PreeChina's Service Fee and What a Group Saves

The length of stay sets the fee, for groups of 10 or more: USD 100 per person for trips of up to 10 days, USD 150 per person for trips of 11 to 20 days, and an individual quote beyond 20 days. The itinerary and the size of the group shape the supplier costs, not the fee. PreeChina quotes the fee for each group in the priced itinerary, before anything is booked. It is PreeChina's only charge, and it is not a package price. The hotels, meals, transport and tickets are supplier costs, listed as separate lines at the suppliers' prices, with nothing added. Accommodation, meals, transport, tickets and other trip expenses are separate unless the agreed quotation says otherwise.

Groups of two to nine are quoted as a project: a project fee plus the actual costs, with no figure published. How PreeChina charges sets out what the fee covers.

PreeChina is a service provider, not a middleman. It does not mark up hotels, meals, tickets or coaches, and takes no commission from them. What it brings is the trade rates that long-standing partners give it, which individual travellers and one-off groups do not receive. The group books at those rates directly, or through PreeChina at the same price, and the savings stay in the group's budget.

• Hotels. Typically USD 10 to 40 less per room per night.
• Restaurants. City restaurants typically give 10% to 20% off.
• Attractions and activities. 5% to 30% off, depending on the season and how popular the site is. PreeChina also holds long-term memberships at well-known attractions.
• Coaches. PreeChina works directly with partner drivers. For a 50-seat coach this is typically USD 50 to 100 a day below a rental company or an agency.

The example is a group of 36 students and leaders from Russia, with 18 twin rooms.

The example uses figures near the low end of each range above, and comes to about USD 93 a traveller. At the middle of each range it comes to about USD 150 a traveller. For a seven-day trip the low-end case sits just under the USD 100 fee and the middle case well above it. Neither is a promise. It is an illustration, not a quotation: savings vary by season, venue and availability, and the priced itinerary lists what applies to each group.

Arranging it yourself is the right choice if the group has the time and the experience to book each supplier at a fair price.

Any savings depend on the itinerary, supplier availability, group size and confirmed rates, and are not guaranteed. Each group's priced itinerary lists the service fee and every supplier cost as separate lines, so the group can see the costs and set them beside the fee before anything is booked.