Travel Planning Friends

Server structure

Overview

Sixteen channels for a group of friends planning one trip, built to be used before, during and after it. Trip HQ is #trip-chat, a read-only #itinerary that the two planners write so the plan is always the latest version, #dates-and-votes for the polls that decide when and where, and #destination-ideas for the next one. Money and Bookings is #budget-tracker for the per-person total, #bookings-and-confirmations where every flight, train and hotel confirmation is posted the moment it exists, #who-paid-what for settling up, and #flights-and-trains for the comparison links. Packing and Prep holds #packing-list, a read-only #documents-and-insurance where the planners pin the passport, visa and insurance reminders, and #local-tips for the apps, phrases and customs someone looked up. On the Trip is for the days themselves: #live-updates for 'we are at gate 12', #trip-photos, and a read-only #emergency-contacts with the hotel address and the embassy number. Voice is Meeting Point, the room to join when the group is split across a city and needs to find each other, and Planning Call for the evening the itinerary gets argued out. Five roles: Owner and Admin are the two planners, Traveler is everyone, Booked is mentionable and means paid and confirmed, and Still Deciding marks who has not committed, so the headcount is visible on the member list.

When to use it

Six people, one trip, and the itinerary has been rewritten in the group chat four times while two people still have not booked flights. This layout keeps the current plan read-only in one channel, puts every confirmation where it can be found at the airport, tracks who has paid, and gives the group a voice room to meet in when they lose each other on the second day.

What makes it different

• #itinerary is read-only and written by the two planners, so there is only ever one current version.
• Booked and Still Deciding are roles, so the headcount is visible on the member list without asking.
• #bookings-and-confirmations holds every confirmation, so nobody searches their email at the gate.
• #emergency-contacts is read-only with the hotel address and embassy number pinned.
• Meeting Point is a voice room for finding each other when the group splits across a city.

Recommended Vetox setup

• Reminders

  Set Reminders in #documents-and-insurance a month before departure for passports and a week before for insurance, mentioning Traveler.

• Self-Roles

  Post a Self-Roles panel in #trip-chat for Booked and Still Deciding, so people move themselves as they commit.

• Embed Messages

  Use Embed Messages in #itinerary with one embed per day, so the plan reads as a schedule rather than a wall of text.

• Counting

  Run Counting in #trip-chat as the countdown to departure; it is the one bot game a trip server needs.