BATCH App Special Report - 2023

As we enter our third full year of BATCH, we’re thrilled to see an estimated 1 in 4 bachelorette parties in the US using our app to plan a trip. While BATCH is an app for groups to plan a trip with friends and book fun experiences, we’ve stayed laser focused on serving the bachelorette market first. By empowering our groups to create unforgettable memories together, we’re learning some super interesting data that we’re excited to share with you!

Let’s start with the fun stuff first — How much do people spend on bachelorette parties?

When we surveyed our planners that were setting up their 2023 parties in the app, these were the results when asked their budget breakdown for spend, per person:

So, individuals in a party spend an estimated $1,200 on a party and the average party size is 9 (with 30% of parties being 12+). This brings the total spend to $10,800, which is about $3,000 higher than the average bachelorette spend three years ago. This is largely due to the group size expanding for these events and the duration of the party is expanding. The one significant change in spend category, however, is that parties are spending $50-100 less on homes per person, and $100 more on experiences.

What does a 2023 bachelorette party look like?

Picture it: 9 or so excited guests arrive in a popular US destination, eager to throw down in honor of their friend who’s about to tie the knot. They’ve got a full blown itinerary of hot spots across the city to wine, dine, and take part in a roster of exciting local experiences.

That average group size has been consistent over the past few years, but one big change we’re noticing is that bachelorette trips are lasting a little longer recently. Perhaps a lingering result of the post-pandemic travel boom, BATCH parties now span the course of 2.8 days, up from 2.6 days last year. In other words, the majority of the parties are now starting on Thursday instead of Friday. More groups are getting an early start to a nice long weekend together.

Planners who are already putting their itineraries in our app for parties in 2024 and beyond (talk about Type A!) are showing signs of even longer parties in our future. We’ll drink to that. 🥂

For the past two years, the majority of parties started on Friday. For 2023, we’re seeing an equal split between parties starting on Thursday and starting on Friday.

In terms of number of trips, 57% of our users are attending 2 or more bachelorette trips in 2023,

Still not enough partying? Over half of our groups (57% to be exact) are attending 2 or more bachelorette parties in 2023, and 60% are attending 2+ group trips.

Where are 2023 bachelorette parties taking place?

Nashville, Tennessee still reigns as the top destination, accommodating 20% of United States BATCH party attendees. Scottsdale, Arizona is still the highest trending destination, coming in as our #2 destination, with Las Vegas, Nevada showing strong signs of bouncing back as a bachelorette party staple.

Local vendors in destinations like Charleston, South Carolina and New Orleans, Louisiana are taking advantage of growing trends and providing a diverse offering of group experiences to help travelers celebrate. An increase in businesses such as boat charters, party bike tours, and drag queen brunches are saturating our marketplace as tourists are eager to see popular cities in unique and exciting ways.

2023 parties planning in the BATCH app, by destination (as of January 19, 2023):

What does the experiences market look like?

Due to their incredible popularity, certain types of itinerary events have become attractive business opportunities for local entrepreneurs. Private reservations on ‘mobile group experiences’ such as party buses (5x YoY growth) and boats including pontoons, yachts, and floating tiki bars (5x YoY growth) have gained rave reviews among groups. Male revue shows featuring cowboy strippers in destinations like Austin and Nashville and Magic Mike Live in Las Vegas and Miami (3x YoY growth), as well as bride-to-be pampering services such as cabana boys and butlers, in-home massages, yoga parties (2x YoY growth), hibachi chefs that come to your home, and private salon facial services are also highly sought after.

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Throughout each bachelorette party season, new trends emerge such as private permanent jewelry parties, boozy beach picnics, and professional photographer-led mural tours that provide lasting memories of your trip in the form of high quality snaps of your group of friends. Many BATCH weekends consist of food delivery right to that over-the-top home rental they’ve already splurged on, where charcuterie platters, waffles and cookies with a mature twist, and alcohol-infused donuts become a vital part of the celebration setup.

Here are the most popular vendors in our marketplace

These popular vendors guarantee unforgettable BATCH entertainment. In Nashville, parties are touring the city while dancing to the bride’s favorite playlist on Honky Tonk Party Express. They’re also enjoying the city’s impressive collection of murals on our Mimosas & Murals Party Bus Tours, heating things up with Music City Gents Live Male Revue, pedaling their way to the party on a Music City Crawler Party Bike, and treating themselves with Drunken Donuts Delivery.

In Scottsdale, Ride N Style’s Pink Party Barge, Arizona Party Bike, and Scottsdale Cabana Boys are the epitome of an epic bachelorette weekend. Las Vegas brings the fun and glamour with Vegas Girls Night Out’s Drag Brunch, while Crawl New Orleans Haunted Tour sends chills down your spine while enjoying NOLA’s open container policy.

Here are the fastest up-and-coming categories in our marketplace

The latest up-and-coming experience categories cater to all pre-arrival, group activity, and dining needs. Planners love the convenience of all-inclusive decoration setups at their hotel or home rental (7x YoY growth), and the novelty of destination-inspired group classes like line dancing in Nashville and salsa dancing in Miami. Groups are also helping one category grow rapidly: drag queens (4x YoY growth). Bottomless brunches, dinners, party buses, and even custom telegrams hosted by drag queens are quickly popping up throughout our marketplace. To complete the weekend dining itinerary, parties are booking Insta-worthy restaurants with prix fixe menus, popular brunch spots and private chef services at their home rentals.

A gradual increase year over year in the number of people driving to their parties tells us that more bachelorettes are choosing to celebrate in a nearby destination. However, destination BATCH parties are still the most popular choice as 81% of our app users are logging flight details into our itinerary feature. This is down from 86% just two years ago when people were eager to travel after being quarantined and separated from their friends.

Fun fact: Southwest Airlines is the most popular airline, with 37% of parties booking their flights with Southwest. We believe Southwest is the winner here because the airline has hubs in our most of our popular destinations, it’s affordable, and there are no extra charges for selecting seats or bringing bags.

How do people plan bachelorette parties?

Before finding their way into our app, party planners begin their task by consuming content on Instagram, TikTok, and of course BATCH City Guides to determine their destination. We are happy to see that BATCH has become the centralized place for parties to plan a trip, and we’re investing in social channels as this is the new frontier of where groups search for travel inspiration.

Half of our groups book their accommodations right around 6 months before their party, with another 40% securing their party pads 3-5 months ahead of the celebration. As for all the fun things to do once you get there, 50% of groups are booking their experiences 3-4 months before the party in our app. Click here to see a full planning timeline for bachelorette party planners.

Fun fact: We’re currently seeing that 5% of our parties are using BATCH to plan a party for over a year out—2024 here we come!

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