Are you a SMERF?No, I have not posed a politically incorrect question about the blue color of your (or someone else's) skin. hehe Blue-skinned SMURFS are, after all, cute albeit already pass�.

SMERF is the acronym, someone in the hotel industry thought of, for people who travel in groups for Sports or Social, Military, Educational, Religious or Fraternal reasons.




It's what I would have expected if I was from Texas and wanted to attend an event in Washington with the whole family and close friends. I would have approached a travel agent and asked for a group or a SMERF rate. A discount.

Again, think along the lines of buying in bulk. The more rooms you book, rates are decreased or you can even get a bonus such as an extra room for free.

Booking online used to be so difficult for SMERF. Group travelers are hindered from booking more than 5 hotel rooms since there are limitations per transaction.

That's where Travelocity and Orbitz comes in. They have formed alliances with several websites to cater to this market.

Click 5+ at Travelocity and you will be asked to visit their partner, Groople.

Click 5 rooms or more at Orbitz and you will be redirected to their partner's site, Grouptravel.

These group travel sites also offer services like planning tools, giving individual group members access to make online changes for their own itineraries. Group members are also given flexible payment options and are allowed to make individual payments---makes it a lot easier than to have one person collect money from everyone.

Check them out and compare prices. You might just need them one day.