As a group event organizer for the first time you are undertaking a challenging task that can be very rewarding for you and your group. Below are some tips for making your event successful.

1. Start your planning well in advance. A year ahead is not unreasonable. A master calendar is critical. Note important dates such as last day for participants to confirm attendance, last date for deposits from participants, last day for payment to hotel, final list of participants to be given to the hotel for room assignments, and reminders to confirm arrangements with hotels 90, 60 and 30 days in advance.

2. Be aware of special needs such as wheelchair accessibility, vegan meals, rooms away from elevator noise, shipping conference materials in advance.

3. Consider travel insurance. What happens if a participant cancels at the last minute for medical reasons? It is best to have notified participants well in advance to obtain insurance.

4. Run your group event like a business. Obtain quotes from all your suppliers well in advance. With GroupEventsPro.com obtaining quotes from hotels will be easy. Once you have your costs for hotels, meals, airfare and other items in line you can create a budget. Don't forget items like sales taxes, government fees and other miscellaneous items. Add a little extra for the unexpected like postage, long distance calls, etc. If there are funds left over spend it on something special at the event like extra flowers. There is nothing worse than going back to participants and telling them the cost has gone up.

5. Delegate as you would in business. If a member of your group is good at finance enlist their help in planning a budget, collecting deposits and making payments to suppliers. If someone in your group likes planning fun events have them research some activities at your destination - restaurants, museums, day hikes. If you have someone in your group that can write well then involve them in communicating with participants.

6. Set limits on the event - number of nights of accommodation, included meals, accommodation types. You will make your own life harder if you try to accommodate people arriving early or leaving a few days later. Make it clear which meals are included. Limit yourself to two or three bed types max - twins, queen or king. You would be amazed at the crazy requests you find yourself dealing with otherwise. Do not promise or even try to accommodate special requests like rooms with a view.

7. Consider a mini-survey in advance. Does the group prefer Italian restaurants? Is there some special event they want to do in the destination city? Tailor the survey to your group type.

8. Pick your hotel and other suppliers very carefully. Check their reputation.

9. Schedule your activities to accommodate everyone. If you plan a strenuous hike, then also plan something for those who are not so active as well.

10. Confirm all arrangements, including pricing, in writing. Don't leave room for misunderstandings.