Renting a house and sharing costs....
 

This is more of a general travel question. A group of us might rental a house for vacation. I just assumed the costs would be split per person (I am talking specifically just of the cost of the house). Now it has been brought to my attention that it may be divided per bedroom, meaning, that 2 people sharing a room would split it and the single people in the group who want their own room pay the full price of that bedroom for that week. Is that how it's usually done?

I don't think there's any one way to do this, and it depends a lot on the size and configuration of the bedrooms. A lot of houses don't have "equal-sized" bedrooms and many have a smaller room with one bed.

In that case, I think the single should pay less.

If you all pay per bedroom, and draw straws to choose rooms, the single could win the master bedroom.

Whatever you do, discuss it as you're looking at your rental options and make sure everyone is happy.

This is tricky. In a hotel a single room is not half the price of a double room; it's often about 80% of the double room price. Is it possible to get a house with enough bedrooms for each person (assuming there are no couples, only singles) or are the 2 people who want to share doing it for economic reasons.

Does each bedroom have it's own bathroom? If not and several rooms must share a bath that would figure into the cost.

You're going to have to talk about this within your group and decide what is the most fair way of splitting the cost. If you have a difference of budgets within the group this may present a problem.

Have you thought about how you'll be sharing other costs such as food and household items? I hope you don't get into a situation where someone refuses to pay for yogurt because he/she doesn't eat it (as an example).

It is much (MUCH) easier to divide the cost per person evenly. Members of a group who want to niggle it down "because we have to share" are probably the same ones who will kvetch and complain about everything else too.

Been there, done that. I've taken groups between 4 and 13 and always rent houses/flats/villas.

Easy/cooperative travelers just go w/ the flow -- no matter the cost per person will be less than hotels --so the 'sharers' are still saving £/€/$

Since the double rooms are almost always larger and sometimes have ensuite baths -- there could even be an argument that they should pay <i>more</i>. Now just try floating that idea??? :)

So divide evenly -- and if some are ornery about that -- reconsider traveling w/them . . .

just sayin'

janisj is, as is so often the case, right about this.

As a friend, with whom we have dined and traveled extensively, says, "Over the course of our long friendship, this will all work out in the end."

If they don't have that attitude, probably better not to travel with them.

I agree with janisj (surpise ha). Having travelled with groups and always rented I would definitely discuss ALL expenses NOW - if they are nickel and diming this, just imagine trying to split food costs, grocery shopping, alcohol, gas, car rental etc.

Budgeting arguments can ruin a trip in no time - even if they originally agree! We shared groceries as agreed, but then one couple were angry because another couple was eating more than them and we never heard the end of it! They pouted and basically ruined my enjoyment of the trip - will never travel with them again!

Splitting every thing evenly - per room or per person - is fine... as long as <b>YOU</b> get the master bedroom with king bed, private bath, walk-in closets and private terrace.

If you get the converted basement den, no closet and a fold-out twin bed however...

bardo1 hahaha good point - we make sure we are all happy with all bedroom choices before we rent (and hey - I am planning the trip so I get the best room hahaha). We would never rent a place with a converted basement den, no closet and a fold-out twin bed!

Thanks for the thoughts so far! I am inexperienced at this, as the only time I rented a house it was easy- 3 bedrooms & 3 people. Now it's a mix of couples and single people. I was kind of surprised this was brought up as I assumed it would just be equally divided amongst us all. But, I guess that benefits me since I am going alone and would get my own room, potentially. I did raise the issue of people paying more for bigger rooms, which was a topic already brought up.

AP6380. After reading this I am sort of glad it is you with this problem and not me.
I hope solving it does not cause too much stress and is resolved with everyone being satisfied.
Good luck.

Are you and your travelling companions locked in, or are we still at a planning stage? Also, who is planning the trip?

If you are planning the trip and no one has committed, the easiest way to handle this is probably for you, as the trip planner, to come up with a plan that looks fair and equitable and simply fully disclose everything to the group, asking them to sign off. Otherwise, this will start to look like the scened from "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" where they can't agree on how to divide the money.

Bardo1 is right in spotting the inequality of rooms. A group of us had a villa in Italy. The master suite with library and ensuite bath was fabulous. The second suite was also very nice with ensuite bath, sitting area. The other bedrooms were simply that. While they did have wardrobes, they shared bathrooms that were down a hallway and had no real impressive amenities.

