Tour operator website: prices by group size

A tour card usually shows a from price, and that is the number the traveler remembers. It often assumes two people sharing a room, on a departure with spare places. A traveler who wants a room of their own pays a supplement that is named in small type, or not on the card at all. A group selector with a small maximum hides larger parties, and a traveler who picks fewer people than the tour's minimum may be told the tour is closed. The price per person then changes between the card and the summary, and the traveler has no reason to trust either one.

• Does the tour card say whether the from price assumes a shared room?
• Is the single room supplement shown before the traveler picks a departure date?
• Does the price per person stay consistent when the group changes from two to one?
• Does the summary total match the tour page for the same dates and group size?
• Does the page say what happens when a departure is full or nearly full?

A from price is a sales number, and it is written to be read quickly. The wrong version is a card that says from a price per person and nothing else. The right version says from a price per person, shared room, for two travelers, on the earliest departure, so a reader can see which number they will actually pay. The same card should say what a single traveler pays, even when the answer is higher. A traveler who finds out that the price assumed a friend and a shared room at the summary feels misled, even if the tour is fair. Read your own card as a traveler on a phone who has never heard of your company.

Some tours need a minimum number of travelers before they run, and some group selectors stop at a small maximum. A traveler who chooses one place may see the departure as closed, when the real message is that the tour needs two. A traveler who wants a group of eight may find no option above a set size, and assume the tour is full. Test both ends. Choose one traveler on a phone, then choose the largest group the selector offers, and read the message that appears on each. Each message should say what the rule is, in words, and what the traveler can do next.

A departure with few places left can carry a different price from one with plenty, and the card may not say why. Currency is a second source of change. A switch that shows prices in another currency on the card can convert at a different rate from the one the summary uses. A traveler who compares the two will see a gap and no explanation. Check that the currency on each screen matches, that the places left are stated in words, and that the summary keeps the same currency as the card the traveler chose.

The first run finds the screen where the price per person moved. The fix states the supplement on the card, shows the price for each group size and matches the summary to the tour page. Run the same two travelers again, then one traveler, on the same departure. Repeat it after you add a departure, switch currencies or change the single room rule, since each one can move the price the traveler sees.