When people come with you...

[N&B'smom]

My parents will be joining us for our first trip HOME next year. Because we JUST bought into DVC this past Spring I don't exactly know how to handle it. They will be sleeping in the room with the king size bed while we have the studio portion of the 2 bedroom villa. (VWL) I'm wondering how in the world I'm supposed to come up with a figure so I know how much to charge them. I'm not looking to charge them full price what they'd pay if we just booked the trip like normal. But I do want to offset some of our initial costs. Does that make sense? Any ideas on how to handle this?!?!?

Thanks in advance, I'll be booking soon!

Shelby ::MinnieMo

[T.E. Yeary]

How about asking if they could help with groceries or meals?

[Geyser Gazer]

We decided from the get go that parents stay free but I completley understand that sometimes ya gotta do what ya gotta do while your paying off your DVC Mortgage. I would think a fair thing to do could be to charge them the difference in points between the one and 2 bedroom units X $10/pt (typical going rate for renting).

[Deb & Bill]

If we invite someone, they stay for free. However, they usually offer to take us to eat one night or more. If someone begs to go with us, they don't go.

Our guests usually buy their own tickets, pay for their own meals and souveniers. Unless it's a kid that we invite, then we pay for everything except for their extra spending money.

[Mike]

I would think a fair thing to do could be to charge them the difference in points between the one and 2 bedroom units X $10/pt (typical going rate for renting).

That is exactly what we are doing with friends of ours that are joining us next year. They are not subsidizing my vacation at all and they are getting a great rate. I rented points for them at $10/pt and I am only requiring them to get the points needed to upgrade from a 1BR to a 2BR. It's a pretty sweet deal for them and I am happy that they are joining us.

[Maistre Gracey]

There is no right or wrong answer here, as you will get many opinions.

For us, we have never charged anyone to stay with us. In fact, on a couple of occasions, we have reserved a seperate room for our guests at no charge.
We never ask for anything in return, however my sister has always bought us a nice dinner to say "thank you".
Some of our guests have offered nada.

I completely understand the folks who want some compensation for their DVC, but I just can't bring myself to ask. :drinking:

MG

[dianeschlicht]

We don't charge people that we have invited and certainly would not charge close family like parents or children. Usuaully, our guests help with the groceries and meal preps and almost always take us out for a nice sit down meal as a treat. Once, our guests bought CDS tickets for all of us!

[pumpkinboy]

We have charged some guests (those who want to "rent" from us) and treated others. The upcoming trip in October, we are treating our friends. They expect to cover groceries and many of the meals (with the benefit of our 20% off DDE benefit), and to get their own park tix and MNSSHP tix.

A later trip next year, we will going with friends to whom we have rented reservations before, also really close friends. We are charging them the rental cost of the studio they rented last time, but we will all stay together in a 2BR (with them in the studio portion). I think they were expecting to pay us for their portion of the room, and since we have a Std view BWV, it'll be a bargain over the studio ressie we rented them last year. With them I expect we'll each cover our own meals (again with our DDE benefit tho), our own park admission etc.

If you want/need to charge them, then go for the cost of a studio ressie over on the rent/trade board. That is a pretty liquid and representative market that you can point to as a comparable fair market value. Or better yet, pull up what rack rate would be, then charge them $10 a point and show them how much they are saving.

edited to add: Then again, we have never charged the parents. They pay for some meals, plus they gave life to me, instilled courtesy and good values, helped mold me into a productive member of society, and all that. If you can possibly afford not to charge them, then do it. If they insist, or if you can't make the trip without charging, then make it something nominal. The difference between the 1BR and 2BR point costs would be reasonable, but if you can do with a little less, maybe just charge them the cost of maintenence fees for the year on the points used for the 2BR. Good luck!

[kadaten]

As many time as DH's parents have paid for our vacations, I can't imagine charging them to stay with us. And my mom....well, she can't afford it, so I wouldn't charge her either. Both will help with meals and groceries when they come along, so I consider that their payment. I'm sure they'll also offer to stay with the kids one night so DH and I can go out, so that's a BONUS we wouldn't get if they didn't join us.

That said, if you need to charge someone, I think the idea of basically "renting" them the points difference between the 1 and 2BR untis sounds pretty fair. Just be up front with them about how much you expect them to contribute to the stay....

Hope you all have a great time!

[Pluto,]

its your parents give them the room for free.

[Shawn]

My parents will be joining us for our first trip HOME next year. Because we JUST bought into DVC this past Spring I don't exactly know how to handle it. They will be sleeping in the room with the king size bed while we have the studio portion of the 2 bedroom villa. (VWL) I'm wondering how in the world I'm supposed to come up with a figure so I know how much to charge them.
Shelby ::MinnieMo

Throwing some ideas out there. You don't say what dates you are going, but if we assume you are going for Dream Season, and are staying at SSR.

1 BR: 25 pts / night (Sun - Thurs)
2 BR: 31 pts / night

1 BR: 50 pts / night (Fri - Sat)
2 BR: 65 pts / night

As others have said, charging $10 per point is about
right.

Options A. Only charge them the difference between
1 BR and 2 BR which would be

Sun - Thurs: 6 pts or $ 60 / night
Fri - Sat : 15 pts or $150 / night

Options B. Split the costs right down the middle.

Sun - Thurs: 31 pts / 2 = 15.5 pts = $155 / night
Fri - Sat : 650 pts/ 2 = 325 pts = $325 / night


Option B would not be attractive to us (would make me feel like I'm trying to make money off of them). But Option A, especially if you are doing a 5 day Sun - Thursday trip seems reasonable.

Of course, rather than assumijng pointes are worth $10 per point, you could assign them a value of $3 or $4 based you your yearly maintenance fees, and come up with lower numbers that you could rationally justify.


-Shawn

[vascubaguy]

I financed part of my points so I can understand wanting to try and cover the overhead. I put mine on a 0% interest credit card so I have about a year to pay it off, so after I get this paid off I will probably not be as needy when it comes to the points. When I decided to do the add-on, I calculated that I would rent the majority of my '05 points in order to help offset some of the financing.

Now after I get mine paid off, I probably won't just "give" the points to family and friends, but I would probably only ask that they cover the "cost" of the points, which would be around $5-6 per point in my case, I wouldn't charge them $10 per point.

Now, since it's just 2 of us, if 2 others go with us and don't want to get a separate room, I wouldn't charge them anything to stay in the same room with us. I'm doing this in March, I have a friend going and she's just going to stay in the studio with us at BWV, but we are only there 5 nights, then switching to another resort and paying cash, so we'll just split that 3-ways.

[pplasky]

We just bought in last year. My parents came on our first trip home and I couldn't dream of asking them to pay anything towards the room. They did purchase their own tickets. I was pleasantly surprised when they picked up the grocery tab and a few of the meals as well. Good Luck with your decision.

[manning]

With all the money your parents spent on you from the very first moment of your life...... you are going to charge them??????

[Disney Doll]

We have a couple who travels with us usually once a year and gets the 2nd BR of a 2BR or GV. We charge them what a moderate would cost during that time period. It's in January, so it's usually around $100/night, give or take $20.

Family we don't charge. I have another friend who comes sometimes and sleeps on the pullout couch, and we don;t charge her either.

[JCW]

Ok, I must be the evil child on the boards.

I would charge them no more than $5/pt as others have said.

I love my parents more than life itself and I totally and completely appreciate everything they have ever done for me and continue to do for me and my DH.

However, if we (Dh & I) give away our points, while still paying for them, then the value of DVC is lost for us. (Once paid off, well, that would be different).

Our first trip home will be in May. This will be a huge family trip (16 in all). Everyone was responsible for booking their resorts. My parents were going to stay at BW as that is their favorite. They never asked to use our points, they were just going to pay cash for BW and hope for a discount.

After some calculating, I discovered between banking and borrowing (we only own 150 points and they are financed) we would have 141 points they could use. This would mean we would not have points for a vaca for our 2006 UY but would still be paying the maintenance fees for that year. The reservation for a separate studio for my parents was 136 pts.

So, we decided to charge them $5/pt, but then decided to just round it down to $600 (which will just about cover our maint. for 2006). Maybe you will all think I am terrible, but they would have been paying $300+/night at BW. Instead, for the cost of 2 nights, they are staying for 8 nights. They were thrilled with this savings. They never batted an eye about paying us as they would have been paying Disney instead, and a lot more money.

I would never charge them the full going rental rate of $10/pt. I am not trying to make money off of them, just trying to cover expenses.

JMHO, whatever it's worth.

Fire away, I have my flame resistant suit on if needed :)

[WDWLVR]

When we take DH's parents we gave them the studio portion and didn't charge them anything. They payed for their own park tickets (we have ap's), treated us to one dinner, and also treated us to a day at Universal.

[N&B'smom]

Um, yes, they're my parents and I would charge them. Sorry if that seems shocking BUT we didn't invite them to come with us. They decided to tag along and even invited some other relatives. My parents would be the only ones staying with us and I don't think it's unreasonable at all to get some sort of payment from them. We just shelled out all the cash for this for US, not everyone else. Once we feel like we've gotten our money's worth as far as how much we paid/how many trips we've taken, then they can join us for free at any time. I wondered how many people would respond in such a way, just remember, you don't know the way things are within every family or the reasons behind it.

I think the idea of the cost per point for having to get the 2 bedroom is a great idea. Thanks!!! Thanks to all who offered good advice!!

Shelby

[N&B'smom]

JCW - well put. That's exactly what I was saying. I don't think you're a horrible child!!! I agree with you wholeheartedly.

Shelby ::MinnieMo

[CherCrazy]

Well, first when I read your original post, I thought it was awful to charge your parents. I would never do that to mine...in fact, we had a 2br at HHI this July and they were supposed to come with us. By our invitation and at no cost to them. Unfortunately, my mom had surgery (again) right before our trip, so they couldn't make it.

But now that I read your latest post saying that your parents invited themselves (and OTHERS!) along, I was reminded of some friends that I have whose parents do the same thing....to the point where it is stifling for their children. These kids (adults actually) can't do a darn thing without the matriarch butting in and running the WHOLE show. My friends are very sweet and just let her do what she wants...I guess it's too hard to argue...or after a lifetime of it, you just kinda give up. :confused3

Soooo, if that's your parents too....then charge them DOUBLE!!! :rotfl2:

[N&B'smom]

:rotfl2: LOL We knew we'd be going back to WDW next year, my parents wanted to come too. We said fine. But they do not want to come for free, they expect to pay a portion. They then mentioned this trip to other family members who were upset they were not included, they are now coming as well. It's a long story but that's the Reader's Digest Condensed Version. lol It is NO hardship at all having my parents with us, we all get along wonderfully. BUT that being said, we're looking to offset some of the costs of what we had to pay out earlier this Spring. We haven't even gone on a single trip using points yet. I do not think it's horrible to have my parents chip in for something!

Shelby

[shelleyz]

I dont feel so bad now for wanting to charge my MIL $5 a point for a studio. Heres the situation. I was saying how I wanted to go in February when my DS6 has February vacation the week starting on Presidents Day, and she invited herself to go with her husband and 2 of her granddaughters. She did not invite herself to use our points though, she will stay at Pop Century. It will be about $650 at Pop Century but I was going to tell her I would get her a studio at SSR where we are staying,which is 65 points and she could pay me $5 a point. It would save her $325 which I know she could use for the rest of the trip. I am going without DH, with our 2 sons and a neice so it would be nice to have them closer to us also. Us at SSR and them at Pop Century would kinda be a pain.

Edited to add: Thats if there are any studios left that week. I already have mine booked.

[CherCrazy]

:rotfl2: LOL We knew we'd be going back to WDW next year, my parents wanted to come too. We said fine. But they do not want to come for free, they expect to pay a portion. Shelby

It sounds like you are on the right track and are trying to work out a fair price for them. :goodvibes

Good luck with trying to ditch the other 30 people they invited!! :rolleyes1 :teeth:

[Mouse Ears]

I think a lot of it depends on family circumstances. I invited my parents to join us last year (our second trip) because I really wanted my kids to have the special time with them. They have limited resources and really had little desire to go to WDW and would never have done it on their own. But since I covered their room, flights and passes, they couldn't refuse. They bought the kids some souvenirs, helped with food and snacks, and let my wife and I go out alone for an evening.

It was a great trip that was worth every penny I invested (and hurricane Jeanne certainly made it extra memorable). :cloud9:

For our next trip, we invited my wife's parents. This time, we have offered only room since they are very eager to go and have the means to cover the rest.

Now, if family ever tries to invite themselves, I'll gladly help them find some rental points! :earboy2:

[JR]

I would put them in the second bedroom and charge them nothing.

JR

[goofy4tink]

I"m looking at just this issue for '06. I'm traveling with my dd and another mom and her dd. We will be staying at BWV in a 2 bdrm villa. Dd and I will take the master and the other two will get the 2nd (studio) bedroom. I have no issue with treating them. However, this other mom has no problem dropping $3000 for deluxe accomodations. And she has told me repeatedly that she is going to pay for her share of the room. So, whether I like it or not, I have figured it this way. A studio would be 71 pts...$10 a pt....$700. I have mentioned a figure in this neighborhood and she has not been too happy about it...says she knows it costs a lot more than that. Well, of course it does...about $320 a night for a studio, but there is no way that I am charging my friend $1600!!! So, we will probably come up with something in between. I would say she can buy the food but I'll be using my DDE card. Why do friends make it so hard to be nice to them!!!!

[TheRustyScupper]

1) It is not that hard to charge parents.
2) The calculation is somewhat straight forward.
3) Just use the following formulae, and just total the amount
. . . number of boyfriends/girlfriends scared away (x) $1
. . . number of one-week groundings for staying out too late (x) $2
. . . number of bad meatloafs (x) 50¢
. . . number of times they embarrassed you in front of friends (x) $1
. . . number of times they brought out the nude baby pictures (x) $3


NOTE: If total exceeds the net worth of both parents, subtract 50%.

[dianeschlicht]

LOL, Rusty Scupper!

Then for all the times Mom kissed a hurt, subtract $1
For all the times Dad payed for your movie subtract$1
For all the times Dad gave you the keys to HIS car when he really wanted to use it himself, but he thought you would be safer than in yours, Subtract $5.
For all the times you got a hug or a kiss, subtract 50 cents.
For all the times Mom slipped you some extra money, subtract $1...
Looks like we're even now.

[jiggerj]

1) It is not that hard to charge parents.
2) The calculation is somewhat straight forward.
3) Just use the following formulae, and just total the amount
. . . number of boyfriends/girlfriends scared away (x) $1
. . . number of one-week groundings for staying out too late (x) $2
. . . number of bad meatloafs (x) 50¢
. . . number of times they embarrassed you in front of friends (x) $1
. . . number of times they brought out the nude baby pictures (x) $3


NOTE: If total exceeds the net worth of both parents, subtract 50%.

LOL!!! :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

my 2 cents- I would not and will not charge my parents. MIL is another story .When dear MIL "tells" me that there is just not enough room for my 2 dd's to go (not her grandkids) and that they go enough anyways("they can stay home") I decided I would not charge her for any points because she will not be joining us. My points, my kids, my decision. (sorry if I sounded mean but you had to be there and the expression on my dd's face was enough)

[jaime washburn]

move forward with no guilt!!
Letting them pay rack rate while you are a member and have the ability to get more reasonable rate for them wouldnt have been nice, but you saved them $$$. I say it is great!!, Charge your cost and dont look back.
You did something nice, You are right, if it wasn't financed then it could be looked at differently, but it is not like you are making a profit.

I would do the same thing for my parents. Hey in ten years when I actually own it, then maybe it will be free, but till then, look at is an ability to give your family a great discount. That is what it is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :grouphug:

[mark&sue]

We bought more points than we needed so we could take friends with us.

We are taking two families with us next year. I have not asked for money but I would not mind if they gave me a few bottles of vodka while we are away!!!!

Mind you the price of the flights from UK during school holidays times is $3,717 per family!!! It goes down by three times out of school times.

I would love my parents to come to WDW but they won't fly now they are in their 70s and like someone else said there is no way I would go with my in-laws!!!!!

Hope you enjoy your holiday so much as it is really nice to see your loved ones enjoy the pleasures of Disney.



Susan

[RichieGraciemom]

we are going with my sister on a trip planned for two years, and then we decided to buy into dvc. We charged her 600 dollars for one week in a studio. thought that was fair and wanted to cover only the major part of our dues for the remained of the year half of next. thought there would be discount codes and averaged out what it would of cost her and us at a mod for those seven nights with a code. cant wait to go and would have brougth her for free but did not want to start that.

[Mary2816]

Charging your parents just doesn't seem like the right thing to do...sorry. :confused3

[TriMom]

I guess that I am in the "bad child" camp. I charged my Mom and Sis. This is our story. There was a total of 7 going and we had decided that we were going to stay in a DVC 2 BR. We first looked at rack rates... way to high. Then we deicided to rent. About $3000 for our stay. We divided that between the 3 families going. DH and I realized that $3000 would go along way toward buying our own points. LOL! So we kept the plan to split the vacation costs, bought our own points, and used the rental money towards paying cash for the points. I didn't feel bad at all because we originally talked about splitting hotel costs.

[southtown]

That is exactly what we are doing with friends of ours that are joining us next year. They are not subsidizing my vacation at all and they are getting a great rate. I rented points for them at $10/pt and I am only requiring them to get the points needed to upgrade from a 1BR to a 2BR. It's a pretty sweet deal for them and I am happy that they are joining us.


This is what we did when some friends came with us. They only paid $80/night as that was the difference between a 1br and a 2br. If you think about it they got IMO a better then deluxe room for value price. I made the deal with my friend at work and he paid me right away and had no problem paying it as he knew he was getting a great deal. He told me during the vacation that his wife asked what they paid us and when he told her he said she was suprised they didnt pay more. They were very happy and there were no complaints from them and they actually cant wait to do it again.
I think its a win/win situation when you can have good friends come along and you can cut them a good deal and it helps offset some of your trip cost. You have to think you just spend thousands for this and you shouldnt feel guilty for asking for a little in return. Is it really fair for the other people to expect a free room(and a great one at that) for nothing?
But now that I think of it family is different. I would hope/think that they would know they are getting hooked up and would be willing to do something whether its money or meals or something for there stay. I know my family would but from what I have read on some of these boards not all families are like mine.

[JCW]

N & B's mom - Thanks for understanding. Once our DVC is paid for, then I would never dream of charging my parents. But right now, it's just not possible.

I wonder if charging our parents will put us on DVC's 'bad member list' :rotfl:

TheRustyScrapper -

Add to your list $3 x # of times you were made to eat liver for dinner (because they "love liver") :earseek:

[DVC-Don]

Kinda like inviting the parents to your lake house and then charging them the going rate in the area for a hotel room cause you have a mortgage on it. :confused3

[JCW]

"Kinda like inviting the parents to your lake house and then charging them the going rate in the area for a hotel room cause you have a mortgage on it." -DVC Don

+++++

You say tomato, I say tomatto...

that's what makes this world such a wonderful place to be. :sunny:

[TDC Nala]

I charge $20 a night to anyone who stays with me except for my parents, and my brother and his family. And it isn't to help pay for the DVC, but to help pay for maintenance dues.

If I stay with friends who are DVC members, we split the points and do transfers.

[ClarabelleCow]

I don't know, it all depends on the situation. If I invite them, they pay nothing and I expect nothing. But if they say hey can we come, and I had no intentions of getting a larger unit, well then they would definately help pay the difference.

We have a 2 bedroom for New Years, we invited my parents, they said no, so I offered my inlaws the space for 2 nights as a Christmas present, 2 nights over New Years, with the kids, plus birthday celebration for my son at Hoop Dee Doo. Now my parents decided, gee maybe we do want to go. We could squeese them in, that would be 8 in a 2 bedroom, not my idea of vacation. so I said your welcome to join us, but I am out of points, try to get a room, or I will try with my DVC discount. Sounds harsh, but they should have taken me up the first time!!! Plus why should we be crammed!

[dianeschlicht]

I don't know, it all depends on the situation. If I invite them, they pay nothing and I expect nothing. But if they say hey can we come, and I had no intentions of getting a larger unit, well then they would definately help pay the difference.

We have a 2 bedroom for New Years, we invited my parents, they said no, so I offered my inlaws the space for 2 nights as a Christmas present, 2 nights over New Years, with the kids, plus birthday celebration for my son at Hoop Dee Doo. Now my parents decided, gee maybe we do want to go. We could squeese them in, that would be 8 in a 2 bedroom, not my idea of vacation. so I said your welcome to join us, but I am out of points, try to get a room, or I will try with my DVC discount. Sounds harsh, but they should have taken me up the first time!!! Plus why should we be crammed!
I think that was a good way to handle it. That will help everyone to understand this isn't just an easy freebe.

[N&B'smom]

N & B's mom - Thanks for understanding. Once our DVC is paid for, then I would never dream of charging my parents. But right now, it's just not possible.

I wonder if charging our parents will put us on DVC's 'bad member list' :rotfl:

TheRustyScrapper -

Add to your list $3 x # of times you were made to eat liver for dinner (because they "love liver") :earseek:

Exactly, once it is paid in full they can come whenever they choose for free. LOL about being on the bad member list. :rotfl2: At least we'll be together on it!!!

Shelby

[manning]

Good luck with trying to ditch the other 30 people they invited!! :rolleyes1 :teeth:

Oh no!! I hope you didn't start the capacity issue again!! However it would be interesting seeing 30 people in the unit. let's see, 4 or 5 in the king, 3 in the tub, 1 or 2 in the shower............ :teeth:

[NJOYURLIFE]

We would never personally charge someone we invited as long as we didn't have to upgrade. Since there is 5 in our immediate family, there is usually extra room in the 2 bedroom for one or two more people without us being crowded. Now if we were in a one br and then needed to get a two bedroom because of the additional guests, that is a different story and I agree that charging the difference in points times a reasonable rate is a good way to calculate that out.

Of course, we do have an open invitation to my mom and single sis or my inlaws any time we go. My mom does do alot of cooking when she goes with us. We don't ask her to, but as a wonderful homemaker she does the meal planning and preparing and makes it look so easy and then of course we also get a night out alone. SHe always says she feels bad because she can't contribute financially to the vacation, although we constantly reassure her that what she does saves us lots of money and is greatly appreciated. We do eat out a few times and we'll pick up her tab then also (what she gets is nothing compared to the rest of us).

Sometimes you got to do what you got to do and compared to rack rates, you are still giving them a great benefit.

[CRSNDSNY]

My parents will be joining us for our first trip HOME next year. Because we JUST bought into DVC this past Spring I don't exactly know how to handle it. They will be sleeping in the room with the king size bed while we have the studio portion of the 2 bedroom villa. (VWL) I'm wondering how in the world I'm supposed to come up with a figure so I know how much to charge them. I'm not looking to charge them full price what they'd pay if we just booked the trip like normal. But I do want to offset some of our initial costs. Does that make sense? Any ideas on how to handle this?!?!?

Thanks in advance, I'll be booking soon!

Shelby ::MinnieMo
I haven't read all of the replies you've received yet Shelby, but just from your original question -- If it were us, we wouldn't not charge family. Now, I've rented to my friends before and charged them $8/point. We only charge them when they are taking trips without us. If we were traveling together and sharing a 2BR, we wouldn't charge them. They usually end up buying us a meal or two and that is more than enough for us.

[crisi]

To date we haven't charged guests.

We talked about it, and the hubby and I have some ground rules.

Anyone we invite we have to agree to invite. We sit down and plan who we might invite on our trip.

Anyone who invites themselves gets told "oh, gee, we have our plans in place for the next few years, we will have to see." Our intention is anyone who asks that we take and didn't really intend to but decide it will be ok will pay dues. Honestly, however, we are a low point family, and unless we commit to more points, I think our guest list will be booked with immediately family and eventually just the kids and us (and kids friends if we decide to go that route).

In the OPs case, where she has family that has invited themselves along and isn't able to weasal out of the obligation, I'd charge enough that they figure out there are better deals out there than mooching off her points. $12 a point - the high end of the rental rate, and the difference between the studio and the two bedroom. This is the sort of behavior you want to discourage or your DVC purchase quickly becomes their resource. (OK that's a little extreme, but I would charge more than dues....and more than dues + cost).

[rocketriter]

When we invite guests, we pay for accomodations (only) and only expect that they'll come up with a meal or two as thank you. But we put them in the studio room and keep the master with the king bed and jacuzzi ourselves! (We also sit at the head of the table when we invite guests for dinner at our own house...)

[newholidayx2]

My friend and her daughter will be staying w/me in a VWL studio for 4nights. There is no way I'll charge them!
She is the type to pickup a meal and I dont even want her doing that!

I am asking her to pay for their park admissions and their own meals though.

[pplasky]

I guess that I am in the "bad child" camp. I charged my Mom and Sis. This is our story. There was a total of 7 going and we had decided that we were going to stay in a DVC 2 BR. We first looked at rack rates... way to high. Then we deicided to rent. About $3000 for our stay. We divided that between the 3 families going. DH and I realized that $3000 would go along way toward buying our own points. LOL! So we kept the plan to split the vacation costs, bought our own points, and used the rental money towards paying cash for the points. I didn't feel bad at all because we originally talked about splitting hotel costs.

This is a little different than already owning the points and then charging your parents. I may have done what you did as well. But once you own charging parents just seems wrong. Siblings yes, parents, no. Sorry, just the way I feel. Can't ever repay parents for all they have done.

[Simba's Girl]

In early October we'll be doing a large family vacation. Its the first trip for BIL and DN&N and SIL hasn't been for decades. They don't know if the'll ever go again (but will probably be invited by us again if this trip goes well). They are "rooming in" with us in a 2BDR. MIL/FIL get a separate studio, and have come with us before. We aren't charging them and acutally haven't discussed "compensation" for the accomadations, though we've made clear how much they are worth via the disneyworld.com website (yeah, I'm passive agressive sometimes :rotfl2: ). We don't expect anything, though we won't be surprised if some meals/grocery tabs are picked up (using our DDE card as well). If they are that would be a total bonus to us and we would be greatful for it. Its one of those things though, like if you are invited to someone's house for a BBQ or dinner, you bring a small gift/token of appreciation or a side dish. Its a polite gesture but not 'required' and how DH was raised (I, OTOH come from "the other side of the tracks" but have since changed my ways :rotfl2: ). We would never ask for compensation if we invited them, all we want out of this really is to have a good time.

Heather

[robinb]

If we invite someone to stay with us, we never charge them. Like others here, we do allow them to buy groceries or meals.

ETA: I see now that your parents somehow invited themselves. I still wouldn't charge them anything myself. They may have invited themselves, but you have the opportunity to still go alone. If you didn't want them to come along you could have said "no" to them and just booked a 1 BR. It sounds like you made the decision to charge them anyway. I'm not going to make any right/wrong judgements on the matter.

FWIW, When I share a unit with fellow DVC members (like our NYE OKW GV), our friends transfer points into our account to cover the cost.

[QuiltTeddy]

We invited my sister, husband and their three kids the first time we "went home" and didn't ask them for anything. Figured they would at least offer to buy my husband and I dinner one night in "thanks", but boy were we ever wrong. My sister actually pulled out a calculator and figured out what our portion was. Yes, it was the first and last time. Now hubby and I just go and would ask friends....not family.

[Deemarch]

Even though most of us wouldn't.

But the one thing I would NEVER DO...Give up the "owner's bedroom"!!! LOL

[CRSNDSNY]

We invited my sister, husband and their three kids the first time we "went home" and didn't ask them for anything. Figured they would at least offer to buy my husband and I dinner one night in "thanks", but boy were we ever wrong. My sister actually pulled out a calculator and figured out what our potion was. Yes, it was the first and last time. Now hubby and I just go and would ask friends....not family.
Ya gotta love family, huh? My sis would have probably done the same thing! Luckily, we've never taken sis and family.

[wdwzues]

Either that or charge the for the point usage of a studio, that would be fair. They are using the king room portion and everyone is using the living portion. I think the studio point cost would be ok.

