When Manuel Baralt's partner was taking her sweet time booking a group trip to Bali, he did what any supportive boyfriend would do: he put her on blast with a billboard in Times Square.
It read: "Hey Georgia, the 'Silly Billies' really need you to book Bali. It's no laughing matter."
Baralt's message was part of KAYAK's recently launched campaign in which the non-committal friend holding a group trip back receives a very public reminder on a digital billboard – or BookBoard, as the travel platform called it – posted in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles in August.
"When I saw (KAYAK's) post, I was like, 'Oh, this is hilarious.' I want to surprise my partner and my friends by writing my partner's name on the billboard," said Baralt, who is living
in Sydney, Australia.
It worked.
The billboard was the catalyst that pushed her to book her travel shortly afterward, and the group trip finally made it out of the group chat. The friends left for Bali in late August, with plans to sightsee and hike in Ubud, known for its deep cultural roots and lush landscapes. "It ended up motivating or inspiring (us) to finish planning the trip a little bit because we just were talking about it more in general," he said.
Planning a trip between friends is like a game of chess, between coordinating schedules, budgets and other logistics that can drag on, no matter how fun the trip sounds. According to KAYAK data, group trips can stall for an average of one to three months, with 90% of travelers saying the hold-up is one friend who just can't commit.
"I feel like if you overthink it, then you'll come up with all these reasons to postpone it," Baralt said.
Making the trip a reality
As difficult as it can be to make it a reality, traveling with friends can improve friendships through shared experiences and memories. In a 2022 survey by Exodus Travels, 71% of 2,000 American respondents said travel can strengthen the bond between trip mates.
"There are so many other things that are happening in our lives. We're entering our 30s, or as we're getting older, it's just a challenge to set time aside and come together for a good reason," Baralt said. "Even if it does take a billboard to do it, I guess it's kind of worth it."
KAYAK's BookBoards are meant to give that final push, even if the message comes across a bit cheeky.
New York-based comedian Grace Reiter agrees that it can be challenging to get that group trip booked. "Getting everyone on board, probably like schedules, I would say, is really difficult to navigate," Reiter said. "Then I guess probably price point, like, where are we going to actually end up going? And everyone's different tastes, too."
The travel platform recruited Reiter to be its campaign spokesperson. To her, it was timely. Reiter was having her own troubles trying to plan a group trip to a cabin upstate for months. "I mean, we've had these real conversations of like, hey, where should we travel? What should we do? We have a group of like seven of us. So, a group trip coming up soon, hopefully."
It was gratifying for Reiter to see BookBoards from other friend groups having the same struggles. "OK, so it's working. I was like, there's people out there, their friend needs to answer," she said. "I think it's fun, I think it's cute."
Baralt also agrees that there's some grace for the non-committal friend. "There's the one person that is hard to pin down and actually book the flights, but I think we always take turns," he said.
Tips for planning group trips
- Put it on the cal. Reiter recommends friends first agree on the dates and put it on their respective calendars to make their commitment, then figure out the rest of the trip from there. "If it's the calendar, it's like gospel, like it will happen," she said.
- Get separate accommodations. Baralt's friend group is all going to Bali, but they're not staying in the same accommodations. "This way, it's less planning for all of us to have to make a decision on living in the same place," he said. That's one less logistic to agree on.
- Use online tools. To take the pressure off travelers trying to find where to go, KAYAK recently launched a new feature called "Group Trip" to filter for popular, affordable group destinations, airfare and hotel rates under $500.
This story was updated to refresh headlines.
Kathleen Wong is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY. She's the author of "The Conscious Traveller Hawai'i" and is based in Hawaii.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What happened when a traveler put his girlfriend on a billboard
