Planning Your Perfect Tour

Wanting to plan a student performance tour, but nervous about how all of the details will come together? If you are new to student performance trip planning, or you haven’t worked with a personalized company such as Bob Rogers Travel before, all of the details can become overwhelming.

They don’t have to be. Over 34 years, we’ve perfected a timeline which ensures that your trip is perfectly planned, and we guide you through it at every step of the way. Here’s how it works:

 Establish Your Goals for the Trip

Understanding your goals in planning a student performance tour is the first step toward creating a meaningful experience. Do you want to compete and receive ratings, or is a non-competitive performance more your style? What types of clinics and educational workshops (if any) do you prefer? Perhaps the trip is simply a reward for an outstanding year.

Though many of the top student-friendly destinations offer all of these options, some deliver on certain aspects more effectively than others. When your goals are established, your BRT representative can help you choose the destination that will be perfect for your specific needs – from Roads Less Traveled, to Bowl Games, Holiday Parades, European Sites, Last-Minute options, and much more.

Choose a Payment Option

How will you collect trip payments? BRT has 3 payment options from which to choose. Our flexible and multi-payment plans allow the school to send us one check for the entire group. For an additional cost, our Individual Payment System allows each family to pay for their own portion of the trip online, relieving you of the hassle. You can learn more about your payment options at the bottom of the Educators page of our website.

Trip proposal & Itinerary

When your goals and destination are determined, BRT will begin crafting a custom trip proposal and detailed itinerary for you. We will work together during this process to ensure your trip is exactly the way you want it to be. Once completed, you can share these documents with students and parents to begin building interest in the trip, or you can create your own trip packet.

Determine Student Interest

The next step is to determine how many students are interested in traveling. This is your chance to shine! Schedule a meeting with parents and get everyone excited about their upcoming adventure. Often, a BRT representative can attend your meeting to answer any difficult questions. It is best to come as close as possible to the number that will actually be traveling, to ensure that your trip proposal is accurate. The meeting is also the time to announce the payment arrangements, schedule, and begin collecting deposits.

Deposit and Tour Agreement

When you have deposits collected from your students, send your trip agreement to BRT and rest easy. BRT will confirm the arrangements of your tour, and keep you updated on any adjustments.

Air Deposit and Air List

If your group is flying, your group’s participant list must be finalized approximately 4 months prior to departure. At this time, a detailed passenger and equipment list is needed, along with an additional payment to secure seats on the flight.

Rooming List/Final Trip Numbers

Approximately 75 days prior to your trip, you will need to prepare a rooming list, which also serves as the final trip numbers for all non-flying groups. This allows your reservations to be finalized, and your final balance to be calculated.

Dietary Restrictions Form

Creating a list of the dietary restrictions group members have helps ensure all travelers have access to a complete meal, at every restaurant on your group’s itinerary. We recommend completing this at the same time as your rooming list. If you have questions about this or any of the other forms discussed, don’t hesitate to ask, or take a look at our related blog post.

Final Payment

Your group will send intermediate payments (whose frequency is based on your selected payment option) until 45 days prior to your trip’s departure. At this point, a payment for the final remaining balance is due. Our blog post on Eliminating Trip Payment Headaches can help you alleviate issues at this critical time.

Pre-Trip meeting

A few weeks prior to the trip, schedule a final parent meeting to review the trip rules and the final itinerary with your students and parents. Once again, your BRT representative is often available to attend this meeting and assist with any difficult questions. Around this same time, BRT will be finalizing the details with each of your selected trip inclusions, and will review the final trip plans with you in detail (in person or via phone) to ensure that everything is exactly the way you want it.

Enjoy the Journey

The planning is over, and it’s time to hit the road! While you are experiencing the joy of student performance travel, your BRT tour director will be at your service, ensuring that everything goes smoothly. If anything does arise, your BRT representative back home will spring to action – assisting your tour director in resolving any issues (often before you are aware of them).

Planning your perfect tour really can be fun! Contact us today to get started.