FACT: Even when directors are well-intentioned and students are excited, some trips just don’t make it off the ground.
We’ve seen it happen too many times over the years – frustrated educators, disappointed students and parents, irritated administration and a lot of wasted time.
*Cue the sad trombone*
But wait! Stop the music! This isn’t a downer of a post!
These cancelled trips nearly always have the same things in common, which means we can help you avoid those pitfalls and tackle the challenges together. So, let’s talk through the best practices that keep trips on the calendar.
MAXIMIZE Your Runway
With over forty years in business, we have a treasure trove of trip data that gives us unique insight into why trips cancel. Here’s a game-changing statistic:
Our data shows that trips booked less than 13 months out are 59% more likely to cancel than trips booked more than 13 months out.
If you’re serious about doing all you can to cancel-proof your trip, start by giving students, administration and parents (and yourself!) a generous planning runway. The experienced educators we work with year over year tend to plan at least 12 or even 18 months out for domestic trips – with an even longer timeline for international experiences.
A longer planning timeline offers families more time to save and plan, and it gives you more time to fundraise – which means more students will be able to participate. And it means access to the best availability for things like performance venues, attractions and clinicians, with room to make changes as they inevitably come up.
We work to make the process as simple and seamless for you as possible, but the initial phase of trip planning will require a fair amount of your attention. Make it easy on yourself by starting as early as possible – you’ll be happy you did.
Keep the MISSION in Mind
Sometimes trips cancel because the mission or goal of the trip wasn’t the foundation of the experience. You’ve heard us say that “every trip starts with your Why,” and we’ll keep shouting it from the rooftops.
Your group’s unique “why” should guide everything – the destination, the activities and (this point is often overlooked) the selling points you communicate to administration and parents.
Are you leading a group of less-experienced performers who would love the opportunity to learn during clinics with renowned instructors?
Or do you have veteran performers who’ve been dreaming of performing in an amazing venue?
What do you want your students to take away from this experience? In what ways would you like to see them grow?
To refine your group’s “why,” check out these questions and insights into why groups just like yours choose to travel. Establish your group’s unique goals and keep them at the forefront of your planning – especially when it comes to choosing a destination that your students will love.
Create MOMENTUM
Student excitement, parent buy-in and trip registrations are all inextricably linked – you’ve got to have all three for your trip to stick.
Kick things off right with an awesome parent meeting that highlights the destination, activities and, most of all, the value of the trip itself. This is your first opportunity to “sell” the trip to parents – they need to be convinced that it’s a worthwhile investment.
Don Stinson, Director of Bands at Joliet Central High School says it best:
What I’ve learned is this: lead with the experience, not the expenses.
Now when I get the “Is this worth it?” email, I don’t reach for the logistics doc. I share a quick story instead. Like the time Marcus – one of my quietest percussionists – asked if he could give a speech to the whole band after our final performance. He stood up in our hotel lobby, no mic, no script, and thanked the group for coming together as a family.
Or I’ll mention Amy, who had never left Illinois before our Tennessee trip and now wants to study music education – because she saw what was possible when she stood in front of an audience that really listened.
Tell the story. The one that really happened. It’ll do more than a pie chart ever will.
Don shares more of his experience here.
But know that your “sales” job doesn’t end after the kickoff meeting. You’ll want to be continually talking about the trip with your students to keep that interest up, even after they’ve decided to participate. Mention the trip enthusiastically and often in classes and rehearsals. Hang flyers in your classroom. We’re full of ideas to keep students engaged and excited – you can find them here.
Stay MONEY Mindful
At the end of the day, most trips cancel because not enough students sign up – nearly seven times more than any other reason, according to our data. But underneath “not enough travelers” lies the most common reason: money.
There are two common culprits:
Issue #1: The trip was too soon. Parents didn’t have enough time to plan and fundraise for trip payments.
Issue #2: The trip was too expensive. The total trip cost was just too big to swallow.
So, let’s avoid those issues and work with money in mind.
- Plan early – We know, we know – we’ve said this one already. But it really is the secret sauce to setting your trip up for success.
- Take advantage of Trip Donations by BRT Payments – Our crowdfunding tool is available to every student on every trip, with an average of over $350 in donations raised per student who participates. This free feature has been a gamechanger for directors and parents, making travel possible for more students.
- Make fundraising a priority – Fundraising with your students does more than raise money for your trip! It builds relationships and strengthens the culture of your program. We’ve compiled dozens of fun, effective fundraising ideas that give you a head-start as you brainstorm the approaches that will succeed in your community.
- Nominate for our scholarship – Our Moments that Matter Scholarship can make all the difference for a student in financial need. Every group we work with can nominate up to five students, with one student per traveling group receiving a scholarship of up to $500 towards the cost of his or her trip.
- Make the most of BRT Payments – Our BRT Payments system makes it easy for parents to pay online and create a payment schedule that works for their families. Directors love it because they can also apply fundraising, booster monies or crowdfunded donations here. Best of all, you don’t have to collect payments or keep records yourself, saving you dozens of hours in the trip-planning process.
- Leverage our vendor relationships – Our team has longstanding relationships with our vendors, so we negotiate better pricing with hotels, attractions and performance venues – and we pass those savings on to you.
We want every director to travel with his or her student performers, introducing students to the incredible world that waits for them outside the classroom. It’s important to us that our clients feel equipped with the information and tools they need to get their trips off the ground, so if there’s anything we can do to arm you with ideas or advice, we’re here to help.
Reach out today and let’s see where your travel daydreams take you!
