How it works

1. Make the list. Type in your trip idea with rough dates and a rough price, or paste the message you already sent the group. Add how many people you need and the last day to answer.
2. Share the link. Drop it in the group chat, a text or your Instagram bio. The link preview shows how many people are in.
3. Watch the answers come in. Friends tap I'm in, Maybe or Can't and leave a name and email. You see every answer, the date votes and a likely headcount, and can nudge the maybes.
4. Make it bookable. When enough people are in, create the trip on SquadTrip and paste its link. Everyone who said in gets the booking link first; the maybes get it 48 hours later.

How to get a straight answer from the group chat

Twenty people reacting with a heart in the chat isn't a headcount. A trip gets booked when people answer a specific question, by a specific day, at a specific price.

• Put the price on it. “About $1,400 each, flights not included” turns a vague yes into a real one. People who say yes to a trip with no price often say no when the number arrives.
• Give two or three date options, not one. A date vote tells you which weekend loses the fewest people.
• Set a deadline. “Answer by the 20th so I can hold the villa” gets answers this week instead of next month.
• Ask for a name and an email, not a reaction. You'll need to reach everyone outside the chat when it's time to pay.
• Nudge the maybes once. Most maybes are waiting to see who else is going. A reminder with the current count settles a lot of them.

How many people you need before you book

Work backwards from the biggest cost. If the villa is $9,600 for five nights and sleeps 12, it's $800 each at 12 people and $960 each at 10. Pick the number where the price you told people still works, and set it as your goal. The list shows a goal bar and a likely headcount: everyone who said in, plus about a quarter of the maybes.

An early list for retreats and hosted trips

Hosts gauge interest in public: “Comment BALI if you want in.” The comments pile up, but there's no list to email when booking opens. Choose “Retreat or hosted trip” and you get an early list instead. Put it in your bio and your newsletter, see how many people are serious before you pay the venue deposit, and give the list the booking link 48 hours before anyone else.

When everyone's in

Create the trip on SquadTrip and paste its link into your list. Everyone who said they're in gets an email with the booking link, from you. SquadTrip takes the deposits, runs the payment plans and sends the reminders, so you don't chase anyone through payment apps.