When building a group, you have two main options on how to make the decision on what would work best

1.     Decision by Consensus

Best for:

-          Groups where everyone is 100% committed to go

-          Groups with strong personalities who will all want a say in the final decision


Decision by consensus means you will undertake a process by which the whole group evaluates all the options and comes to an agreement on what they want to do. Everyone gives feedback on their priorities for the vacation, the preferred date and length of vacation, and ranking the place or type of vacation.

The most important thing about this type of decision making is to make sure that every single person is one hundred percent committed to go. I've seen situations where the group leader ended up going on a vacation he didn't really want because some group members lobbied hard for one type of vacation and then ended up not going.

The downside of this decision making is that the consensus vacation could be an option no one is really passionate about.

2.     Decide then Invite

Best for:

-          Group leaders with specific vacation needs who don’t mind a smaller group

With this option, you decide where you want to go. As a group leader, you make the decision on the trip you're going to take and then invite people. For this type of trip, you have to be willing to lose a few people because the date and vacation choice may not work for everyone. The upside is that you get the vacation you really wanted.

I've also seen a variant of this where the group leader picks a couple of other travelers who are committed to traveling and then that smaller group makes the decision.

Benefit of Using a Travel Agent: If you choose decision by consensus, I can draft and administer the survey for you. I set up conference calls to answer the group’s questions and to help you evaluate the different options. I resolve any issues that come up in the decision-making process because I have in-depth knowledge of all the options available.