HELP! How do we make to cost fair when sharing a house?

[belle&beast]

I saw a thread not too long ago about how to break down the cost of renting a vacation home, so everybody pays their fair share: the king room costs x amount, queen, twin, bunks, etc.

We are going to San Diego this summer and need to break down the cost for multiple families.

Thanks!

 

[shirleyb]

Unless one family going is really large, and the others are just couples, I say the easiest way is to just split by the total cost by the total number of families.

We're sharing a house this summer with two other families and we'll just split the bill in thirds. Our family and one other has 3kids, and the third family only two kids, but they are more specific about wanting this bed and that room, etc, and it wouldn't surprise me if my boys end up on the floor or a couch.

 

[tbrenk]

I saw a thread not too long ago about how to break down the cost of renting a vacation home, so everybody pays their fair share: the king room costs x amount, queen, twin, bunks, etc.

We are going to San Diego this summer and need to break down the cost for multiple families.

Thanks!

We are going with 3 families total..mine is 3 people, one is 6 people and the other is 2 people. We are splitting everything 3 ways.

 

[mom*to*2*princesses]

When we've taken vacations with extended family we've determined the cost per person and split it accordingly. That way, for example, my DH's single brother doesn't have to pay the same as we do as a family of 4, and likewise we don't pay the same as my brother with his family of 6. It's the fairest way to do it for us. If we had several families that were the same size or like a PP one of the families was a little more "picky", then I'd be inclined to split it equally.

 

[DonnaL]

We usually take the total cost of the house and divide by the total number of people, then multiply by the number in each family for a breakdown of each family cost. Of course, we have primarily adults and a couple teenagers....only one little one. This may not work as well with a lot of little ones. As far as the type of accomodations goes, you can do several things. Most rentals have at least 2 MBR.....we make sure both sets of parents get a MBR....from there it depends on who else is going as to how the breakdown goes. Or you could just put names in a hat and draw for the rooms.

 

[Darcy03231]

I would divide it per person. To me it would be unfair to have a family of two pay the same as a family of four.

 

[shirleyb]

I would divide it per person. To me it would be unfair to have a family of two pay the same as a family of four.

Unless you figure that if you were each getting a motel room, each family would still pay for one motel room, therefore the costs would be the same.

For instance, the single couple will have a bedroom, but the family of four might also have a bedroom, just one that has two double beds in it, so they are still taking up one room.

Now, if there is a single traveller or a couple, and they take one room, but there is another family that takes three rooms, obviously that isn't fair.

However you decide to split it, make sure everyone agrees ahead of time so there are no nasty surprises and no hurt feelings.

 

[disneysteve]

Unless you figure that if you were each getting a motel room, each family would still pay for one motel room, therefore the costs would be the same.

True. When we've split a rental home, we shared the costs equally. For example, in November we went with my MIL. She paid half and we paid half, even though there were 3 of us and only 1 of her.

The other thing to consider is this. Are the accomodations markedly better than what you would have if you went on your own. For example, when the 3 of us go to Disney, we don't rent a house or condo. We only do that when others come along. I wouldn't want to pay 3/4 of the house cost when it would end up being a lot more than where would we stay if it was just the 3 of us. Does that make sense? In other words, the only reason we rented the house is because MIL was there, so she had to pay an equal share to make it fair for us.

 

[Zoemakes5]

I honestly think the "fairest" way is to divide it by bedroom. If you paid 1600 per week and had 4 BR, the I'd make it $400 per BR. If a family takes 2 BR's then they'd pay $800. If your kids and their kids split a room, then each family pay half of the room, so $200, same if two non-family adults share a room.
Some have more complicated formulas. They add "premiums" for things like attached bathroom, king sized beds, balcony/patio, etc.
Another option that many find works great is divide up by adults only (since they're the ones who are paying, anyway), so, if you were going with 3 couples and their children, it would be evenly split. If you were going with, say, sister & family, you and family and brother, then the split would 5 ways. That works okay if you have a fairly equal number of kids, or this is a family vacation that everyone agrees to pay for all the kids in a family. The idea here is also that the kids tend to be the ones on the air matresses and in sleeping bags, and shouldn't be "counted".
Don't forget to include in the cost breakdown, or at least a discussion, about who is bringing what and how everything else is being paid for, such as cleaning supplies, toiletries, paper products, food and drink, charcoal or propane for the BBQ, transportation costs, etc.
Sounds like a ton of fun!!!!

 

[HeatherC]

I guess I'm of the belief that if it is families going....I'd just split it evenly. I figure so what if I pay a few dollars more. If it is hundreds more that's a different story. If it is a single person with a family, that's a different story. I would be more concerned about the fun we were all going to have.

But ...if I did all the planning and work on it...I'd be happy to grab the king size room!!!

Have a great time.
Heather

 

[Pigeon]

I would also do it by bedroom. If a big family is going to occupy more bedrooms than a small family, they should pay more.

 

[mouseketeer_mom]

We do the thing that takes the number of people per family to determine the cost. My family of five pays more than my DBro and his wife. Room choice is based on seniority. If my parents are going, they get first pick of a master. Then Dh and I get to choose as I am the oldest. Occasionally, DAunt and her husband come along, then they get the second choice, etc... I think it's pretty fair, and we're family, so we try to be considerate of each other.

