Rachel Lykins

<p>Group Travel is an aspect of leisure and corporate travel that really excites me.  Becoming a Group Travel Specialist has prepared me for the intricacies and logistics necessary to create successful group trips.  Let me share with you a few of my ongoing groups and the services I can provide to you and your group.</p>
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<p>For over 10 years, I have been responsible for creating, planning, coordinating and compiling all aspects of group travel for a local, private, elementary school.  Their Texas History Trip travels through 3 major cities in Texas and the students explore the locations and stories of Texas History first hand.  From transportation, lodging, activities, meals and free time, every day is planned for maximum educational and experiential fun.  This trip has anywhere from 55-90 participants based on the class size for the school.  Students look forward to this trip all through the year and always come back with fond memories lasting a lifetime.  At the conclusion of each year’s trip, I meet with the teachers and sponsors to make itinerary changes for the next year.  While each year is very similar, we want to make each trip better than the last.  In these meetings we’ve seen the trip grow from 2-4 days and the feedback from parents has been very positive.  I spend a large portion of the Fall and Springs semesters working on the logistics of this trip and I’m thankful it allows for the teachers to stay focused on their tasks at hand.  Having a dedicated travel agent for this trip has been a blessing for the school and I’m thankful to have their trust.</p>
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<p>Another group that I handle yearly is a local church who has been my client for nearly 5 years now.  They change the distance of their trips every year so that some who don’t want long bus rides can attend the shorter trips and those that don’t mind take the longer trips.  They venture all around the states.  They’ve gone as far south as Galveston, as north as Branson, as west as Santa Fe and as east as Hot Springs, Arkansas!  This is a smaller group, typically under 35 passengers, but they are active and have very specific requests with each trip.  The Group Leader is very involved and many times knows what the group wants to do before our first meeting.  We stay in close contact to make sure the trip is falling in line with what they expect.</p>
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<p>Cruise groups are also great fun to work with, from family reunions to women’s conferences, I’ve had the pleasure of creating several events at sea.  With several different accommodation types to lounge and meeting space ready to hold your group of any size, cruise ships are an excellent group travel option.  Let me know how I can help create your next great group adventure!</p>