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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

How would you split the holiday costs

105 replies

wandererofthekingdom · 28/05/2025 15:59

How would you split costs for this holiday.
Large holiday home split between three families.
Family 1
2 adults, 3 kids aged 11 15 and 17 will take 3 bedrooms

Family 2
2 adults, 2 kids aged 8 and 14 will take 2 bedrooms

Family 3
2 adults, 2 kids aged 5 and 9 will take 2 bedrooms

How would you split both the house rental cost and the big food shop cost?

OP posts:

Alongthetowpath · 30/05/2025 07:39

We go away with in laws sometimes with a similar set up.

We split cost according to room - it is no more complicated a calculation than just splitting the ways, you can use a calculator, it’s not like you’re being asked to work it out on an abacus!

For the food, we find everyone has such different dietary and cost requirements and foods they just can’t do without for a week it’s actually a nightmare coordinating it into one order.

So each family just brings/gets delivered their own contribution towards breakfast and lunches, which everyone shares with everyone else, and undertakes to cook one or two meals each, which they again bring the ingredients for.

It works really well - everyone gets the food they enjoy, no quibbling over who paid for what, everyone tends to buy a bit more generously so there is loads of food and drink, everyone can shop within their own budget, and nobody feels secretly resentful because they had to do all the online shopping/ are subsidising lots of expensive protein yoghurts that nobody in their family eats/ they are having to put up with strawberry jam because nobody else likes blackcurrant/ the tea bags are the wrong brand.

greengreyblue · 30/05/2025 07:40

Hatty65 · 28/05/2025 16:00

Probably I'd divide by 7 - the number of rooms being used. Family one pay 3/7th of the cost and the other two families both pay 2/7th.

Seems fairest.

This

Cornishclio · 30/05/2025 07:41

Family 1 should pay more. Families 2 and 3 more or less the same. Each family pays for themselves if eating out. 3/7 for family 1 and 2/7 for families 2 and 3. Food should probably be split more to reflect the fact family 1 has older teenagers so they should pay 50% of food bill and the other 2 families 25% each.

Ellmau · 30/05/2025 07:43

Rental by room, food by person. I don't think I could be bothered calculating age/amount of food and drink likely to be consumed.

greengreyblue · 30/05/2025 07:44

I need a holiday reading this thread. Next time, travel with your own family and spend your own money on yourselves! Sorted!

Spacehop · 30/05/2025 08:09

I'd do 3:2:2 for the rooms but more on food for the family with teens - they eat more than adults!

ACR7 · 30/05/2025 08:31

If it was a groups of close friends/family I’d just split the cost in 3. The food is swings and roundabouts. Even though we are a small family we like our food/wine so would definitely get our share of whatever we paid even if it was more than another family.

LadyLapsang · 30/05/2025 08:34

Were I family one I would offer to pay more, but were I family 2 or 3, I would suggest a three way split. I’ve never done this, either we have treated adult children (now they split or treat us sometimes) or when DC was young have met up with friends abroad but each paid for own accommodation. They key point is not to ruin your friendship through lack of clarity, pettiness or resentment.

Seventree · 30/05/2025 08:47

It depends who it was to be honest. The fairest way is by room, and that's what I'd do if I was going away with friends (providing we'd chosen somewhere with that number of rooms because they'd said they needed the extra space, if they were just making use of a spare room I wouldn't mind at all).

If it was very close friends or family, we'd just split by family.

CannotWaitForSummervibes · 30/05/2025 08:55

House: Divide by 7, pay for the number of rooms.
Food: agree on an adult price and child price. All kids over the age of 11 or 12 are counted as adults (because they will eat as adults).

2thumbs · 30/05/2025 11:05

Has the accommodation been booked/paid for? If so, was the method for splitting the costs discussed in advance/factored into the booking?

Seems fairest/most pragmatic to split all costs per person, otherwise you could (depending on the types of people involved) descend into a never ending tit-for-tat.

BrownieBlondie01 · 30/05/2025 11:14

I would just split it all equally, maybe with family 1 putting in slightly more for the food shop.

GranTeton4 · 30/05/2025 12:02

By room so divide by 7, same with food.

Toohardtofindaproperusername · 30/05/2025 12:20

by rooms for hire of accom. very differently for food. family one will eat like adults, family 3 will probably hardly consume anything and i probably wouldn't even count them, or at least minimally.

Goditsmemargaret · 30/05/2025 13:35

3:2:2

EmmaStone · 30/05/2025 13:41

Equally 3 ways. If you care enough about these people to be sharing your holiday with them, you’ll be happy that there is likely to be some give and take. Older teens may eat more, but can help out with the younger ones etc.

We do A LOT of group holidays, and we’ve always just split the cost equally - getting a bigger house is cheaper than each family having an individual house, you usually get better amenities for the price, so all in, it’s pretty good value.

DaisyChain505 · 30/05/2025 13:56

Split by room. Family having three rooms pays more.

For food, each family pays X amount PP towards a shopping budget.

There are no really young kids who wouldn’t be eating much at all and any kid over 5 can eat just as much some times even more than an adult!

mrsm43s · 30/05/2025 15:10

If I like them enough to go on holiday with them, I'd just split in 3rds.

FWIW, I actually think teens will be cheaper to feed (at holiday home) than the younger children, as they'll likely just eat what the adults are eating, rather than being in the fussy eating stage and expecting special, expensive kid friendly snacks and meals to be bought and prepared.

When eating out, I'd expect each family to order and pay for their own.

MounjaroMounjaro · 30/05/2025 15:27

I put it into ChatGpt and got some good answers, OP. Too long to paste in here, though. Give it a go?

Spirallingdownwards · 30/05/2025 15:35

Split house 3:2:2 so 3/7 and 2/7 share.

Split food as those over 10 = adults full share
those under 10 = child half share

so room 1 = 5 full shares
room 2 = 3.5 shares
room 3 = 2 plus 2 x 0.5 = 3 shares

So food is 5/11. , 3.5/11.5 and 3/11.5

TheFunHare · 30/05/2025 17:13

Amazed at the number of people saying family 1 should pay 3/7. Assume the house costs £4900 then family 1 end up paying £2100 whilst family 2&3 pay £1400 each. Does that seriously sound fair?? Genuine question...we have that same situation and I'd never ask that the bigger family pay proportionally that much more.

BIossomtoes · 30/05/2025 19:34

Of course it’s fair, it’s based on the number of bedrooms they’re using. Just like a hotel.

TheFunHare · 30/05/2025 21:56

BIossomtoes · 30/05/2025 19:34

Of course it’s fair, it’s based on the number of bedrooms they’re using. Just like a hotel.

But it's not a hotel, it's a holiday rental. It's unlikely that all the bedrooms will be the same. Why should the kid stuck in a box room sharing a bathroom pay double the price of an adult sharing an ensuite king with their partner. Similarly they won't be using twice the amount of communal space as an adult - but they are paying for it.

Nobivucy · 30/05/2025 21:58

A third each. Couldn’t be arsed splitting any other way for the sake of one extra person.

Whenhesbad · 30/05/2025 22:02

Accommodation 3:2:2

Food 4:3:3

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