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There Are Group Buys For Travel Packages Now — Gather Your Own Group Of Family & Friends To Enjoy Discounts On Trips

And you thought group buys were just about food.

You’ve been buying everything from bak kwa and banana cake to durians and otah buns on group buys. But have you purchased a travel package via a group buy before?

The group buy phenomenon in Singapore, which gained traction during the pandemic, typically sees people living in the same estate consolidating and purchasing items in bulk from sellers. In return, they enjoy bulk purchase discounts and may even save on delivery fees. While snacks, food and even fresh ingredients are commonly bought through group buys, it’s not uncommon to hear of people pooling together to buy electronics and furniture as well.

However, homegrown group buy e-platform Webuy has taken it a step further to offer group buys for — wait for it — travel packages.

Touted as the first of its kind in Singapore, these travel group buy packages are purportedly cheaper “by up to 30 per cent”, Webuy tells 8Days.sg. The travel packages can be bought via the Webuy app or website, and customers get to “purchase travel packages at the cheapest rates and experience the convenience of a carefully-planned itinerary with airfare, hotels, transportation, tours and meals included”, states the press release.

“Unlike regular tour agencies, Webuy does not need to bear a lot of overhead costs. All communication can be done online, from the comfort of a consumer’s own home. As such, these cost savings can then be passed on to them," says a spokesperson for the company.
Webuy travel group buy
Currently, Webuy’s group buy travel packages are available for Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) destinations such as South Korea, Turkey, Switzerland, Italy, France, Australia, and Vietnam.

Prices range from $1,788 for a 10D7N Turkey trip to $3,999 for a 11D8N package to Switzerland, Italy and France costs — airfares, hotels, meals, activities, Covid-19 tests (if necessary) and taxes included.

Webuy’s first travel group buy trip was last December, when 15 people travelled to Switzerland.

There have been three group buy trips so far — one to Switzerland and two to Turkey — with another four confirmed travel tour package deals coming up.

There are a couple of things that set travel group buy packages apart from conventional tour groups.

While there are fixed itineraries, airlines and hotels for each trip set by Webuy, these can be customised to suit the group’s travel preferences once a group hits a minimum of 15 to 20 people. They will then be able to pick their preferred airline, hotel and landmarks to visit. While the company will still negotiate to get group buy rates for these changes, travellers will have to top up the price difference if it’s more expensive.

Customers can also form their own travel groups. However, they must hit a minimum number of 10 to 15 people in the group, depending on the destination, according to the company.

If customers are not able to form their own group, they may approach the travel group leader via the in-app chat to help them form a group or add them to an existing group.

However, as with all group buys, there is a certain amount of risk involved — like, if you do not hit the minimum amount of orders to fulfil the group buy. In this case, if the minimum number of people cannot be reached for a particular trip, the overall price of the travel package will be subject to changes, says Webuy.

If there are changes in Covid-19 border restrictions, the trip will be postponed until the next available departure date, according to the company.

More info here and on the Webuy app.
Photos: Webuy

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Travel group buy tours VTL

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