How to book group travel

A group is 10 or more passengers traveling together on the same itinerary.

Group Organizer contacts Group Travel Agent:
In order to start researching the group for you, your agent will need to know:

the number of passengers
travel dates
departure city and destination city

If you can fly from a different city in order to save cost, advise your agent of this up front so they can consider that when researching the fare for you. Group rates are based on availability so you may receive a fare for certain dates, but then when you go to change a date, just by a day or two or even a different flight time, the fare is subject to change based on how full the flights are.

Researching the Fare:
Let your travel agent work with the airlines directly. We will research all options for you and present the best itinerary and fare to you in a proposal. Since group rates are based on availability, if you have more than one person requesting the space with an airline it will work against you to obtain the lowest fare.

Choosing an Airline:
Once the prices have been presented to you, the airline will be requiring a deposit within 3-4 weeks of confirming the space. The group organizer will need to advise the travel agent which airline he has chosen. The next step is for the group organizer to start collecting the deposits from the group members. The final payment is usually not due until about 6 weeks prior to departure.

After the Airline has been chosen:
Your travel agent will send you a contract with important dates to take note of:

Deposit due date
Preliminary names and Utilization due date
Final names and final payment due date

Notes:

Preliminary names - List of names of the passengers that you think will be traveling.
Utilization - Date that the airline will allow you to cancel a certain amount of seats without deposit penalty.
Final names - Official first and last name as it appears on the passenger's passport.
The contract will also have other important information, so read the contract carefully.
Remember taxes are subject to change. The current cost of fuel fluctuates daily. The group organizer should let group members know that although the fare of the ticket is guaranteed. The taxes are subject to change, so the final amount that you will collect from them for the ticket could change.