There are a few stages we all experience while attempting to organize a girls’ trip. Initially, there’s the moment the idea strikes. You’re all having a necessary life debrief over drinks when you collectively decide that you guys are burnt out and deserve a getaway. Suddenly, it becomes an exhilarating brainstorm, where everyone’s pitching dreamy, far-out destinations like Tulum and the Amalfi Coast for your overdue R&R. Then comes the weeklong surge in the group chat: hotel links fly, preferred flight itineraries pile up. But somehow, the momentum peters out in between finalizing the dates and asking the awkward questions about whose card will go down for what. Soon, you find that another dream has stalled in the iMessage fantasy phase.
Being friends with mostly Type Bs has found me in this position quite often, which is why the platform Engine piqued my interest. Primarily, it’s a tool for organizing group business trips, which admittedly, is not something that I’m tasked with all too often. But I personally found it interesting that it can be used as a (completely free) trip management platform for any large group of travelers—including groups of enthusiastic but woefully busy/slightly unorganized girls. Also, quality time spent with friends counts as serious business in my book, and it deserves a planning platform that treats it as such.
This site allows groups to book stays at hotel properties globally (there are over 750,000 options available on there…surely that accounts for basically every hotel ever). Plus, they offer exclusive rates for the extremely luxe stays your group might have counted out due to budget constraints. You could save up to 22% by booking through Engine instead of going the regular route.
As someone who’s been burned by the uniquely frustrating and drawn-out group flight booking process, I welcome any available fix. This platform streamlines the process and finds the most affordable itineraries from over 200 different airlines.
Then there’s the expense tracking—which, as anyone who’s gone on a group weekend trip to Miami knows, can get messy and sensitive. Since this is a site built for legitimate big businesses that need detailed billing info and centralized invoices, Engine ensures all receipts are easily accessible. This means that when it’s time to split costs after the trip, you won’t have to parse through multiple email threads to track down flight and car rental totals. They’re all organized and will only take a few clicks to find.
Your next group trip should be reserved for disconnecting from the demands of real life and reconnecting with the people who know you best. It doesn’t deserve to be tainted by nonsensical planning logistics. If the solution is to plan it like a buttoned-up corporate getaway, so be it. That’s how you’ll get every step clearly outlined in black and white. The next time you enter the dreamy girls’ trip brainstorming phase, consider making things official on Engine sooner rather than later. Allow it to act as the well-informed travel agent that you and your friends are worthy of.
