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How to Organize Family Reunion Vacation Packages

Planning a family reunion? We all know that there is a lot involved in the planning process, and if you’re the lucky one that volunteered or was selected to make the plans this year, then you likely have a lot on your plate: finding the destination, making travel arrangements, booking hotel rooms, planning activities, deciding on food, and so on. It is a lot of work!

Family Reunion Vacation Packages

Sure, it is a lot of work, but there is help! Since you likely have to find group rates for hotels, flights, and everything else anyway, why not knock out a few birds with one stone by finding family reunion vacation packages?

The best part is, you don’t have to do this on your own!

Speak with a Travel Agent

Travel agents are available, often 24/7, to assist you with your traveling needs. You can contact travel agents for major cities, airlines, or third party vacation planners. They will know the ins and outs of planning vacations and how to find you the very best group rates!

Start by contacting the airline or hotel line you would like to use. Often times, hotels and airlines partner together to offer discounted packages. This not only helps you save some cash, but it helps to ensure that the airlines fill more seats and the hotels fill more rooms. Everyone wins!

Getting the Best Rates

When making travel plans, it is better to call and speak with a live travel agent as opposed to trying to book everything online. This way, you are most likely to get filled in on important family reunion vacation packages and group rates that you might not be able to see online.

Make Reservations Online

Most websites like Expedia.com and Travelocity.com will allow you to make reservations online for package deals that can include any combination of hotel, flight, and car rental, but again, contacting them directly on the phone may yield a cheaper rate if you mention a large group of people; the same goes for contacting airlines directly, such as American Airlines.

Before Making Arrangements

Before you go booking family reunion vacation packages, make you to get an approximate head count for the group rate, and make sure everyone is on board with the anticipated travel plans. Also, be sure that you are booking enough time in advance to ensure there will be enough rooms and seats available for the size of your group.

Trying to book anything for a group last minute can turn into a total nightmare, and likely result in the group needing to be split up, meaning no true group rates being available. Starting the booking process at least four to six months in advance will not only open up the options for family reunion vacation packages, but it will guarantee you, the hotel, and the airline a group gathering!

So while your head is full of a very long to-do list, let a travel agent assist you in some of the planning process so you can focus your attention more on the family reunion event, itself.

Family Reunion Save the Dates

It never hurts to borrow a couple of tricks from weddings when planning your family reunion. Save the dates remind your attendees to mark their calendars off for the reunion. This helps them avoid potential conflicts, as well as allows them to schedule the necessary time off from work, school and other obligations.

What are Save-The-Dates?

Most commonly, save the dates are a simple card. This doesn’t mean that you have to be boring, and honestly, the more memorable it is the better.

A clever thing people have started to do is create custom family reunion save the date magnets. These serve multiple functions:

  • They are handy for the refrigerator.
  • They provide a constant reminder because everyone visits the fridge frequently during the day (and sometimes night).
  • They serve as a souvenir to remember the event.

The main drawback is they are more costly to produce, but sites like Zazzle.com make it convenient. You can also speak with a local printer to see what kind of deals they can make for you as well.

When to send Save the Dates for a Family Reunion?

You really can’t give anyone too much notice, especially when many people plan vacations months ahead. So, the short answer is to send it as soon as possible. The longer answer will depend on:

  • How many people are attending
  • How far away family members are
  • The time of year your reunion is occurring

If you have a lot of out-of-state family, then you may want to get save the dates sent between 6 months to 1 year, maybe even more. If you send your save-the-date announcements this far before, then I suggest you follow up with everyone every couple of months to keep it on their radar. People tend to forget.

If your family reunion is happening during a busy time of year, such as Christmas season, then getting the save the dates out a few months before is definitely advisable as the calendar will fill up quickly.

Saving Money on Save the Dates

You can send your family reunion save the date cards or magnets along with your official family reunion announcement. This will save you on added postage, but keep in mind that it’s better to get the announcement out first.

Another way to save is to only send the save the date to people who have confirmed they will attend. If you send the family reunion announcement first, then you can include a survey, or RSVP. Confirm who will be attending, then place the order for your save the date magnets or cards and mail them out. Obviously, this method will save the most money if you are sending magnets.