Because this trip was a wedding gift to my son and new daughter-in-law, the master suite was for them. I asked our friends (a couple) to take the second suite. I got one of the "other" bedrooms. While this arrangement worked perfectly well for us, had I been with a group of friends who were simply drawing straws for the best rooms and all were paying the same pro rata share of the rental, I would not be particularly happy getting one of the lesser rooms and paying the same as the person who got the master suite. Simply dividing the pie into equal pieces doesn't always work the way you want it to.

With regard to other costs, I would recommend that alcohol be purchased separately from the groceries. You may have some people in the group who don't drink and I'm sure they wouldn't be happy having their grocery money be used for liquor.

Sometimes there is a hefty cleaning fee at the end of stay. Perhaps the larger bedroom /terraced rooms could be responsible for splitting that fee while the non-ensuite rooms be exempt from it? I can see how this COULD be a potential problem depending on the villa itself. I am also glad it is you.. not me.. dealing with this.

It is my good friend who initiated this plan as a celebration for her bday. So it's her, her boyfriend, potentially up to 2 other couples that are his friends, me and another single friend of hers. One of the men in the couples seems to be taking over the planning. Bottom line, we are not all good friends, so, I guess I should have expected this issue. But I just naively assumed we would all split the cost. At this point, it looks like they will be looking at the floor plan closely and try to divide the costs up based on the romms and what each room offers. We haven't even thought ogf the other division of costs... anyway, at this point, I may just gracefully bow out as it seems like it may just get too complicated and costly. Thanks again!

I, too, agree with janis. I do this every year three or four times a year with from as few as 4 and I think we maxed out at 26. Split per person. End of.

If someone ends up with a short straw compensate them ad hoc- pay for a meal or something like that. Don't contract for it. It would be a nightmare otherwise.

It sounds like splitting the restaurant bill where they ask "who had the peas"? If everyone's room is not the same and those with a double are trying to pay less and working out who has the bigger room, I agree...bow out without delay.

This sounds like a recipe for broken friendships or at least broken acquaintanceships.

Janis has it right, as usual. The only other way to do it, as I see it, is to get really granular and obscenely picky and calculate the square footage and charge by that, which would probably engender ill feelings right from the start.

The bottom line is...everyone's paying for a place to lay their head and set out their belongings. It doesn't really matter whether they're sharing a room or have 10 more square meters - what they are getting at the end of the day is equal.

If someone really ends up with a crappy room or having to share a bathroom or some other "misfortune," I agree...have the others pay for a dinner for them or let them off the hook on a grocery run or whatever.

I hate group trips.

I have family members that tend to take trips together to Italy about once every two or three years and have been doing so for quite awhile.

What they have always done is rented a "so called" villa that has various units. Consequently if the couple has their two children with them they rent a two bedroom unit. The couple that use to have three children with them rented a three bedroom unit. That couple's children are now adults and no longer go to Italy with them so the last time they were in Italy they rented a one bedroom unit. A couple of much older relatives who were not married rented a two bedroom unit.

It took some time each trip to find facilities that offered what they needed but they always managed to do so. No problems regarding the payment situation and people could retreat to their own unit when they needed some quite time to themselves. And of course each couple has their own bathroom(s) also so that takes care of the annoying problem regarding the one that leaves a mess or the one that hogs the bathrooms. If it happens it is your family member and not some other family member who is being annoying.

I hesitate a bit to say this, but if you and your other single friend are not good friends with the other couples, and I believe you said that you are friends of the b-day girl, the other couples are friends of her boyfriend, you might want to rethink this vacation idea. Couples and singles do not always mix well, particularly if they are not all good friends. Heck, close family members do not always mix well. You also seem concerned that one of the other couples, not your friend, is taking over the management of this trip; if it concerns you now, it could be a real vacation breaker when you get there. Traveling with groups can be fun, but I read red flags already. Just a word of caution because I would really hate for you to invest a lot in this trip and not have a good time when you get there.

My friend who initiated all this has regained control of the trip and has told everyone that the house will be split amongst everyone equally. But also stated that the couples would get the larger & better appointed rooms just for the simple fact that there are two people in the rooms and that they are paying more, which is fine with me. Really, my friend and her boyfriend are the people I really know well in the group. But she's a very good judge of character and I know she wouldn't have invited people that she isn't comfortable with... so... if no one has an issue with what she has said, it seems like it should work out. We will see! Thanks for all the input!

