There’s nothing like getting together with good friends and family, especially when you’re spending a few days away in a luxury large group holiday house. You might be celebrating a special occasion, like a birthday or an anniversary, it might be just to be together, to reconnect. Whatever the reason, it can take some organizing, but with our simple guide, it needn’t be stressful.
Use our tips to help you organise your large group holiday and your plans will all come together nicely. Keep a notebook or spreadsheet to help you stay on track and keep everyone up to date as necessary.
Get Some Help
Organising a large group holiday is too much for one person to take on, so share the duties. Form a small team of people who can help you to make plans and book things, agree on who’s doing what and don’t be afraid to delegate responsibilities.
Agree on a Budget
Quite often, especially with family celebrations, one person is happy to pay for the accommodation and any extras like private chefs and activities. If not, you need to set a budget, so either suggest a price to each member of your group or ask how much they are prepared to spend. Remember some people are more budget-conscious than others, so you’ve got to find a level that everyone is comfortable with. When it comes to food and drink, either give out lists or leave it to one person and split the cost. In any case you might initially need to ask for payment from each member of your group to book your chosen holiday house.
Secure Dates
This is possibly the trickiest part! Give out two or three dates and see how they work for everyone. People might need to arrange time off work, or if they work from home, they might need to factor in some office time. Our holiday homes tend to have reliable wifi and several have a dedicated workspace so it’s easy to set up a laptop and work undisturbed.
Think about the ages of children. Do you need to take your break in school holidays, or are your children under school age, in which case, we’d suggest looking at a mid-week break – it’s cheaper and the roads, beaches, attractions and eateries are quieter.
Remember, the earlier you book the better. If you leave it too late, you might not find the perfect holiday house for your stay. If you’ve booked your accommodation last minute after seeing a special offer, lucky you, but now you really must get on with the rest of the organising!
Choose a Destination
You’ll need to think about the location as well as the venue. It should be somewhere that everyone can get to without too much bother, so think about sharing lifts and where the nearest train stations are. Consider the ages and preferences of people in your group and pick a destination that will appeal to everyone. Think about what’s nearby – if you all like walking, choose somewhere scenic with plenty of good walking routes, if you’re a bunch of foodies, make sure there are several good places to eat nearby, if you have young children on board think about places for family outings.
Select Your Accommodation
Think about how many the property sleeps, whether the dining table seats you all, what facilities there are. The best rule of thumb is that the more features the better, especially if you’ve got all ages in your group. We’ve got big holiday cottages with private indoor pools, hot tubs, saunas, games rooms, movie rooms, year-round BBQ lodges and play areas, so that way it’s easy to keep everyone happy. What you don’t want is the risk of anyone being bored.
Maybe it's a themed break, like a wellness and yoga retreat, so one of our properties with a yoga studio would be ideal.
Are any of your party less able bodied? If so, it might be a good idea to book an appropriate holiday house for your stay. We have properties with ground floor bedrooms and wet rooms, and we have some that are more access friendly with level flooring, even stairlifts and hoists.
Think About Any Extras
Do you need any extra beds? Some of our properties supply these at an extra cost per person, but you’ll need to book in advance. Are you bringing dogs? These usually incur an extra charge too, and then you’ll need to think about EV charging and whether or not you’ll be wanting a linen change during your stay.
Work Out Who’s Sleeping Where
Right, so, you’ve got the right number of bedrooms, now you need to decide who’s sleeping where. Some people leave this until you get there but it’s always good to sort it out in advance. If there are families with young children, you’ll need to allocate them a room that can accommodate a cot or a toddler bed, or you might need to book them a family room. If not all bedrooms have ensuite facilities, think about who’s sharing a bathroom with whom. If you have elderly people in your group who don’t find stairs so easy, allocate them a ground floor bedroom.
Plan Ahead for Activities and Restaurants
Decide between your group what you’re all going to do when you’re away. Will you be visiting local attractions, taking the kids to the zoo, going to the beach, eating out? If it’s a birthday celebration or hen weekend you might like to plan an activity, either something you can all do, or something as a gift to the birthday person. When you book with Group Stays you can choose from a whole list of Extras – like private caterers to cook you a celebration feast, onsite activities like archery, laser clay shooting, crafting, murder mystery nights, and even old school sports days. We also provide lists of Things to Do – places to eat, visit, walk, play golf, etc., which makes it so much easier for you.
You don’t necessarily need to work out an itinerary, it might be better to leave things flexible with one or two things planned – say a walk and a murder mystery night, or dinner in a restaurant and a day at the beach with a mackerel fishing trip included.
Be Flexible
Don’t be a bossy boots. No one likes a bossy boots. It’s not about what you want to do, it’s about what keeps you all happy. Consider people’s differing tastes and accept that one or two may not want to join in an activity, or they might want a bit of time out to do their own thing. Bear in mind that not everyone has the same level of fitness so don’t organise anything that some may find too tiring.
Keep Everyone Updated
Set up a WhatsApp group so that everyone knows what’s happening. Don’t fill it with tedious details and don’t go at it like you’re organising a corporate event. Always keep it friendly because the problem with texting and messaging is that a lot can be lost in translation or misinterpreted. Give people plenty of notice about when payment will be required and politely set a deadline. If you’re arranging a private caterer, email the menu to everyone and request it back by a certain date.
Keep calm and use this as a guideline to planning your large group stay. There may be a few bumps along the way but you’ll be able to smooth them over between you. Remember, it’s all about getting together, relaxing and enjoying yourselves, and making amazing memories.