Group Planning

The group record gives a coordinator one place to record who is travelling together. Enter its name, departure and return dates, participant count and leader before arranging services. The leader points to a person record, so the coordinator can identify the person responsible for the group without putting that person’s name into each service line. Review the travel dates with the leader before handing the group to dispatch.

A group may need meals, accommodation, transport and visits on different dates. Keep the group record stable as those details are arranged. A service record points back to its group and can be checked against the trip plan. The group calendar helps the coordinator see which departures are approaching and which leaders need a final review.

• Group record. Group Coordinator records the name, leader, dates and participant count together.
• Leader link. A selected leader comes from people records, whose record connects to a user account.
• Dated services. Pilgrim service records keep each arrangement linked to the group.

A coordinator can start with a single departure and check the whole case. For example, a group travelling between two cities may have a departure on Monday and return on Thursday. Its leader and participant count inform the dispatcher’s choice of vehicle. Meal and visit arrangements remain separate service records, which helps the coordinator check the provider and quantity for each date.

Agree who creates groups and who may change dates after a trip has been planned. Decide how group names distinguish similar departures. Tell coordinators what participant count means for their operation, especially when staff and volunteers travel with the pilgrims. Confirm how a leader is selected from people records and who maintains that person record. These choices make the group calendar useful when several departures share a date.

The group and trip records have different purposes. Group Coordinator owns the group details; Dispatcher owns the journey assignment. During the pilot, rehearse how an amended participant count reaches dispatch before a vehicle is scheduled. Keep that decision visible to both roles and compare the group travel period with the trip’s planned start and end during the handoff.

Take one planned group and review its dates, leader and participant count with the person who will coordinate it. Add a service for the same group, then open the group calendar and the service date view. Ask Dispatcher to prepare the related trip and check that the selected vehicle’s capacity fits the participants. Review any date change before the trip is scheduled. This rehearsal shows whether the team’s group naming and ownership choices work in daily use.

• Pilgrimage Group Calendar — Review departures by date with the leader and participant count in view.
• Pilgrimage Groups — Open the group record before arranging services or handing travel dates to dispatch.
• Pilgrim Service Dates — Check dated arrangements associated with groups.

Continue with group and service preparation and trip dispatch. Use the data model when mapping existing group records.