 

[writersblock42]

Yes, splitting costs can get difficult. The way that I would do it is by room. That is the most fair to do it. When we have done it before, my grandfather paid for the house rental (one house was his and then we had to rent two more) and I think each family chipped in a little bit. Now once that happens, some people end up with big rooms, others with little rooms and some people end up sleeping on the couch. So it is not fair to divide it up by person when somebody sleeps on the couch. So I say divide it by rooms.

 

[disneysteve]

Here's why I don't think splitting by room is fair.

Let's say that we are going with the 3 of us, my mother and my MIL, which we've done. If we went to a hotel, we would need 3 rooms at, perhaps, $60/night. Instead, we can rent a 4-bedroom home for about $150/night. If we split it evenly, we each pay $50/night and all of us save over the hotel. If, however, we pay based on rooms, my family would pay for 2 rooms and our moms would each pay for one, so we'd pay $75/nite and they'd each pay $37.50/night. So they get all the benefits of a house vs. a hotel room and they save a bunch of money in the process, while we get the same benefits, but pay a premium of $15/night. Other than the bedroom usage, we are all enjoying the space and amenities of the home so it just doesn't make sense to me not to split the cost evenly.

 

[Lucky4me]

I always pay for the place and invite friends and relatives. That way I can pick whatever room I want and not feel guilty. :lol

 

[ElizaB39]

Steve makes a great point and in his case, he is upgrading his lodgings to accomodate others so the way they divvy it seems fair to me.

This summer my entire family is vacationing together at a lake resort in MN. My parents want to pay a portion for each of their children. I have one single sister, one sister that has a SO, three of us have a partner and two kids, and one of us has a partner and 4 kids.

Mom, dad, single sis, and sis with SO share a large 4 bed cabin. Mom and dad will have separate rooms due to snoring issues. Other two sis' will each have their own room. All of the rest of us with kids will each have our own cabins with our families. Dad wanted to give each of his kids 500 towards their bill, this would leave bro with 4 kids with a 1000 bill and two sis's that share with mom and dad would pay zero! I pointed this out to dad and he said, well single sis and sis with so shouldn't have to pay more just because they don't have kids, and I responded well bro with 4 kids shouldn't be penalized for having kids. If dad had his original way, bro would be paying 10 times (approx) what sis and sis with so would have paid. I said, he doesn't have 10 times the people in his family, he only has 6/4 times the people in his family... why don't we do something like a percent.

I suggested paying a percent of everyone's base bill, I think we "agreed" on 20% of each kid's bill getting paid regardless of how many in your "family". There are those of us that will pay our entire bill ourselves, and those that will stand there with their hands out for dad's handout!

The reason I was so "involved" with this vacay is that it is going to cost me about 3000 total for the week (I can go to Disney for that all inclusive, but that is another rant) so I want to have a great vacation. There are my other sibs that really don't care what the accomodations are like and etc. So, I volunteered to visit resorts with the parents last summer and we visited 12 resorts over a period of 3 days, talk about exhausting. I am glad I did it, we will have a great time I know.

If you managed to read through this whole post, thanks!

Sorry popdaddy...

 

[Skatermom23]

Dad wanted to give each of his kids 500 towards their bill, this would leave bro with 4 kids with a 1000 bill and two sis's that share with mom and dad would pay zero!

I suggested paying a percent of everyone's base bill, I think we "agreed" on 20% of each kid's bill getting paid regardless of how many in your "family".

I think I read this right! But, as a parent I like your Dad's idea more. I wouldn't feel right giving one child more than another just because they do have a SO or kids.

 

[Kay1]

We rented a house over winter break and invited mil for two nights. She paid nothing but that's another story. We have friends we meet at Sanibel every Father's Day weekend. We each rent a cottage but have talked about sharing a condo or a house. All the condos I've toured online have a master suite and a guest room. Splitting the cost might be tricky.

 

[Jennifer S]

We are renting a house in OBX this summer. Thankfully it's 3 families all w/ 2 kids and 6 bedrooms. Ech family gets 2 bedrooms. One for the parents and one for their kids.

I don't want to hijack this thread but other than the cost of the house how do you divide up other expenses? How do you plan meals together?

 

[ElizaB39]

Dad wanted to give each of his kids 500 towards their bill, this would leave bro with 4 kids with a 1000 bill and two sis's that share with mom and dad would pay zero!

I suggested paying a percent of everyone's base bill, I think we "agreed" on 20% of each kid's bill getting paid regardless of how many in your "family".

I think I read this right! But, as a parent I like your Dad's idea more. I wouldn't feel right giving one child more than another just because they do have a SO or kids.

Actually, when I told dad that two would end up paying nothing, he wasn't comfortable with that either. He thought we all should pay something, and in the end, we are each paying a kind of per bedroom rate. The single sis and the sis with the SO are each paying the same because they are each using one room. Mom and dad are paying more because they each have their own room. The rest of us with families are paying two - three times what the ones sharing the largest cabin are paying. Dad was happy with his decision. The decision didn't impact me much either way, it actually impacted bro with 4 kids, the least amount of money, yet the most in family members, the most. It makes it doable for him. Dad and mom didn't have to pay anything for any of us, it started out that we would all pay our own way, then they decided to chip in something for each because this vacation was requested by my parents as a celebration of their 50th anniversary.