Abstract: The present application is built around a software tool that optimizes group travel versus today's solutions. The present invention enables a user to search, optimize, synchronize, coordinate and book travel for Lodging and Transportation for multiple people from multiple locations around the country/globe to a single destination or series of destinations. The search and planning software tool allows one user to plan and query a group trip in one click which returns a summarized group trip itinerary along with each group members individual itinerary. The high level optimization engine can be used to select destinations, dates of travel, lodging, transportation modes representing air, bus, train, automotive travel and routes for each based on group member locations, “True Time of Travel” relative to value of time, and optimization preferences such as lowest total cost of the trip, “maximize the amount of time group members spend together at group budget”, or shortest total travel time.