DawnM Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 What kind of hotel do they stay in? How many coaches/drivers go? A friend's son is in BB and she is less than thrilled at the way things are going. One driver, leaving in the middle of the night (2am), 15 passenger van. Staying in extended stay hotels in seedy areas to save money. No breakfast (even though they advertise there is), etc... Curious if you have looked closely at where your kids stay and who is driving, etc....if your kids travel with a team. This is a league type group, not a school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChocolateReignRemix Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 What kind of hotel do they stay in? How many coaches/drivers go? A friend's son is in BB and she is less than thrilled at the way things are going. One driver, leaving in the middle of the night (2am), 15 passenger van. Staying in extended stay hotels in seedy areas to save money. No breakfast (even though they advertise there is), etc... Curious if you have looked closely at where your kids stay and who is driving, etc....if your kids travel with a team. This is a league type group, not a school. Ours never traveled on a non-school team without us. When we have been at basketball tournaments we have seen teams who traveled like that, but it is not something I would have been comfortable with allowing. When they traveled with a school team, they traveled with the team but it was very structured and we were comfortable with the supervision and arrangements. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted July 17, 2016 Author Share Posted July 17, 2016 Ours never traveled on a non-school team without us. When we have been at basketball tournaments we have seen teams who traveled like that, but it is not something I would have been comfortable with allowing. When they traveled with a school team, they traveled with the team but it was very structured and we were comfortable with the supervision and arrangements. Yeah, after the first couple of times and the reports she has gotten back, she and her husband are thinking of not allowing their son to go on this trip. They are calling the coach this afternoon to ask questions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChocolateReignRemix Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 Yeah, after the first couple of times and the reports she has gotten back, she and her husband are thinking of not allowing their son to go on this trip. They are calling the coach this afternoon to ask questions. How old is her son? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sneezyone Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 My DD has never traveled without me so I choose the hotel and she stays in the room I'm paying for. Some of the older girls travel with another team parent or one of the coaches as their 'chaperone' but their parent has booked/paid for their room already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitestavern Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 We have always had to provide the transportation (one exception was a chartered bus). The hotels have always been very nice (ie expensive) though group rates made it doable. We also have the ability to make our own ressies wherever we want, which we did once as the other hotel got booked up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK_Mom4 Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 When my kids have traveled for baseball/softball, it was usually parent-drive for instate travel. When they went out of state, that required an airplane trip so was more complicated. They would hire a bus and driver and stay in hotels. Some of the hotels were fairly cheap, but not seedy, and they definitely took advantage of the hotel-provided breakfasts. When they traveled with school teams in-state, that is always a school bus and driver provided by the district and all arrangements are made by the district. They may sleep in hotels or in other schools, depending on the options at that location. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted July 17, 2016 Author Share Posted July 17, 2016 How old is her son? 16 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2scouts Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 When we've traveled for activities, parents drive and pay for hotels. The person in charge usually reserves a block of rooms at a group rate in a nice chain hotel, but nobody is required to stay there. Often parents will carpool or share hotel rooms to save money. Generally, coaches don't have much say in where you stay or how you get there as long as you show up at the event on time and ready to compete. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan in SC Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 My ds is 15 and for tournaments, he still only travels and stays with us. We didn't even stay at the team hotel last time because they chose a hotel that didn't seem safe. This is the first team we've played I where a coaches rented a van and took the boys whose parents didn't attend. My ds' private coach agreed with me that it was a terrible idea, so we just met them for games. It's turned out for the best. The coaches drank a lot and fought, and the players apparently fought too. To save money, they fed them from places that would make my ds sick, so we even ate without them. We were all (especially my ds) happy with our choice. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bettyandbob Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 When my dd traveled I went with. The coaches picked a hotel, but we did not have to stay there. We did have times when there were evening meetings at that hotel so staying at the same place is easier. when there were rooms available we stayed at the hotel picked by coaches. When no rooms were available we usually stayed at dumps because if I can save $100-300 over two nights stay I will. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingersmom Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 My daughter was on a skating team and they traveled by charter bus. It was mandatory the whole team travel on the bus with coaches and there were 2-3 other adults on board. They stayed at holiday inn/Hampton inn and similar type hotels. Breakfast was always provided and usually lunch and/or dinner depending on competition schedule. I traveled to every out of state completion and paid for room at same hotel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MysteryJen Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 I usually travel with my kids. On the occasions they were required to travel as an all-star team, it was either a big bus, or airline and big bus. Usually they stayed in better hotels than I did. I will say that having booked lots of hotels over the years and all online, you can never be sure of the hotel quality or area, unless you are willing to pay Marriott type rates. Extended stay can be perfectly fine (with mostly business travelers) or really not okay, both have happened to us. Since I go to the same places year after year now, I stay in the cheaper hotels I have found. Not always great, but usually fine. Also, I have found some people are super picky about hotels which is fine, but makes team travel arrangements hard. Our team has bypassed this by requiring parents to arrange travel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
