Maximise - The Weekend Blog

New Refer-A-Friend Scheme - Earn Easy Cashback!

Blog Author — Tue, 01 May 2012 11:56:02 GMT

Here at Maximise we’re happiest when our customers recommend us to your friends. So we figured we’d try and make it a habit of our customers, and one that makes everyone a winner. So, if you think we did a good job and offer good value for money, then simply go to our Refer-A-Friend page via your login area or this link, and tap in the email address of people you know who need to organise a stag or hen weekend. Press enter and our system will automatically send those email addresses an invitation to make an enquiry. If your referral ends up booking, you will receive £25 off your weekend and they will receive £25 off theirs. Easy money!

New Hen Activities in Newquay!

Blog Author — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 14:52:19 GMT

You don’t need to go abroad this summer for sun, sea and sand – Newquay has it all on home soil. Britain’s favourite surf spot is a Hen favourite, and for good reason. With all the watersports favourites - like surfing, jetskiing and banana boating – plus legendary nightspots, Newquay is our favourite non-city location. You can round off the daytime activities and evening nightlife with a picnic hamper, soothing spa treats or cocktail making right on the beach. No need to head to a restaurant either – if you and your group have come all this way to the seaside then why not enjoy a BBQ on the beach to give your hen weekend a truly unique feel.

Find your Flights with our new Tool!

Blog Author — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 15:12:44 GMT

Often the first task to tick off when organising a stag or hen weekend abroad is dealing with the flights. There is no point in booking your weekend if the flights aren’t available or they are prohibitively expensive. Fortunately most of our abroad locations are accessible via low-cost airlines, since ‘a hot towel sir?’ is rarely a deal-breaker amongst the airborne Stag & Hen fraternity. This is a relief really, as there is something undeniably special about heading to foreign shores for the last nights of freedom, and it would be shame if air fare prices put paid to the idea. After all, stag and hen weekends budgets are often based on the tightest budget/s in the group, for inclusiveness sake. Most of our hen and stag dos abroad take place in Europe, so there is rarely too far to travel.

So your flights are likely to be reasonably-priced, but where do you find them? Introducing then the new Maximise Flight Finder tool, to make tracking down a flight at a price and time that suits all, a breeze. The tool is simple to use but comprehensive, covering all our destinations and all the airlines traveling to those destinations. It has a number of filters to refine your search, and once you have found the one you’re looking for you can go ahead and book it.

Transport Sorted

Blog Author — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 14:18:34 GMT

Most Stags & Hens head to a destination not too far from home, so that they can spend more time having fun and less time on the road. But Maximise asks ‘why not combine the two?’ Sure, boozy fun can be had on the train or the bus, but not without annoying everyone else in the carriage, or risking incurring the wrath of the ticket inspector.

Instead, the ideal carriage for your group has got to be your own private transport, via minibus or coach depending on the size of your group. Arrange it via our Maximise Transport Tool and you can get picked up from the door of multiple addresses in your home city, then driven to your destination en masse. Your driver will then pick you up at the end of the weekend and drop you back to your separate addresses, for the full door-to-door service. You can even have your driver stay in location for the whole weekend, thereby providing a complete solution for all your weekend transport needs. You will often find that this is a very cost-effective solution.

This is especially the case when you consider Britain’s grossly overpriced train network, where a return ticket from London to Manchester often costs more than a return flight to Geneva. With the Maximise Transport solution, we’ll ensure you enjoy a private, door-to-door service that will ensure you get to and from your venues in plenty of time.

Viva Las Vegas!

Blog Author — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 15:07:21 GMT

Lets face it, thanks not least to the Hollywood comedy blockbuster film The Hangover, Vegas has,over the years, cemented as the iconic destination for Stag Dos. Although not always accessible to the UK Stag market due mainly to it’s prohibitive flights costs, it has become the de facto ‘Bachelor’ weekend for our American cousins. Flights are not as expensive as you may think however; most likely subsidised by the casinos! A return ticket can be found for as little as £500 – use our Flights Tool to take a look at live prices.

Las Vegas stag dos mean the greatest hotels in the world, the greatest buffets in the world and the greatest parties in the world! namely, the pool parties. Legendary scenes of debauchery, these vice-ridden day festivals take place at some of the best hotels on and off the strip. Huge pools laden with scantily clad women and sodden in booze, party fuelled revellers go all day long under the sun and in the pool.

Here at Maximise we can cater for your pool party needs with our Maximum Vegas package, that includes a legendary Pool Party, as well as 3 nights stay at a hotel on the strip and more besides. If you fancy a dose of civility on your weekend, then go and witness a feat of human achievement that is one of Nevada’s golf courses, on our Golf in the Desert package.

Make a Film of your Weekend!

