How would you split this holiday rental?

[TheTwirlyPoos]

2 families away for a week. 4 bedrooms one of which is downstairs. All rooms have one double bed in.

Family one - DH, DW, 6 year old, 3 year old.

Family two - DH, DW, 15 month old.

We are interested in your thoughts!

2 rooms each
I'd suggest the youngest has the downstairs room so they can be checked on easily during the evening and not disturbing others in the morning.

I think the parents with the early riser need to be downstairs as they’ll be the ones up in the am and needing access to kitchen, lounge, etc.

But I think all children should sleep upstairs (early riser parents could bring 15 month old down with them if waking during the night).

Otherwise, the grownups will need to be quiet in the evenings to avoid waking up downstairs sleeping child). Having done this sort of set up many times, it’s a real pain and a source of frustration and resentment when you are the parent who spends all evening re-settling your child because loud tipsy grownups keep braying on the other side of the wall.

I’d personally put the baby downstairs- they’re presumably going to be in a travel cot so unlike the older ones can’t escape and go for a nocturnal wander and it avoids them waking anyone else except their parents who can bring the baby monitor. Unless the parents think that noise in the evening is going to be a big issue? I would have thought with those ages bedtimes are likely to be around the same time and then I’m sure the adults can control themselves keep it down 🤣 Just ask them though, hopefully you’ll find a bedroom arrangement everyone is happy with.

Cost of house 25 percent per room used. If family 1 is using 3 rooms they pay 3/4 of cost. However I'd go 50/50 on food to compensate.

I'd hate the downstairs bedroom because it means whoever has it can't go to bed/sleep untill others vacate and I like to go to bed quite early.

I'd worry more about not being able to get to bed early because either you or your DH was still up.

If other family agree to sleep downstairs will your DC be getting up and going down at the crack of dawn?

Not really an issue, no one is particularly early to bed and no one is particularly raucous.

@caringcarer DS gets up at six but that's a lot later than their toddler.

But will you be up at 6 dealing with your toddler meaning it more difficult for them to take their 14 mo the old back into their bed or would you keep DS upstairs until they get up. Whoever sleeps downstairs gets less privacy and will feel obliged to go to bed and get up at times to suit others.

How does the downstairs room compare to the others? Is it an en-suite? I would have wanted my child in with me at that age, but would have felt hard done by if squashed into an inferior downstairs room! If it was one room for us v three rooms for you, then I’d have wanted the largest room!

One of them always gets up with their toddler (or feeds her back to sleep) but they are always up by five, half five at latest. One then stays in bed. The downstairs bedroom will probably have more noise from the living area in the morning but that would surely make sense for the people up first? That's how we did it when ours were tiny, so we could disturb people least.

Anyway, I'll talk to them. X

@Onemoretimeok thats exactly how I'd view it (not saying they will or should too!) I've asked for the floor plan just to be totally clear. I susoect my friend will be very uncomfortable with a lack of stair gates which I've just thought of.

You definitely need to talk to them.

I absolutely would not share a room with 15 month DS for a week, but he was a pretty good sleeper so actually we probably would have been ok with him in the bedroom downstairs and us upstairs with a baby monitor.

If I was close enough to another family to spend a week sharing the same space I would be splitting it 50/50

50:50 because life's too short.