Create a Facebook event and invite all the possible participants or those who’ve already confirmed. This solution is sometimes more efficient than emailing, which can sometimes lead to an endless conversation. Those of you who are very busy won’t read them, won’t give any opinions on the decisions to be made and will then always ask about the status 1 week later. Facebook enables more reactivity (you receive a notification for each posted message) and everyone can comment on what has been said, etc. What’s more, organisers can summarise the decisions made in the event description.
Beware: if the future groom is not in on this, don’t forget to set the event to private!
Unless you’re lucky, you won’t find a perfect date for everyone, especially if it’s a big group! Doodle is an app which, although it won’t eradicate this problem, will help you have a better view of each person’s availability and possible dates for the holiday.
You create your event, add possible dates and invite the participants. They can respond with “Available”, “Not Available” or “Maybe”. The website is clear, fast and straightforward. Highly recommended!
Some websites allow you to collect the money needed to pay for the holiday, like Leetchi or Bankeez. You create an event and then invite the participants. For the organiser, it’s the same as sending your bank details, but these websites enable bank card payment so it’s faster. However, the commission is quite high when the money is collected: between 3 and 4%!
That’s our job 🙂
Finally, some apps like Tricount (Android and iPhone) help you manage your accounts in a simple way. It’s easy to use: each time a group member pays for a shared expense (i.e. food shopping before a night out), a designated member enters the amount in the application. At the end of the weekend, the app will simply tell you who owes what and to whom. No more complicated calculations! This kind of app is so practical it is a must for any holiday with friends.
If you know of any other useful tools, please let us know!