school17777 Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 (edited) Around here, parents travel with their kids. Sometimes, a kid might travel with another family, if their parents can't be with them for some reason. The only time I have seen teams travel together is when they are coming from an area that is pretty far and don't have tournaments in their own area. We met a team from the mid-west who travelled in a chartered bus, stayed in nice hotels for the summer traveling up and down the East Coast for tournaments and camps. Parents and/or grandparents took turns meeting up with the team to chaperone. I can't imagine the cost of that team! Edited July 17, 2016 by school17777 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie12345 Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 We don't, but some of our friends do. They all take their own kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tita Gidge Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 I have experience with travel baseball and travel soccer. The baseball tournaments were usually drives of 8 hours or less. Parents drove or carpooled; lots of families came for the tournaments and made a trip of it. Hotels were usually Holiday Inn Express - small, clean, pools, free wifi and breakfasts. Soccer tournaments were further (two day drives that included an overnight). There was a chartered bus or 15-passenger van, plus 1-2 parent cars. There were always a minimum of two adults in the chartered vehicle, usually three (team manager, coach, assistant coach). We stayed at Embassy Suites exclusively with one team, and at either Embassy or Doubletree with another team. Parents could stay in any hotel they chose but it was strongly encouraged for the boys to room together at the team's designated hotel (which we were required to pay for regardless of where the boy stayed). Few families came to watch these tournaments. I was always one of maybe 2-3 parents in attendance and I flew and rented a car; I never drove with the team. I don't even let my ex-husband leave with my kids in the middle of the night to start a drive. I just don't think it's necessary, and I'd rather pay an extra night's hotel fee than to risk a tired or distracted driver in the dark hours of morning. I might feel differently if it were a paid, professional driver accustomed to working a night shift ... but even then I'd have reservations. Staying in seedy areas wouldn't bother me too much but I've lived in that type of area :lol:. Right now we live in an area where most people accrue hotel points from work or credit cards, so there's an understanding that we stay at certain brands. People are comfortable financially. They all want a good deal and will shop for a great price, but not at the expense of staying at a familiar brand in the most convenient, prominent location. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kroe1 Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 Disney's Yacht Club is probably the most "seedy" our kids have been in this year. Lol. All luxury hotels for this dance team. Ask me how thin my wallet is. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TranquilMind Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 What kind of hotel do they stay in? How many coaches/drivers go? A friend's son is in BB and she is less than thrilled at the way things are going. One driver, leaving in the middle of the night (2am), 15 passenger van. Staying in extended stay hotels in seedy areas to save money. No breakfast (even though they advertise there is), etc... Curious if you have looked closely at where your kids stay and who is driving, etc....if your kids travel with a team. This is a league type group, not a school. We did this for years. My husband always made sure to go also; we never just sent ours with others. Sometimes there was loud, crazy stuff going on while all the adults just drank in the bar while the kids ran the hotel. Not cool. You would be amazed at what is going on in locker rooms too, with no parents or coaches paying any attention. So yeah...we always accompanied. I realize this may not be possible for parents who have many or younger children, but it was for us, so we made it a priority. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TranquilMind Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 My ds is 15 and for tournaments, he still only travels and stays with us. We didn't even stay at the team hotel last time because they chose a hotel that didn't seem safe. This is the first team we've played I where a coaches rented a van and took the boys whose parents didn't attend. My ds' private coach agreed with me that it was a terrible idea, so we just met them for games. It's turned out for the best. The coaches drank a lot and fought, and the players apparently fought too. To save money, they fed them from places that would make my ds sick, so we even ate without them. We were all (especially my ds) happy with our choice. This says it all. Our experience pretty much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 Fyi, 15 passenger vans are one of the most dangerous vehicles in which to travel. They have a huge rollover risk. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted July 18, 2016 Author Share Posted July 18, 2016 Thanks guys. The only thing we have traveled for is a Robotics competition, but I went along and DS stayed in my room with me and we stayed at a Marriott. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted July 18, 2016 Share Posted July 18, 2016 We travel with our kids. I wouldn't just send them along with whomever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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