How much do you 'charge' family & friends?

[kathleena]

We don't charge our kids when we take them. We consider it a gift.

But, if they offered to pay for dinner, for the entire car etc, we wouldn't turn it down.

I just noticed this smiley. I like it.

 

[Peggy Sue]

to date, we've only invited family. we haven't charged anyone. they have offered, but we refuse any cash. they generally take us out for a nice meal while we are there and share in the cost of any groceries.

i agree with others, it's a personal decision..with a lot of variable factors..fiances of both parties etc. i think it's great that the invitied guests offer.... but we really enjoy treating our family!

good luck with your decision!

 

[southtown]

Jeez, after reading how most of you only charge the maintance fees I feel like I am robbing my friends. We are getting a 2br at BCV this Nov. My friend asked how much I wanted and I told him the difference point wise between a 1br and a 2br was 8 points/night. I told him if he rented the points off of a DVC member at $10 a point it would be $80/night,so thats what I asked for. He thought it was more then fair and has no problem paying it. He knows that for the same price as a value he is basically getting a 1br villa because he will have full use of the kitchen and washer/dryer. Also he is pumped about SAB so like I said he was more then happy with paying $80/night.

 

[Disney-Kim]

Everyone who posted is more generous than we are I guess. We have only owned a couple of months and just took our first trip. We have already had family want to "join" us on trips. We only bought the minimal 150 pts.
Here's my reasons for thinking they should contribute something financially....
Using more points for bigger/more units means less points for us to use. We pretty much plan on using our points every year for either WDW or somewhere else. We travel.
so we are sacrificing those points for the family to be able to join us. I just feel like we would be paying for someone else to vacation.
but....I will say this....if I had 100's of points as many do on these boards I would share freely and I would never charge my parents ever.
I think it may be different for those of us with smaller points.
I was hoping this thread would help me to decide what to charge them as we are going to be making our own payments for a few years to come.

 

[rsschneck]

Funny this should come up! DH and I were discussing this just last night.

We haven't owned for very long (keep that in mind)

First trip HHI booked 2 bedroom and shared with friends. They did buy us a nice dinner out which wasn't necessary (but I ate it anyway)

Next week 2 bedroom with family and friends. Nothing expected!
Planning on splitting costs for minivan and groceries by thirds.

March HHI again with family in a 2 bedroom. Nothing expected and we will be lucky if we don't buy ALL the groceries as well.

Next October either 2 bedroom or GV depends on HOW MANY of my family want to come along. We have extended the invitation to 3 families and they need to make a decision by next month. Nothing expected! Groceries will be divided farely.

So, as you can see we don't even have any travel plans made that don't include taking people along.

If we invite, then they are our guests. However, if say my DS and family want to go to WDW and use our points without us then I would be happy to make a ressie and charge the going $10 pp. I love my sister, but I have not been offered to use her trend west timeshare. We could come up with a trade.

Point is invited guests FREE. Use our points without us $10 pp.

 

[childsplay]

I agree with Dean that it is very personal decision. Much depends on the process used to get the point where these people are joining you. Did you invite them? Was it a mutual, "Hey let's go to Disney" thing? Did they basically invite themselves?
This last summer my mil, sil and bil joined us for a week at BC. We invited them. At that point they became our guests, and as such, were not only not expected to pay but were not allowed to pay. We bought their airfare, paid for their park passes and paid for all groceries, meals and gave them each money for suveniers and snacks in the parks. The one time my wonderful mil attempted to pay, I was forced to say in a loud voice "Guests don't pay". But I did give her a huge hug and kiss for agreeing to join us and creating memories for my kids with their grandma at Disney.

 

[mom2rb]

I think it depends on who your bringing. The thought of my sons and their cousins seeing MK at X-mas. We are just splitting dues. Now when my family ( the ones that think we are insane for buying DVC want to come) I think we will charge them more

 

[southtown]

Originally posted by rsschneck
However, if say my DS and family want to go to WDW and use our points without us then I would be happy to make a ressie and charge the going $10 pp. I love my sister, but I have not been offered to use her trend west timeshare. We could come up with a trade.

Point is invited guests FREE. Use our points without us $10 pp.

Thats what me and my wife were planning on doing with family. I want to get a GV some year and we plan on inviting family along and we decided if we invite family we wont charge anything. If they plan on going to WDW without us we were thinking of renting points to them to help us with the maintence costs.

 

[SimbaNoodle]

I wouldn't just let anyone come. We like to bring family that enjoys Disney and appreciates the amenities that a DVC Resort provides. So many people we talk to already think we are nuts for all that we spend and for as much as we go. I don't need to bring someone with me just to hear them tell me i'm crazy while at my favorite place.

Like I have read here before, If you don't get it, I can't explain it to you.

 

[Cruelladeville]

If it's family, and I invited them to come, then I don't charge them anything. I do, however, have them pay for groceries for everyone, and put them in charge of making at least two dinners while there. I am also blunt that I would like them to take us out to dinner once while there. That's all I do for payment. Usually, guests of ours have gone way over the cost of groceries in repaying us, but I don't want anyone to feel beholden.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Put me in the "no charge" camp. For us, part of the fun of DVC is bringing guests along.

