Why bring a group?
1. Spend quality time with your friends and church family
Coming as a group is a brilliant opportunity to spend quality time with your friends and church members and to learn and relax together. You could also share meals and babysitting!
2. You could make it your Church family holiday
Many churches build into their calendar a trip to Spring Harvest as a family holiday. Why not suggest it to your church leader? There’s a superb ready-made programme waiting for you, so everyone can have a break - pastor, youthworker and children's leaders.
3. Get a free place for every 20 adults!
Get one free place for every 20 full-paying adults! Sponsor someone to come, or share out the discount and put it towards a group meal whilst you're away!
Why register as a Group Organiser?
We know it can be a lot of work planning and paying for a group, but we're here to help. Sign up to our Group Organisers' Partnership and we'll give you:
- Dedicated advice helpline - 01825 769116
- Promo materials - ideas for how to promote the event at church
- Posters
- Dedicated email news for Group Organisers
Register for a Group Organiser's pack here and we’ll send you a pack of posters and brochures.
Group Payments
Handling the money
This is possibly the most stressful aspect of being a Group Organiser. For your peace of mind, it is important that you are able to address any issues you have in this area.One of the best ways of dealing with this is to establish an accounting system which suits your needs and the needs of your Group. You may want to consider opening a specific bank account (or using your church account) which will help to avoid any confusion in accounting.
You'll then receive regular statements which will serve to confirm your own record-keeping. Also, by having a specific Spring Harvest account, your Group members can spread their payments by setting up standing orders to deposit a set amount on a regular, eg monthly, basis. This will ensure that the majority of the final payments have been collected well in advance of the due date.
Many of the large Groups find that the interest accrued on this account is a significant sum and could be used towards buying programmes once you are on site. We also recommend that two people are responsible for managing financial matters to protect both you and your Group.
Communicating with your Group
It is important to communicate with your Group regularly to keep them up to date with vital information. This information includes:- The individual cost of their holiday at Spring Harvest
- Their payment plan, including deposit due, final payment sum and costs involved should they wish to make any changes to their booking.
Unforeseen circumstances
Some of our Group Organisers add an extra charge to initial deposits to cover the cost of amending details. If the money is not subsequently used for this purpose, it can be used in several ways. Past suggestions include:
- Buying Programme Planners at the Event
- Contributing to a Group meal at the Event
- Covering any additional administration costs such as bank charges, photocopying, etc.
- Subsidising places
Groups calendar
Organising a group can involve hard work and we're extremely grateful for your year-round efforts. We're here for advice and support if you need it!All year round
Remember, all enquiries relating to your Butlins booking need to be made through you as the Group Organiser. You can also
» Sign up to receive Spring Harvest news by email
| What's involved in planning a group? | |
|---|---|
| May 2011 onwards |
Get people interested Invite people from church to join you as part of a group. Show them our 2012 PowerPoint presentation, or use some of these other resources. |
| 15 June 2011 |
Book your Group Booking lines open 8am, Wednesday 15 June 2011, for both resorts |
| End June 2011 |
Confirm & Pay deposit For groups of 20+ adults, you have 14 days to confirm; less than 20 adults get 7 days » More info at springharvest.org/booking-group (see point 5) |
| July/August 2011 |
Check availability if more people want to join you If others want to join your group - find out which accommodation is still available and add them to your booking |
| 30 September 2011 |
Confirm any 'AN Other' names If you still haven't confirmed names for everyone in your Group, ensure you do so by 30 September otherwise you'll incur a charge of £10 per set of changes. » More info at springharvest.org/booking-group (see point 5) |
| 31 December 2011 |
Discount application deadline All discounts for benefit recipients must be claimed by the end of the year |
| January 2012 |
Money time Balance payments are due 56 days before you arrive » More info at springharvest.org/booking-group (see point 5) |
| February 2012 |
Newsline -Pre-event info Look out for an email with 'Newsline 2012' our pre-event news. Make sure you forward the email to everyone in your group, so they can all have a read. |
| March/April 2012 |
Get ready to go! If your group has left over money in the kitty, nominate someone to buy all your progrsamme planners and theme guides, and someone else to fetch the keys whilst you sit down and have a coffee in the Skyline - you've done all the hard work so far! |
Sign up for Group Organisers' email
If you'd also like to receive our Group Organisers' email (advice and programme tip offs), sign up below:
