Charging Friends???

[DisDaydreamer]

pleasure of our company - $78.00 per person[/INDENT]

I love it!

 

[OKW Lover]

The someplace nice....

This is, if your friends insist (and you don't feel guilty asking) a good chance to splurge and go somewhere you might not otherwise - like California Grill or Jiko. They will still get a bargain, even after picking up an expensive dinner tab.

Now, I'd never ask that of anyone I thought might already be stretching themselves to go - if I thought that I'd ask for dinner at Biergarten or something. But if your friends can afford it, and insist on dinner - you might consider something "nice."

In fact our friends often suggest Yachtsman or Artist Point - both places we love!

Interestingly, we're going to visit them next week at their home and are returning the favor by taking them out to dinner someplace nice in their home town.

 

[AKLFan3]

How about taking the difference in points between a one bedroom and two bedroom and charging by the point?

This is what we're planning to do. We charge $10-12 per point depending on where we are staying. For AKV concierge, we're charging $12 per point since it is very point heavy and very nice accomodations. It is a great bargain for our extended family since they normally couldn't afford to go to WDW and stay at a deluxe resort, and great for us because they end up paying about half of our maintenance fees for the year. Everyone pays for their own tickets, airfare and meals.

 

[dblr]

We took friends once in Oct. and they picked up the airfare. We did not ask for anything this was their idea. We also camp with them so we always seem to work out splitting cost on things.

 

[Wendy1953]

We have taken many friends and relatives with us, and have never charged them a fee for the room. They usually pick up the bar bill and gratuities, they have also picked up the bill at Publix. We have taken my sister, her son, her daughter and son-in-law and their two kids, along with my other sister - two bedroom - OKW that time. We took our bestman and his wife and three children (BCV) and chose to get two studios that time...this way we had free time from the kids. We've taken sis in law and her hubby and stayed in a one bedroom - VWL, along with taking dear motherinlaw and sis in law - VWL, our daughter and her boyfriend to VB, upcoming trip with my sister - BCV, and then another in December with my two sisters - VWL. Every other trip we take to Disney, we usually invite family or friends! In 2010 we are hoping to take my nephew, his wife and their adopted daughter, along with my sis and her husband, and my niece and her husband. The baby has a rare liver disease, and will probably need a transplant in the next year or two, so we may have to postpone that one for another year or so.

 

[msabol01]

I don't believe in charging family or friends for the trip if we invite them. That being said, I usually point them to the Disney site and sites like this so they can appreciate the cost of these rooms if they were staying as a non-member. It's a good way to show them the merits of getting their own DVC membership. I will gladly accept a meal if they offer but I usually limit it to one, I don't want there to be any sense of obligation for the invite. Afterall it is about spending time with other people.

 

[UP Disney]

I wish that my sister would be convinced that she is paying us with the pleasure of her company as well as my niece & nephew. I've tried and that didn't work. We are trying to talk our best friends into going with us under these conditions. I may have better luck with them!

 

[christianweecare]

We have done different scenerios. Feb. 2007 we sprung for 3 studios for our kids and their families. Each paid for their own dining and tickets. Next weekend DH & I are traveling with my sister's family (4 adults). We are staying in a 2 bedroom at OKW using our points. My sister is paying for everyone's dining plan. It's still cheaper for her since she does not have to pay for lodging. She was happy!

 

[bnlbebes]

On a vacation without us going along - I do ask for a cheap amount per point.

If we ask them to come along WITH us, we usually ask to be treated to a dinner, as others here have suggested.

 

[TDC Nala]

I charge friends $20 a night. I don't charge family.

 

[diznycrazed]

This past summer I booked a 2 bed at BWV for my family and my sister's. As we did not have enough points I asked her to pay for the Friday cash night. They come with us every couple of years and this arrangement works for all of us.

Terry

 

[brandylouwho]

We too have been struggling with this question. we did not charge my MIL last year and don't think we would ever charge family, but we plan on going with friends in 2009. They are willing to pay "their fair share" and I think they would feel funny about not paying something.

But "their fair share" is so subjective. So, here is what we settled upon. They will pay for our airfare (4 seats) which could be as low as around $675 to right around $800. If airfare ends up being significantly more we would pay the difference. They also offerred to pay for a hotel room near the airport the night before we leave (we can't get direct flights to Orlando from our local airports). This is still less than they have paid in the past for their offsite rooms and we are planning on 7 or 8 nights in a 2bd at AKV.

It is a good way to get us all booked on the same flight & also a good way to get them "invested" in the trip, because we'll need to borrow points for this vacation--don't want them to back out at the last minute and leave us with points issues. (I don't foresee that happeneing, but you never know).

We both think we are getting a great deal and wish we didn't have to wait until 2009 to go on this trip together!

 

[goofy4tink]

We traveled to WDW and stayed in a two bedroom villa last year, with friends. It was two moms and the two dd's who turned 13...big birthday party. I booked the two bedroom, they got the studio section. I tried to tell them it was my invite, my treat. Nope, they weren't going to go if they didn't pay their fair share. So..I just figured out the cash cost of a studio, then took the points usage for the studio and charged $10 a point. I gave her both figures, told her I would accept the $10 per point figure, not the cash figure. That's how we came to agreement. She got a great deal and felt like she was paying her way. I used the money she gave me to pay for airfare and part of DDP.
We are facing that again in '09 when the girls turn 16. Guess we'll handle it the same way.

 

[schoen]

My in-laws "charge" us 5 dollars a point. It is a great deal for us. They usually round down by a hundred dollars or so. Once they told us to buy them "something nice" while we were there. But I think, if you really don't want cash from them, a low point rental fee would be an option.

 

[ilovefh]

I haven't ever charged anyone but it was for a few reasons:

1st Trip: My friend Jenn, Bethany and Bethany's five college roommates. They were all on a VERY tight budget. We flew down Saturday night but stayed off property and rented a car.

2nd Trip: With my parents, best friend and my sister. I could never charge my parents! They took me to Disney over 20 time growing up, so this was my way of paying for them a little.

3rd Trip: Two coworkers and myself. We went for a weekend to food and wine!

I feel like if I invite them, then I have the points to cover it. I would agree with the poster that they are paying me with their company. I wouldn't invite someone I don't want to spend time with, so I won't charge people! My parents eventually bought in when they realized it wasn't as expensive as they once thought (they considered it in the early 90's). Now I can't treat them, but we do combine our points so we treat my sister and her boyfriend.

 

[WolfpackFan]

I wouldn't charge family or friends that are traveling with us. If they kept insisting, I might say "well just buy us dinner one night".

 

[hellerjw]

We wrestled with this issue too for our first "extended family" DVC trip this coming June.

We have only been DVC members for less than a year and had our first trip this past August. But, as many DVCers know, the list of long lost relatives popping out of the woodwork is one of the "joys" of DVC membership.

We decided that to keep it fair and consistent going forward we had to come up with some type of flat rate, easily calculated cost that we could give to people when we started offering up our DVC to family & friends. This would not only keep things fair for everyone but it would give everybody something to budget for, all the while showing them the fantastic savings they are getting by using our DVC membership vs. cash stays.

Taking the advice of many on these boards we basically came up with a $5.50/reservation point cost. If the other group would be joining us during a trip we would basically split the costs of a 2BR or GV vs. the 1BR point cost we would normally use.

For example, this June we are moving up to a 2BR to accomodate my sister and her family. I believe the point cost for the week was something like 278 pts. I split that in half and then multiplied it by $5.50, which came to $764.50, which I rounded down to $750. They get a great deal on very nice accomodations, we get help with our annual dues. They felt that was very generous and cut their accomodations costs by about 75%.

Since planning this upcoming trip we have already had requests from 2 other family groups to come with us in 2009 & 2010. We felt by having a "standard rate" to charge people that it leveled the playing field and didn't favor any one family member or group of friends over the other. Everyone feels the rate is fair and generous and we avoid feeling like we are being asked to give special treatment to one group over another.

One of the reasons we joined DVC is to offer these trips to family and friends, but we also realized that this would mean having to borrow points more often and potentially add-on in the next few years. We wanted to be generous with our membeship but also be able to recoup some of the ongoing monetary commitments we made when joining. For us, this method seemed like the most equitable and fair system we could come up with.

 

[ktbugsmom]

There are some very generous folks out there!

I usually charge the going rate of $10 per point. But, I have always booked separate accomodations for my friends and family (studios). They still think it is a fabulous deal - deluxe resort for half the rack rate.

In 2009, my SIL wants to come along. We are very low on points after bringing friends two years in a row - so just today I did a 50 point add on at AKV. So - it is costing me $5200 to get the extra points to be able to rent rooms for the weekend (and in the future of course!), so to be honest, I don't have a problem charging the going per point cost. None of my family or friends wants to buy into DVC and no one wants to plan the trips - but they all want to come along with me on my annual family vacation. Therefore, they all pay their way. But, they do get a free tour guide out of the deal!

Now - once I win the lottery - no worries. They can all stay for free!

 

[Mic]

When I invite someone, I do not charge anything for the accomodations. The room is always free. I once booked a trip for myself, my 2 sisters and my brother and their families, in a 2-bedroom and 2 studios at BWV. I had to use 2 years' worth of points to book it over Christmas, but it was worth it to me. I also included one 4-day hopper per family, and breakfast each morning. I printed up a nice "brochure" detailing the accomodations and ticket, along with the price of 4-day hoppers for the rest of the family, and gave it to my family in Jan., for the following December. By Thanksgiving, one sister started complaining that she could not afford a 4-day hopper for her husband and teenage son, and my other sister was having financial problems, but she did not tell me about them. In the end, it was my brother and his family, and one sister(youngest)and her 2 kidsthat joined me. I found out from my mother youngest Sis' money situation, so I gave her my other sister's 4-day hopper(for a total of 2), so she only bought one child's ticket. I also left gifts in their rooms before they checked in(t-shirts, light spinners, Christmas ornaments, etc.) Upon arrival, we went straight to Winn Dixie and stocked our rooms, so our cost for eating out was minimal(I think it was 2 sit-down meals, and a few counter service). I felt like I did everything I could to keep the cost of the trip as low as I could for my siblings. Since that trip(4 years ago), I have invited the sister that did not go several times, but it never works out. And I have to say, as rude as this sister is, my sis-in-law has her beat. For at least 4 years, my SIL and her 2 kids vacationed with us at WDW using our points. Only once did I charge her because she waited until the last minute to let me know she was going, and I had to rent an actual reservation from a DIS member so she would be at the same hotel(BW) as we were. She married a man 2 years ago who has 2 children, and had a baby(now 7 months old), so her family went from 3 to 7 people in no time! She knew I was planning a trip to WDW in June of last year(07), and asked to join us. I was running low on points, so I offered her 2 studios instead of a 2-bedroom, but she seemed offended. I still booked it, even though I knew her baby was due in early July. By May, it was clear she did not have the money to go, so I gave one of the studios to a friend, and cancelled the other. My SIL then insisted that her family definitely wanted to join us in Jan.08, so I started booking a 1-bedroom at the BWV, snagging the 2 nights available, and waitlisting for 3 others. I let my SIL know that only a 1-bedroom was available, but I had a studio booked for my college-age daughter that 2 of her children would be sharing. By Thanksgiving I had 3 nights confirmed, so I let my SIL know that she may have to make arrangements for the other 2 nights, as no cash discount was available through MS(this was MLK week). I also managed to book a studio for the same 3 nights for guess who? The sister who had declined so many times! When SIL realized that she was going to have to pay for 2 nights, she was decent enough to let me know in time to cancel the room so I would not have any holding points. BUT, you will not believe what the next thing out of her mouth was..."I talked it over with the kids, and we have decided we would like you to book us a room in June with those points"!!!! I, for the first time in my life, did not know what to say. On Christmas day, she had the nerve to ask me if I had booked her room yet, and I politely explained to her that June weeks require more points than Jan., and my college-age daughter wanted to take some of her sorority sisters in March, so I was just not sure how many points I would have left. For now, I could book 2 nights in a 2-bedroom, but that was my limit. Also on Christmas day, my sister informed me that she and her husband were "having problems", so she did not think she would need the room in Jan. I waited 2 weeks for her to decide for sure before I rented the room here on the DIS boards, which was better than having points in holding. What I am trying to say in a long-winded way is that I wish I had handled everything differently. First of all, my relatives think my rooms are "free", which is the root of the problem. I should have steered them to the Disney website to book the room themselves, then offered the room using DVC points. I also made the mistake of letting my SIL know that I could not invite her one summer because I had given a studio to my children's band teacher as an end-of-the-year gift. She made it clear that she felt she was more entitled to the points. Just this week, my sister has said she wants to "go with me on our next trip", but I am honestly thinking of going elsewhere this summer. If we do go to WDW, it will likely be for just a few days at the end of a beach trip or cruise. I just got off the Disney Wonder Sunday(2/3), and I had forgotten how much I loved that boat! I have only taken my 4 children on one cruise(on the Wonder in 2002), and they have been begging to go again. If I was to use the DVC points I would otherwise give away to family, I could afford one cabin on points! I DO love sharing DVC with friends and family, but I would strongly advise anyone wanting to do so decide beforehand what the re-imbursement will be. Last month I had friends in a studio at the BWV for 5 nights over MLK weekend, and I did not charge them for the room. While I did not accept any payment, they did offer, which was far better than my family. And they obviously heard me when I said I would need to book the room 11 months in advance! I have decided that from now on, I will book my vacations first, then offer whatever points I have left to family to be used only on a room for the time I will be there. As my husband has pointed out, it is much better to "share the magic" than to just "give the magic away"! Sorry this is so long...

 

[ktbugsmom]

Mic,
I just have to say that you are a very generous soul and have the patience of a saint! Seriously... I am amazed. Kudos to you for having such a big heart!! I should strive to be so generous - but it is hard with only 150 points!