Best wishes for a lovely time in Italy with your group, AP6380.

That sounds <u>much</u> better -- but >><i>But also stated that the couples would get the larger & better appointed rooms just for the simple fact that there are two people in the rooms and that they are paying more,</i><<

It only makes sense for the couples to have larger rooms -- not because that are paying more (they aren't) but because there are two of them. Just don't get bogged down w/ the whole topic of whose is paying more/less -- everyone is paying the same. Two people sleeping together, whether SO's or just two individuals get the bigger rooms . . .

You'll have a wonderful trip!

One suggestion to pass by your friend "organizer" - about groceries. If you plan on preparing meals -- I usually have everyone put the same amount into a kitty maybe $20-$30 each to get started. This is for groceries and even table wine, but not anyone's special/specific alcohol/drinks. Anyone who wants can do the grocery shopping and use money from the kitty and a basic shopping list. No need for all 8 of you to descend on the butcher's shop together :)

We usually work out menus as we go along so don't stock up on everything all at once. It just seems more easy going to just have a 'grocery kitty' and then top it up during the week if needed. And no, folks don't get a refund of grocery $$ if they decide to skip a group meal and eat out on their own. ;)

Thanks for the update, it sounds much better - have a great vacation.

And listen to janisj, her advice is excellent.

That sounds better. I'm not sure this issue was raised, but you are sharing a lot of thigns of the house and property equally, not just the bedrooms. That isn't the entire sum of a house. There is the living area, kitchen, any outdoor area, possibly bathrooms, etc. I think it would be weird to only think it should be divided by the bedrooms, that wouldn't have even occurred to me. I'm surprised so many people are just focusing on the bedrooms arrangements. So equal makes sense with the larger rooms for the couples, but otherwise, I think you'd have to prorate part of the fee towards all the common areas that are used by everyone.

"<i>I think it would be weird to only think it should be divided by the bedrooms, that wouldn't have even occurred to me. I'm surprised so many people are just focusing on the bedrooms arrangements. So equal makes sense with the larger rooms for the couples, but otherwise, I think you'd have to prorate part of the fee towards all the common areas that are used by everyone.</i>"

I don't understand that at all. Maybe I'm just confused :?

janisj - Great advice about a food kitty - we made the mistake of volunteering to grocery shop and pay for it ourselves with the (not unspoken) understanding that on return the others in the group would split the cost. Instead, they volunteered to grocery shop at our next location. Okay, we went along with that assuming they would make similar purchases - well, wrong thinking! They did purchase food but it was not nearly enough for the week and we ended up having to shop again mid-week for everyone at our own expense.

I assume that the amount of rent for the house will be divided amongst the number of people renting the house and thus each person is paying for use of the common areas also.

I agree LoveItaly - 10 people = rent divided by 10 (couples pay for two people). I dont understand splitting the common areas - as they are common (i.e. everyone uses them). It shouldnt be complicated!

That was the logic my planning friend used.... that we are using all of the space, and what a space it is! A huge villa with an infinity pool and a hot tub, etc. And at the end of the day it is still way cheaper than a hotel!!!!!

Another couple of options:

Whoever does the accounting gets the best room(or first dibs on choice of room).

Grocery shopping: When I was flat-sharing, we kept a running account on the kitchen noticeboard of what we had spent on common/shared items, and just totted it up at the end of the month, divided the total equally and arranged the consequent equalising payments then and there. That still allowed for people to buy Marmite (or whatever) without those who hated it having to pay for it, and without everyone trailing round the supermarket shopping by committee (it can be quite amusing to spot the people who've just moved into a flatshare doing just that - I never see them do it more than once).

PatrickLondon: I've done it that way as well--and for flat sharing over an extended period/semi-permanent makes sense. especially as everyone settles into a sort of 'normal practice'/routine.

For just a one-week's holiday rental though - I think the grocery kitty is just neater.

For dividing the grocery money and any other common expenses, we write our name on the receipt and stick it in an envelope. Then, at the end of the trip, my husband makes a big Excel spreadsheet, lists all these expenses, and divides them up. People who didn't do any grocery shopping have to pay up. Fortunately we can trust them to do so.

And we have everybody pay up front for the whole cost of the villa and any rental cars. We put that money in a separate villa account. If anybody backs out, they/we either find a replacement or they lose their money. We've all committed and it's not fair to have to pay more than we committed to.