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Logistics of planning a bachelor party

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Deal Addict
Feb 11, 2009
1026 posts
294 upvotes

Logistics of planning a bachelor party

Has anyone had to coordinate a bachelor party?

We want to go to New York. Ideally most of us would be on the same flight and we should all be at the same hotel, but I don't want to put everyone's booking on my card.

Is it better to have everyone fend for themselves?
9 replies
Deal Fanatic
Aug 19, 2006
5868 posts
1606 upvotes
Although it may not be the absolute cheapest option, you can always get a travel agent to help with this. If you let them know # of people, they can hold those seats while each person pays individually.

Same with hotel, either use an agent or even call into the hotel's reservation line and they can assist.
Deal Addict
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Sep 9, 2007
2241 posts
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i've done it many times...

if you know the guys and know that they're good for it, you can come out making money because of cc points or hotels.com free nights etc. that's what we did for the last bachelor party that was earlier this month.

in previous bachelor parties where we went to vegas, we just booked individually

logistics is the easiest part, it's trying to fill the day and have an action plan in place that'll be difficult.
Deal Guru
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Sep 6, 2002
11547 posts
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Moving target
4seasonscentre wrote: Has anyone had to coordinate a bachelor party?

We want to go to New York. Ideally most of us would be on the same flight and we should all be at the same hotel, but I don't want to put everyone's booking on my card.

Is it better to have everyone fend for themselves?
Good on you for doing this for your buddy. If you are taking the lead on this you'll need to balance organization and financial responsibility. if you're really planning to spend time in the hotel, which in NYC imo you should probably be out and about. The bachelor should get a suite perhaps a really nice suite if you can afford it, and the rest can get basic rooms. Most hotels offer a refundable hotel rate with 24-48 hours cancellation notice and they don't hold the amount on your credit card. Just book as many rooms as you think you MAY fill and cancel before the cancellation deadline. Send out an email a few days before that deadline and see who bites. Anyone else can fend for themselves. Won't be as cheap as non refundable hotel hot deals but if you are working in a group it will probably be the most flexible. Anyone who is sure they are coming can compare the refundable rate to whatever hotel coupon code / non refundable reservation deal that's out there for that specific hotel. Remind people of that fact in your group communication. People can stay at nearby hotels too, which I doubt would be significantly cheaper (but could be for super last minute people).

Good luck and NYC isn't the best place for rippers (dance club wise) if that matters.
Autocorrect sucks
Deal Expert
Aug 2, 2001
18944 posts
10526 upvotes
You could call the airline directly with everyone present, explain the situation, and each person can provide their credit card and book. The reason I do not suggest just booking online is there may not be enough Economy seats available for everyone, causing some to have to pay for a Premium seat (or whatever the next level is on the airline you choose).

For the hotel you could call them and ask for a prepaid room block to be setup. You would then follow the same thing with the airline - anyone sharing the room would just ask for the bill to be split. Of course verify you can do this, but it's very common to have done at hotels. You may not get the best price, but there is a trade off for removing the potential liability of you booking it all with your credit card.
Deal Addict
Sep 23, 2008
1581 posts
511 upvotes
Have everyone fend for themselves, but settle on a budget for sure. There are always flakers, and the assholes that commit and then when you are all booked and have the right amount of people for hotel rooms, they flake and mess everything up! Take a deposit if you need to.
Deal Addict
Oct 18, 2014
2050 posts
925 upvotes
HK
As others have said, let everyone fend for themselves. I've help organized many bachelor parties (Vegas, Montreal, Bangkok, Amsterdam etc)... and for some reason, there is always one guy that flakes out and the rest of the party (or the best man) ends up covering for them.
Deal Addict
Feb 11, 2009
1026 posts
294 upvotes
Thanks guys.

My friends aren't the type to back out after something has been paid for but they are the type to be slow to RSVP and that would drive me nuts.

I think I'm gonna have everyone find a roommate and they can fend for themselves.
Jr. Member
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Jul 23, 2008
192 posts
4 upvotes
Toronto
airbnb could be a more viable option if you're willing to look into it, some nice lofts you can rent out in memorable locations and split cost much more frugally and have everyone bunk in one house versus multiple sepearte rooms (depends on your party size too).

You can do this with hotels as well, pre-paying before going with booking sites like hotwire which IMO offer great deals (OR sometimes you can get a discount through the hotel directly if you sift through the 1000's and find one you like). It's the mentality of payment upfront so your friends are invested already beforehand and will be less likely to flake and cause drama later on for the accommodations/flight portion if you're worried about that element. Flights exclusively unfortunately are a little trickier, but the upfront payment from friends for plane tix is more than enough incentive (especially because you're booking well in advance) since primarily you've already discussed with your group ONE location and TWO budget, this should not be an awkward subject, much like an all-inclusive you pay the host before the fun begins, not afterwards, this ain't a bar tab LOL.

If you do end up booking all this, ensure you maximize your points collection game :)
Deal Addict
Jan 28, 2014
3926 posts
1039 upvotes
Toronto
4seasonscentre wrote: Thanks guys.

My friends aren't the type to back out after something has been paid for but they are the type to be slow to RSVP and that would drive me nuts.

I think I'm gonna have everyone find a roommate and they can fend for themselves.
A good plan. I would absolutely never buy air tickets and book hotel rooms for friends. You never know what will happen or who will be the person who backs out - often it is the person you least suspect would do so. Also if you put all of the tickets on your card as well as non-refundable hotel rooms you will have an issue with trip insurance (if you have it). Then there is the weather.

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