Industry Insights: Revolutionize Your Group Travel Planning

Jessica is an event planner for a mid-sized company and earlier this year she was tasked with organizing an annual conference for 150 attendees. Here’s the kicker—the event needed to be fully planned in just three months, and she had to find suitable accommodations as well as meeting spaces that fit within the company’s budget. She spent countless hours browsing hotel websites, calling venues, and waiting for responses to her requests for proposals (RFPs). The clock was ticking, and the pressure was mounting when a peer at their sister company told her about GroupSync™.

What if there’s a better way?

As a professional event planner, you know just how complex the world of group travel planning can be. At Groups360, we designed an online platform, GroupSync, specifically for you to by-pass those complexities and streamline your process. This platform allows you to book multiple hotel rooms and event spaces instantly. The platform also offers the ability to go through a streamlined RFP process. Either way, using GroupSync saves you time and reduces stress. Bonus – it’s free to sign up for a GroupSync account.

The Problem with Traditional Group Travel Planning

• Searching for suitable venues: This involves hours of online research, comparing different hotels and meeting spaces, and ensuring they meet your group’s requirements.
• Requesting Proposals: Once potential venues are identified, the next step is to send out RFPs. This can be a time-consuming process, as it involves detailing the group’s needs and waiting for responses—some of which never arrive.
• Negotiating Rates and Terms: After receiving proposals, there’s usually a back-and-forth negotiation to finalize rates, terms, and conditions.
• Confirming Bookings: Finally, after all the negotiations, bookings need to be confirmed, which often involves multiple calls and emails.

This traditional approach can take weeks, if not months. It can be a major source of stress and frustration, but if you’ve ever booked for a large group you already knew all of this.

How GroupSync Transforms Group Travel Planning

GroupSync revolutionizes the group travel planning process by offering instant booking capabilities, and a simplified online RFP process with a streamlined approach. Here’s how:

Instant Booking: The Game-Changer

With GroupSync, you can book hotel rooms and event spaces instantly. This feature sets us apart from other platforms and drastically reduces the time and effort involved in planning group travel.

• Time-Savings: Instead of spending hours or days waiting for responses to RFPs, you can secure accommodations and meeting spaces, food and beverage, and audio-visual services with just a few clicks.
• Ease of Use: Our intuitive platform makes it easy to search for and book venues that meet your specific requirements.
• Transparency: See real-time availability and pricing, ensuring you always score the best deal for your group.
• Flexibility: Instant booking is available for a wide range of hotels and venues, giving you plenty of options to choose from.

Traditional RFP Process: When Needed

While Instant Booking is a powerful feature, we understand that some events require a more customized approach. GroupSync also supports the traditional RFP process for those who need it.

• Detailed Proposals: For larger or more complex events, you can still send out RFPs to multiple venues to get detailed proposals.
• Negotiation: Engage in negotiations directly through the platform to ensure you get the best possible terms.
• Comprehensive Management: Keep track of all your RFPs, responses, and negotiations in one place.

The Benefits of Using GroupSync

Using GroupSync offers numerous benefits that can simplify and enhance your group travel planning experience. Click here to sign up for a free account and check it out for yourself today.

Efficiency and Convenience

By offering Instant Booking and the traditional RFP process, GroupSync delivers unparalleled efficiency and convenience. You can choose the approach that best suits your event’s needs, whether it’s the quick turnaround of Instant Booking or the detailed customization of RFPs, you and your group are covered.

Cost Savings

With GroupSync, you’re able to lock in hotel rates and secure your group’s booking in real-time. Search and compare hundreds of properties so you always know you’re getting the best hotel option for your group, at the best rate.

Streamlined Communication

With all your booking and communication needs handled through a single platform, you can avoid the hassle of juggling multiple email threads and phone calls. GroupSync centralizes everything, making it easier to stay organized.

Enhanced Flexibility

Whether you’re planning a small meeting or a large conference, GroupSync provides the flexibility to handle events of any size. Our platform caters to various needs, ensuring you find the perfect accommodations and venues.

Real-Life Success Stories

Case Study: Academic Orthopaedic Consortium

Michael Gagnon, the CEO of the Academic Orthopaedic Consortium (AOC), was tasked with planning an event for his 5,000-member organization. He faced significant challenges, including time constraints, difficulty in sourcing scalable hotel options, and the need for specific hotel features. Michael’s traditional method of sending RFPs and sifting through endless pages of hotel documentation was inefficient and frustrating.

When Michael discovered GroupSync, his entire planning process transformed. GroupSync enabled him to specify his exact requirements, such as proximity to an airport, price range, meeting space size, and access to water. The platform filtered out irrelevant results and matched him with hotels that perfectly fit his criteria. This not only saved Michael a substantial amount of time but also provided him with superior rates and options he wouldn’t have found on his own.

“Using GroupSync, I secured bids from hotels within a day at rates I couldn’t have negotiated without the software’s data, at beautiful facilities that fit my needs,” Michael said. “Within 36 hours, I had a list of venues perfectly matching my criteria.”

Michael’s experience with GroupSync highlights the platform’s ability to streamline the RFP process, deliver faster responses, and offer relevant hotel results that save time and enhance planning efficiency.

Click here to view the full case study.

How to Get Started with GroupSync

Ready to simplify your group travel planning? Getting started with GroupSync is easy:

1. Sign Up for a Free Account: Click here to create a free account to access our platform.
2. Search for Properties: Use our search tool to find hotels and event spaces that meet your requirements.
3. Instantly Book or Send RFPs: Choose the instant booking option for quick arrangements or send RFPs for more detailed proposals.
4. Manage Your Bookings: Keep track of all your bookings and communications in one place, ensuring a smooth planning process.

For Any Group You’re Booking, Book Better with GroupSync

GroupSync is your ultimate guide in the world of group travel planning. With our innovative Instant Booking feature and comprehensive RFP support, you can save time, reduce stress, and ensure your events are a success. Don’t let the complexities of group travel planning overwhelm you. Sign up for a free account on GroupSync today and experience the future of event planning.