Group terms let agents hold space before every traveller is confirmed, in return for firm commitments. They typically offer a group fare or rate, staged deposits, later deadlines for names and a limited number of free reductions. Missing the deadlines costs money.

There is no industry-wide group size. Published airline thresholds include 10 or more passengers, more than 15 passengers and, on one airline, 10 or more in economy but 8 or more in its premium cabins. One UK hotel chain’s group terms start at 10 rooms, varying by hotel.

Example: a school ski trip for 40 people on a scheduled airline. The agent holds an option, pays deposits when it expires, reduces numbers within the free allowance, sends names by the deadline and issues the tickets before the final cut-off. Otherwise, the unnamed seats are cancelled and charged.

Worth knowing

• Splitting a group to get individual fares breaks some airlines’ rules and is penalised.

• Group blocks and allocations are different. A hotel group block is for one named group, with a rooming list. An allocation is held for general sale.

• Packages. A commercial organiser’s group trip is a package as normal. Trips offered occasionally and not for profit to a limited group, such as a church outing, are outside the Package Travel Regulations, and the ATOL rules have a matching exemption.

• ATOL. Taking customers’ deposits for group flights before the tickets are issued falls outside the flight-only exemptions that depend on immediate ticketing, so the sale needs ATOL cover unless another exemption applies.