How would we feel about the above for one of the matches this season?
Not in the old point to point chartered service way - that is far too expensive and way too much of a financial gamble these days - but by pre booking a certain number of seats in advance on a scheduled service.
I've had a chat with Virgin Trains, which offers a 25% discount on the advance fare for large group bookings of 50 plus. Price aside, the key benefit I see is that if the match is moved for TV coverage and we need to change/ cancel, you get a 90% refund. Ordinarily the cheapest advance fares, i.e. The ones we all buy, are non refundable/ transferable. So we all lock in a decent price early doors, but are similarly entitled to get it back if TV mucks about with our schedule. A 10% premium for me is an acceptable hedge given that train prices rocket around 50% from the point of going on sale to when the fixtures are cemented around TV's whims and fancies.
Other benefits are obvious - getting to travel with fellow fans to and from the match, arriving in decent time for a few beers, direct service etc. It could also be tied in to POTD.
The aim of this thread is to canvass whether this would be something fans would welcome and take advantage of. If so, it's something myself and CPST are happy to look into organising. We'd give a trial run to it for the Stoke match in March (direct Virgin service from Euston), and if it was well received look to make it a regular occurrence next season.
Logistically it would require full payment before the tickets go on sale (early mid Jan). And therein lies the only potential snag - Virgin will not be 100% sure of the prices prior to that date. So we'd have to take an amount we could be sure would cover the max amount, and refund any difference. Or we could set-up a Kick starter/ Crowdfunder page with a ceiling amount.
Let me know your thoughts.
Not in the old point to point chartered service way - that is far too expensive and way too much of a financial gamble these days - but by pre booking a certain number of seats in advance on a scheduled service.
I've had a chat with Virgin Trains, which offers a 25% discount on the advance fare for large group bookings of 50 plus. Price aside, the key benefit I see is that if the match is moved for TV coverage and we need to change/ cancel, you get a 90% refund. Ordinarily the cheapest advance fares, i.e. The ones we all buy, are non refundable/ transferable. So we all lock in a decent price early doors, but are similarly entitled to get it back if TV mucks about with our schedule. A 10% premium for me is an acceptable hedge given that train prices rocket around 50% from the point of going on sale to when the fixtures are cemented around TV's whims and fancies.
Other benefits are obvious - getting to travel with fellow fans to and from the match, arriving in decent time for a few beers, direct service etc. It could also be tied in to POTD.
The aim of this thread is to canvass whether this would be something fans would welcome and take advantage of. If so, it's something myself and CPST are happy to look into organising. We'd give a trial run to it for the Stoke match in March (direct Virgin service from Euston), and if it was well received look to make it a regular occurrence next season.
Logistically it would require full payment before the tickets go on sale (early mid Jan). And therein lies the only potential snag - Virgin will not be 100% sure of the prices prior to that date. So we'd have to take an amount we could be sure would cover the max amount, and refund any difference. Or we could set-up a Kick starter/ Crowdfunder page with a ceiling amount.
Let me know your thoughts.
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