As far as charging maintenance fees, that actually makes up about 2/3 of the cost of those points. That is still likely a good deal for your guests, though.

Good luck...

 

[1SickPupe]

My wife is considering going with 2 friends. We decided that we would charge them the cost of my wife's airfare round trip to WDW (aprrox $110 ea).

 

[pat-rick]

The only way someone will come with us is if we invite them.
This happens almost every trip. We do the inviting so we do not charge. These are our invited guests so how can you charge. At times I also feel the need to supply park tickets for some depending on their situation. Food is up in the air, it seems we all buy some groceries and share. We also tend to eat out a lot but it seems to be understood you take care of yourselfs.
It works well for us, we supply the room(s) and get to share the Magic with our family.
You need to establish a way to share what you have in a way that is confortable for all.

 

[HookdonWDW]

Since we choose who we invite to share our trips, we don't charge our family and friends for the points they use. Usually, we're treated to a meal or a special activity during the trip. It works well for us.


As for people who want to "borrow" points... well, I direct them to the rental board

 

[dianeschlicht]

We invite guests to be just that, GUESTS. We don't charge anything, but so far, all of them have done something in return. Most take us out to a nice restaurant one evening, and one couple teated us to Cirqu du Soliel tickets. We never expect anything though, and just enjoy having someone share the fun with us. We feel it is enough for them to have to buy park tickets and airfare.

 

[yesdisneyfool]

$50 per night, per room (less than the Value Resorts). This completes the "we can't take room for nothing", then we treat for a few snacks and gifts for the kids.

 

[Duckielucky]

The actual (time value of money) cost of your points is about $10 per point. That said, an invited guest is a guest not a business opportunity. We are planning an extended family trip and plan to charge nothing for the room (after all it is January). We will accept a dinner or two.

Be careful to clearly state what you expect up front. It is the unexpected conditions that upset people and leads to missunderstandings. Be careful that relatives don't come to expect a free trip every time.

 

[DisneyKidds]

We invited some good friends to stay with us in a 2 br next year. We really think we'll have a good time, and the kids will love it, so we are excited. Given that we want them to come and we invited them I wouldn't charge them anything. If they suggested the trip or if they asked to stay with us I might charge them $10 a point times the difference in points between a 1 br. and a 2 br. But that isn't a factor................they will be our guests. Now if they insist on doing something they can pay for some MVMCP tickets, or maybe spring for one of the Grand Gatherings events, maybe babysit the kids while they treat us to a nice dinner.............something along those lines, but I wouldn't charge them for the room. While I wouldn't expect them to do anything, I would be a little shocked if they didn't offer.

I have to say, when my wife an I first discussed the trip I couldn't help but look at the numbers. The difference between a studio (what we would have gotten) and a 2 br for our dates is a whopping 172 points. At $10 a point (if I rented those points instead of using them) that's over $1,700 I "could have" had. But that isn't the way to look at it. If we didn't invite them we would have stayed in a studio for longer, so the point difference would shrink. Yeah, with our friends we'll have a shorter trip, but we will be with our friends. Also, we'll get to stay in a 2 br for the first time (we get the master br. ) and we're looking forward to that. So, is there a "cost" involved in taking friends? Sure, but the benefits outweigh the "costs"..................and that is part of the beauty of owning DVC .

We will plan a trip with my family at some point, but that will be more of a quid pro quo deal. They own at the Hilton Grand Vacations Club and we'll go with them one year.

 

[arminnie]

I just bought at SSR so this is all hypothetical for me so far.

When I travel solo I will stay in a studio. If I invite a friend or relative they are welcome to use the sofa bed for free.

If I invite family or friends and get a 2BR I will pay for it.

I usually meet college friends once or twice a year for a girls weekend. One of my friends always likes to have her own room. She will be responsible for her separate room (her choice not to share a unit) and I'll assist her in renting points but she will pay for them if that's what she wants. She may change her mind when she sees the DVC units.

My brother has vacation homes in Europe and Colorado that my sister and I have used for vacations with friends. He lets immediate family members use it for free. Other family members and friends pay for the maid servcie (these are privately owned homes not timeshare or managed rentals). Someone who is in the friend of a friend category (no strangers allowed) pays a nominal fee per day.

When we have used one of his homes we try to leave something for the house that we thing might enhance it - new set of towels, something decorative. Some of my guests are people that I stay with in their homes, and I do not expect them to pay any of my expenses for meals. They usually take me out for a night as do I when staying at their home.

For the European trips my sister's friends have usually picked up all of her meal expenses - one of them even mowed her lawn after she had surgery and kept it up all summer! They all live locally so she would not ever be staying at their homes - plus she has limited financial resources.

 

[MAC3]

We haven't charged our guests. Everyone that we have brought thus far has offered and one family was very adamant about contributing toward the room.

All I said was if you feel like you'd like to do something bring us out to dinner. Everyone has. One bought us dinner & lunch. It is a personal choice though.

Our goal is to let others that wouldn't get to experience DVC enjoy it. I usually let them choose where we'll stay too. I could care less as long as I'm in Disney!

Enjoy,
Lisa