[QuiltTeddy]

Ya gotta love family, huh? My sis would have probably done the same thing! Luckily, we've never taken sis and family.

I can't understand it. They could have well afforded to make the trip on their own and then to actually be calculating it down to the penny? Obviously my husband I were just speechless. We made sure not to have any meals with them from that point on and we sincerely hope they enjoyed their visit, 'cause as I said....it was their last on us. :rolleyes1

[manning]

We invited my sister, husband and their three kids the first time we "went home" and didn't ask them for anything. Figured they would at least offer to buy my husband and I dinner one night in "thanks", but boy were we ever wrong. My sister actually pulled out a calculator and figured out what our potion was. Yes, it was the first and last time. Now hubby and I just go and would ask friends....not family.


If it was me it would have been dueling calculators. I would have pulled mine and figured out their portion of the room charge, subtracted our portion and announce "get out your check book, your share is bigger!!" :rotfl: :rolleyes:

"And don't let the door hit you on the way out!"

[Shelby5514]

My mom and my In-laws will be joining DH and I in Feb. at the BCV. We'll be staying in a 2brm, us in the master, the my In-laws in the studio and my mom in the living room. They are paying for their own park tix and travel expenses and souvineers(sp?). We have a family fund that came from an inheritance so we will use some of that to pay for food. I would not even think of charging them for the room. As long as I have enough points next year for a vacation I don't mind borrowing a few so that we can all go together this year.

[robinb]

I can't understand it. They could have well afforded to make the trip on their own and then to actually be calculating it down to the penny? Obviously my husband I were just speechless.

Honestly, the same thing happened to me except it was before 1999 and the family members involved also had free park passes. They had a free room and they had free park passes. When the bill came at the end of our stay we gave it to them so they could break out the charges to their room key. Imagine my shock when they said "Should we just split the cost of the meals that we put on our room key?". :eek:

[CRSNDSNY]

Honestly, the same thing happened to me except it was before 1999 and the family members involved also had free park passes. They had a free room and they had free park passes. When the bill came at the end of our stay we gave it to them so they could break out the charges to their room key. Imagine my shock when they said "Should we just split the cost of the meals that we put on our room key?". :eek:
Robin - was that the last time they vacationed with you?

[QuiltTeddy]

If it was me it would have been dueling calculators. I would have pulled mine and figured out their portion of the room charge, subtracted our portion and announce "get out your check book, your share is bigger!!" :rotfl: :rolleyes:

"And don't let the door hit you on the way out!"

I guess I shouldn't have been shocked - and this is a true story. Same sister - we went to their place for xmas one year and when we were leaving, she pulled out a grocery receipt with items highlighted. She said "I added up everything we all ate when you were here and divided it, so you owe...." My husband walked out of the house at that particular moment. After I was able to close my mouth, I said "Oh wait (dug through my purse) and said here is the receipt for the diapers, formula, baby food and prescription for the baby. I guess you should subtract that since we didn't take the meds, wear diapers or drink formula or eat any of the baby food." Yes, I lowered myself to her level, I know. When I got in the car, my husband said "I didn't hear what I thought I did, did I?" I said "You sure did, but I got the last laugh." I guess I thought, that many years later, things changed, but apparently they didn't.

The other thing that annoyed us was they seemed to think that when the "bill" was put under the door on check-out morning, it was for them. They opened it and then promptly dropped it in our hands. Talk about nerve! Like I said.....once naive....twice a fool. We won't be fools.

On another note, we can't wait for our best friends to come with us -- and expect nothing in return -- a simple thank you is enough (from anyone). We just want to spend time together.

[robinb]

Robin - was that the last time they vacationed with you?

No, we now know what to expect from them. The gift of the room and the park passes were just that: a gift. They were really under no obligation to "pay" for them in any way. I *thought* they had picked up the meals for us and was shocked to find that was not their intention.

[dianeschlicht]

We have only had two guests not buy us at least a dinner or two. One was a friend and her son who were going through a divorce, and I didn't expect it. The other was a co-worker/friend and his wife. They very much COULD afford it, but we never got anything more than a verbal thank you from them.