A teacher in Germany wants a price by Friday
A secondary school in Germany wants to bring twenty-four students and three teachers for a week in April: fifteen hours of lessons with a project theme, homestay in pairs, two half-day excursions, a full-day trip to London and transfers from Stansted. They are asking two other schools as well. They want a price per student by Friday.
The group sales manager opens last year's quote for a similar group, checks the lesson rate for a closed class, asks accommodation whether there are twelve pairs of homestay places that week, rings the coach company for two prices, checks entry tickets online, adds a margin and turns it into a proposal document. It is Thursday afternoon when it goes out, and it has one entry ticket at last year's price.
Why group quotes take so long
- Every group is different: size, age, dates, hours, themes and activities.
- Costs come from several suppliers, and some change every season.
- Accommodation availability for a whole group has to be checked for those dates.
- Free places for group leaders change the price per student.
- Your margin rules differ by component and by type of group.
- The proposal document is assembled by hand each time.
The cost of a slow group quote
Groups are valuable bookings, and they are usually competitive. Slow quotes lose them. Quotes built from last year's spreadsheet carry old supplier prices, so the margin you expected is smaller than it looks. And because the group sales manager holds all the know-how, quotes stop when they are away.
The group quote builder we build
- Your closed group lesson rates, accommodation prices, fees and margin rules are held as data, by season and group type.
- Supplier costs, such as coaches, entry tickets and guides, are held in a cost list with the date each price was last confirmed, so old prices are visible.
- The sales manager enters the enquiry: group size, ages, leaders, dates, hours and chosen activities, and the builder calculates the cost and price per student and in total.
- Leader free places are applied under your rules, and the price per paying student adjusts.
- Homestay or residence capacity for those dates is checked against current placements.
- Components needing a fresh supplier price are flagged, so the manager rings only for those.
- A proposal in your design is produced with the programme, inclusions and price, ready to send, and the quote is saved for follow-up and for turning into a booking.
| Component | Price source | Checked for |
|---|---|---|
| Lessons | Closed group rate by hours | Teacher and room availability |
| Homestay or residence | Accommodation rates by season | Capacity on those dates |
| Excursions | Supplier cost list | Date price last confirmed |
| Transfers and coaches | Supplier cost list | Date price last confirmed |
| Leader free places | Your rules | Applied to price per student |
Margins and pricing strategy remain your decisions. The builder applies what you set and shows the cost behind every price.
Quotes out while the group is still deciding
The German school gets a clear proposal the same day, with the programme laid out and a price per student. When the teacher asks for a version without the London trip, the manager changes one line and resends. Supplier prices are refreshed once when they change, not rediscovered on every quote. Anyone on the sales team can produce a quote in the manager's absence.
When the group confirms, the saved quote becomes the booking, so the programme, accommodation and activity bookings all start from the same details the group agreed to.
Does group quoting look like this?
- Group quotes start from last year's spreadsheet.
- Supplier prices are checked by phone for every quote.
- Quotes take days and groups ask several schools.
- Leader free places are worked out by hand.
- Only one person can build a group quote.