How can I make this trip more affordable for my students? What can we do to save money There are ways to save money on every school trip without sacrificing the quality of the educational experience.
Pay by Group Check
Scholastica Travel offers two different payment options for school groups, individual payments or group check payment. With individual payments, travelers make trip payments directly to Scholastica Travel by credit card, check, or money order. With group check payment, travelers make trip payments to their school by check or money order and the school sends Scholastica Travel a combined check payment. Scholastica Travel offers a significant discount to schools opting to pay by group check.
Travel on Weekends for Better Hotel Rates
Hotel rates are often highest on weeknights due to the increased demand from midweek business travelers. Traveling over the weekend may lower your hotel rate, making the school trip more affordable for your students.
Avoid “Drive Through the Night” Travel
Although decreasing in popularity, many schools try to save money and time by “driving through the night”, i.e. traveling by motorcoach during the early morning hours. However, these efforts often backfire. Maxed out of legal driver hours for one person, motor coach companies must send a second driver to meet the group en route. Therefore, the travel costs, driver wages, and other miscellaneous expenses are added to the price of the school’s motorcoach travel. These added motorcoach expenses often offset the money saved by one less night at a hotel. Moreover, students and teachers arrive to their destination exhausted, having slept little during the trip. This decreases intellectual engagement and overall trip enjoyment.
Fill the Bus
Scholastica Travel provides each group leader with five pricing categories based on the number of paying people traveling on each motorcoach. The more people that fill the bus, the lower the price of the trip! The trip price lowers because there are more people paying for the fixed costs such as the motorcoach, tour leader, and night time supervision.
Fill the Rooms
Each student trip package is based on quad occupancy (four people to a room). Any rooms with single, double, or triple occupancy are subject to a room supplement charge. Filling each room with four people saves money!
Opt for Low-Cost Dining Options
Avoid the additional expense of a sit-down restaurant by opting for a low-cost dining option. Food courts offer lots of variety, can accomodate large groups without a reservation, and are readily available at museums and attractions in most major cities.
Include Free Offerings
Save money by minimizing the number of attractions that have an admission fee. Prioritize the many free offerings available in each destination.
- 70 Free Things to Do in Washington DC
- 35 Free Things to Do in New York City
- 15+ Free Things to Do in Chicago
- 10 Free Things to Do in Atlanta
- 20 Free Things to Do in Boston on a School Trip
- Free Things to Do in Pittsburgh on a School Trip
- 25 Free Things to Do in Philadelphia
Refer a Group
Friends don’t let friends pay full price! When you refer another group to Scholastica Travel – and the group takes an overnight trip with us – your group AND the referred group each receive $500 of trip credit.
Christmas Card Contest
Encourage your students to enter Scholastica Travel’s Christmas Card Contest. The winner receives $200 off of their school trip and second place receives $100 off of their school trip.
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