Blog Author — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 15:54:23 GMT

Making the stag or hen weekend one to remember is the aim of every group, and to guarantee it is why not benefit from Maximise new Film your Weekend service. We’ll send your group a top of the range, portable high-def video camera, along with easy to follow guidelines on how to make the film Hollywood standard. You record all your weekend antics from start to finish, then send it back to us.

Then we’ll take care of the cutting and editing, we’ll add special effects, music and caption. You then login to your customer area and view the video ready for final approval or amendments. Hey presto you’ve got a shiny memento DVD or Blu-Ray worthy of a film premiere at the wedding!

Head to Oxford for your Hen Do

Blog Author — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 12:23:13 GMT

Maximise are pleased to announce Oxford to it’s list of eligible Hen Locations. At only 50 miles from London, and with great transport links Oxford can be easily accessed from most places, so if you’re in search of something a bit different for your hen weekend, then take a look at what the famous town has to offer.

Steeped in history and defined by its gothic architecture, Oxford is also no schoolboy on the nightlife front, and with traditional activities like punting down the River Cherwell, it makes a prime candidate for a sophisticated but fun weekend.

For traditional fare, head to the Covered market, the oldest of its kind in England. The classic activity is a relaxing punt down the charming river Cherwell, perhaps between glasses of white wine at the many bars and restaurants overlooking the river. The college campuses are so breath-taking that they are the other option for a laid-back afternoon tour.

Home to Oxford university students, not adverse to getting saturated on local ale to divert their attention from the stress of exams, Oxford has all the allure that you would expect from a town of it’s repute, but also some decent night-time action to sweeten the deal. There are some seriously old pubs, like The Bear, The Eagle & Child, The Turf Tavern, and non-student nightclubs like Po Na Na’s. Be aware though, a lot of the nightlife is dominated by students, so if that will be annoying to your group then bear this in mind and let us know.

Maximise Website Helps Customers to Organise Online

Blog Author — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 11:43:08 GMT

It’s official, online research and booking is now the preferred choice for travellers as people increasingly look to the web to make that all important travel decision. In a poll of 5000 British adults by Travelsupermarket.com, it is shown that the internet is now the main planning tool for 52% of those looking for holidays – while just 12% will visit a travel agent in person to research their 2012 break.

We’re not surprised here at Maximise, since the internet has far more resources than any individual travel agent, and crucially it’s much less hassle. The vast majority of info on our products is available on our website, and our MyWeekend customer login area makes organising the weekend a walk in the park. No one wants to organise over the phone more than they have to, and with the tools on our website you can do everything to paying individually online and arrange rooming lists, to finding lowest-cost flights and organising bus transport door-to-door as well as in location.

In fact, on the Maximise website you can organise every single aspect of your weekend from enquiry and proposal through to payment, though we usually advise a discussion with your event planner just to get a feel for everything and to ask any questions you may have specific to your group. Plus, we have a live chat tool if you would prefer to chat online!

Head to Snowbombing Ski Festival for your Hen Weekend

Blog Author — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 13:10:31 GMT

If you ski, you may have at least considered a skiing hen weekend. But besides the often prohibitive cost, you might figure that since not everyone in the group skis then its a bit of a non-starter. But problem solved, in the form of Snowbombing festival in Mayrhofen Austria, an incredibly popular British festival at 1500m altitude. Each year thousands ascend on the mountain resort, for a week of sun, snow and musical revelry.

It makes for a truly unique hen weekend, and one that ticks all the boxes. Active but suntan friendly. Party atmosphere outside but relaxing retreat to your spa hotel in the evening. The hen weekend is abroad, but you’ll be surrounded by thousands of like-minded Brits intent on having a good time.

Budapest primed for Stag Weekend Tours as Ryanair announces new flight routes

Blog Author — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 17:22:06 GMT

Ryanair has announced five new routes to Budapest, with three in the UK and one from Dublin. The flights are expected to carry 200,000 passengers to the destination, and lots of them will be Stag dos, keen to capitalise on the lower fares and phenomenal stag activities and nightlife the city has to offer. Use Maximise Flight Finder Tool to locate these new Ryanair flights.

Regularly rated as the most beautiful city in Europe, Budapest has long been a favourite Stag venue for UK groups looking for a legendary send-off, consistently in our top 3 European destinations.

Maximise has always been a big fan of the Hungarian capital, thanks to its wide range of top-notch activities, as well as its pub culture and buzzing nightlife. Like other locations that have helped make Eastern Europe the immense stag venue it is today, Budapest offers activities simply out of reach of its UK counterparts. Shooting (real pistols and automatic weapons) and Bobsledding and Mud-wrestling immediately spring to mind, plus a wealth of action-packed excursions or hangover-relieving thermal baths, all executed to Budapest venues’ exceedingly high standards.

They know what us Brits are after, and that's exactly what we get.