result. - Advertise and Take Bookings
Circulate the membership through direct mail, leafleting and posters as appropriate to the traditional communication methods used within your club. - Collect the Money
This WILL be the most onerous stage, but is essential. Tip: no member can be allowed to travel free and pay later, the hassle of that is simply too great. Besides, it would be unfair to those who do pay up. - Supervision of the Trip
If you are not going yourself, you will need to obtain additional volunteer leaders. Offering a reduction on the price of the trip may help to bring in these suitable club "volunteers" for this task. Check your group numbers onto the coach each time you stop. (Tip: count the spare seats not the people - as seats don't move!) - Food and Drink
Ensure that the travelers have the opportunity to eat during the trip and that soft drinks are readily available on the coach. - Enjoy the Day, Tip the Driver and Seek Feedback
Make sure you enjoy yourself on the day, a good driver is always worth tipping, so make sure you do, and why not leave a simple feedback questionnaire on the seats on the return run? Pay the coach company, and try to retain some money in profit to assist club funds.
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