Big family trip planning for Christmas 2021?

uber_shnitz wrote: ↑ I would probably just book everything individual; nobody wants to have that awkward "you owe me money" conversation. Also, if any family is flying out of a different town it'll make things easier to book separate.

What you could do is once everyone's booked you can call the hotel and ask to be put in rooms near one another.

amiss85 wrote: ↑ Hey all,

Me and my extended family want to do an all-inclusive resort next year. We're thinking Punta Cana or something like that? Some of us have kids, some of us have more money than others. What's the best way to do this? Should I just work with one of the websites? Or can I get a better deal by doing it all on my own? What's wrong with deciding on a resort and everyone figuring out their own way there and what room they want?

Appreciate your help!

MexiCanuck wrote: ↑ I recognize that the following may not be practical for some (many?) people, but it might be practical for some.

First, it is possible to avoid the Christmas period it is likely to be far more cost effective to go in January. At many tropical destinations, Christmas is the absolutely most expensive time. Then there is a lull in business during the two or three weeks after New Year’s Day. Then it gets busy again by the last week of January. (Some people go on vacation for Christmas. Others, who “have to” get away in winter get over the holiday season, but can’t get through to March, so February is busy.)

Yeah, people say, but the kids are in school in January. Arrange with the school for them to get January work before Christmas break. Tell the kids that they have to get it done over Christmas if they want to come to the tropical vacation when their friends have to go to school. It can be a pretty good motivator.)

Next, consider whether you really want an all-inclusive. I have stayed in them and in nearby hotels in the same area. An all-inclusive is convenient but constraining. One week of going to the same on-site restaurants can get tedious. Yes, alcohol drinks are included, but it turns out that many people quickly learn that they don’t get as much value of that as they thought. Others do “get the value” of unlimited alcohol, resulting in problems for others.

In any case, alcohol in some of these places is very inexpensive. I recently bought three one-litre bottles of Bacardi Añejo for M$466, or under C$30. I bought a dozen Tecate beer for M$129 or under C$8.25.

You are close to the US border. If the border reopens, you might want to explore a US package. Several years ago I had business dealings with the general manager of a hotel in a large Mexican hotel chain. I asked him about the significant price differential in the same package vacations for Canadians and Americans. This is what he told me.

Hotels track all of the in-hotel spending from each room. He said that Americans spend much more in hotel restaurants and shops than Canadians.

Hotels don’t generally sell vacation packages. They sell blocks of rooms to “travel wholesalers” who are then committed to pay for the rooms whether or not they are “retailed” to an occupant.

Hotels offer lower room rates to American travel wholesalers than Canadian wholesalers because the hotel predicts they will get additional profits from Americans’ in-hotel spending.

(Apparently Canadians are more likely to experience nearby restaurants and shop at local shops wile Americans are less likely to do so.)

So you might be able to get lower package vacation prices out of Buffalo than out of southern Ontario.

13inches wrote: ↑ "Hey everyone, I've booked my family into <resort> for <dates>. I booked through <site>. If you'd like to join us please make your own booking when you can."

amiss85 wrote: ↑ @mexicanuck Do you have a recommendation for a non all-inclusive resort that will accommodate a large group like this?

Home to about 600 permanent residents of mainly fishermen, farmers, and ranchers, Troncones has also become one of Mexico's favorite beachfront eco-resorts. But don't look for high-rise hotels, shopping centers or discoteques here. The area of Troncones from south of the village north to the neighboring village of Majahua is dotted with small guest inns, vacation homes, bungalows, and Bed & Breakfasts interspersed with various seafood restaurants and low-key beach clubs.

Manatus wrote: ↑ My advice would be don't be the planner. Share what you want to do for your family, and if you don't hear strenuous objections from other families, go ahead and do it. I would not want to be the middleman for everyone. What happens if some form of COVID is still around and different people have different attitudes towards it? You don't want to be trying to recoup money from someone who decided not to go. You do you, and if others want to do the same, they will too. That way everyone is responsible for their own plans and no one feels coerced into doing something they don't really want to.

I know for me, for these kinds of vacations I don't want to be doing 100% of everything with everyone and being next door to everyone etc. I'd be a little annoyed if that all was decided by someone who was thinking about how awesome it would be if we were all together just like when we were kids, at the same time I wouldn't want to ruin the vibe by opting out. It's much cleaner to just let each person handle their own plans.

Ecsta wrote: ↑ Seriously, being the planner is the worst. I've done it for groups of friends/family before and is a ton of work and ridiculously time consuming. If everything goes well you get a "thanks". For anything and everything that goes wrong, it'll be at least partially your fault. Most friends/family are understanding, but the few that aren't make it not worth the headache. I would only do it if I was unemployed and bored.

MexiCanuck wrote: ↑ A friend of mine has a timeshare at an all-inclusive resort hotel. All-inclusive includes all drinks.

He organized a group of about 20 couples and singles in their mid-30s to early 50s for a week at the resort. They were mostly pretty carefree types and they all enjoyed a few drinks together from time to time.

He was not working at the time and he said that organizing it was a lot of work.

A lot of work.

One of the things he discovered after they got there was that one of the people didn’t just “enjoy a few drinks from time to time”. They were, in fact, a serious alcoholic. Others had known the person for years and knew they liked to drink, but had no idea.

With access to pre-paid alcohol the person was unrestrained and the disorder became very apparent. The person was seriously impaired shortly after arrival. My friend had to arrange a return flight to Canada for the person within a few days of arrival.

I had second hand experience with a work group vacation. (I wasn’t there.)

A couple of the people canoed to a nearby island. People who stayed behind checked in on them using binoculars. At one point they couldn’t see the woman and couldn’t figure why the guy was doing push-ups on the beach. It turned out they weren’t push-ups and that she was under him. They were not married to each other and soon, neither of them were married at all.

Group vacations can be wonderful, but they are fraught with potential for unfortunate outcomes.

EastGTARedFlagger wrote: ↑ This is ridiculous... even if your entire group is vaccinated you might still be prevented from travelling for years...

https://globalnews.ca/news/7525384/coro ... ns-canada/

So we'll be prisoners in our own country forever? We just became North Korea.