Going on holiday is something that everyone looks forward to. Planning one, on the other hand, can be a bit of a nightmare.
This is particularly true when your friends and family might be living at opposite ends of the country—or even the world! It can be hard to put everyone’s heads together and sort out the nitty gritty of your big get-together, such as making sure there’s something on the itinerary to suit everyone’s tastes and you’re all paying your fair share towards the trip.
Apps have become the ideal solution to this conundrum. Technology already provides simple and effective solutions to so many things in our daily lives, whether that’s paying utility bills using acasa or setting up a task list at work. Its efficiencies translate understandably well when you’re planning a holiday, which can sometimes feel like a full time job!
The perfect app for organising your event or trip doesn’t have to be a travel app, and they’re sometimes not worth the investment if you’re not a regular jet-setter. Many apps used for everyday purposes can be used just as effectively to plan group events, trips and travel.
For itineraries
Itineraries are the fun stuff: the memories you’re going to make, the places you’re going to see. However, they can be a hassle to put together. This is particularly true if you’re travelling in a group of three or more, in which case you’re responsible for managing everyone’s individual interests and making sure everyone can afford what’s planned.
Travefy
This app is ideal for creating the perfect travel itinerary, more so for flight and hotel information than sightseeing. Travefy helps you create a single, easily shareable itinerary that includes hotel reviews and contact information which will keep everyone up to speed with getting to and from your holiday! There’s even a chat feature to discuss preferred options with an optional poll to help you come to a fair consensus. The only downside is the fee that’s charged for settling eventual expenses via credit card.
Google Trips
For straightforward, low-key travel planning apps targeted at everyday users, Google Trips is one of the easiest and most collaborative to use. Google’s free offering was launched in 2016 to help ordinary travellers easily save and share their travel information with a closed group. It won’t be as streamlined as a paid option like Travefy, so those who travel regularly may want to up their budget, but it works well for a one-off group trip.
Prava
Also launched in 2016, Prava is another free option to plan a group trip, and includes a fresh community feature. Users can develop their itinerary as well as save travel memories in the form of blogs and photos while they’re away. And after they’ve returned back home, they have the option of publishing their itinerary as a trip experience on the Prava community to serve as inspiration for others.
For expenses
Now, for the argument-causer—everyone paying their fair share. No matter who you’re travelling with, there’s always one person in the group who keeps forgetting to pay up, saddelling the trip organiser with a £200-or-so sized hole in their pocket that never seems to get filled.
Sharing expenses runs throughout every stage of planning a group event or trip, from organising the itinerary, booking the flights and hotels, tickets to attractions and group meals out. Travelling with friends, family or colleagues has enough potential for people to butt heads without factoring in expenses, so to keep the peace, it’s best to use an app to track everything.
Some of the apps we’ve already mentioned have fees attached to paying the final bill, which really isn’t necessary. You may not even have to download a new app at all if you’re already using a bill splitting app to manage other areas of your life.
acasa
Acasa is a bill splitting app designed to manage household expenses, but translates nicely to your travels. If you use acasa for your home, you know the benefits already, including more reliable, trustworthy and cheaper utilities and hassle-free expenses sharing.
This can come in handy on your trip, as it saves you from having to divvy up the bill at the table, keeping the waiter stood there with the card machine. Just pay up and everyone can transfer money easily over the app. It’s completely transparent as well, so everyone can see who’s being stingy and there’s little room for excuses.
Use acasa
acasa is designed for anyone sharing a house, from students to young professionals to couples. With acasa, you can avoid unnecessary conflict around splitting utility bills with our direct billing and balance tracking systems.
Get a free quote for your property and enjoy a more stress-free approach to managing your shared house.