Villa split between childfree couples and families

[Adrianne1234]

Trying to organise a long weekend away (2 nights) with a group of friends for autumn and this is the group split:

Family 1: 2 adults & 2 kids
Family 2: 2 adults & 2 kids
Family 3: 2 adults & 1 kid
Family 4: 2 adults
Family 5: 2 adults

We don't seem to agree on how the total price would be split. The house has 6 bedrooms. 3 family rooms (king beds + single beds) with ensuite bathrooms, 2 standard double rooms and 1 room with 2 single beds for "extra space" (6th room is not claimed by anyone but deemed necessary by the parents to have additional space).

2/3 families seem to think the total bill should be split by couple, without considering the kids.
1/3 families and the 2 adults families think that the families should pay more because despite everyone technically occupying 1 room, some rooms are family rooms.

To state the significance of this, if we wanted to find accommodation for 10 adults, the price per couple would be around half the one we are paying to have a place that can accomodate all the kids/has the right sort of family rooms.

If it was to be split by couple, price would be £550 per couple, which seems pretty steep for families without kids (that also end up getting the crappier rooms).

Food bills will be split amongst adults so kids won't pay for that which has been agreed by everyone.

Thoughts?

this entire scenario is the entire polar opposite of when my friends went away for a weekend with a mix of couples and families

and it was WONDERFUL and we’re repeating this year

Probably counting children as 0.5, although don't agree in principle with the spare room either but would happily close an eye on that.
Happy to pay for kids food and drink
Overall would be flexible, just a bit surprised by them pretending the fair option is for everyone to pay the same amount really

Adults counting as one and DC as half does sound the easiest way and I think this should extended to food also and adults supply their own alcohol.

Adults counting as one and DC as half does sound the easiest way and I think this should extended to food also and adults supply their own alcohol.

Good-don’t cave! It’s taking the piss of those with families to dictate everything and except you to suck up the same costs! It’s taking the piss even more that they can’t see a problem with this!

I would say a fair price would be £430 per child free couple, and £630 per family. I don’t know why, but to me that would seem fair 🤷‍♀️

I would say a fair price would be £430 per child free couple, and £630 per family. I don’t know why, but to me that would seem fair 🤷‍♀️

That does sound fair.

Your view seems more than fair to me.

I think it’s really problematical that two of the families don’t agree and want their accommodation subsidised together with children’s food costs. Plus the additional spare room.

You’re all not on the same page with this so I really don’t think it’s going to work at all. Actually I would be disappointed with my friends wanting to take advantage in this way.

When we’ve done it, we have just split it equally between couples regardless of whether they had kids or how many and what that meant in terms of accommodation.

There were discussions the first time we did it with kids in the mix, when only 2 couples had children, they offered to pay more, but thankfully no one was bothered so there wasn’t an issue. It would have put me off going if anyone was bothered and I say that as someone that didn’t have kids for a while when others in the group did.

We all wanted the others there so we needed accommodation of a certain size and we didn’t/don’t spend much time in our rooms for it to matter.

It’s different in your case as people do have an issue with it. I’d just not go because I couldn’t be arsed with this with friends.

The house in question doesn’t really have enough beds in one room for the family of 4. They need the 2nd room.

They also need that 2nd room to be in reasonable proximity to their room, so in a large house, it just being the worst, smallest room might not work.

when we got to this stage, we found it much easier to look for things like groups of cabins or bungalows on a larger site where everyone had their own space.

The family rooms have a king bed and 2 single beds each so that is enough for the families of 4 space wise

Agree on cabins/bungalows sounding much easier, something to bring up for sure

Slightly jealous but happy for you :-)

What does the 6th room being labelled as ‘extra space’ mean? If one of the families with kids decides that actually they will put a kid or two in there then they need to say that upfront and pay for the room.

How old are the DC, I’m thinking the families may be planning on some of their DC staying in the sixth room?

Treating kids as 0.5 seems the best. If they were all in separate rooms then something closer to per head would be better, but since they’re sharing with parents (and parents don’t therefore get a nice room to themselves like they have at home, but are sharing with their offspring albeit in larger en-suite rooms) 0.5 seems fair.

If you say a per family split is £550 each then the total house is £2750.

Using a 0.5 kids split:
Family 1: 2 adults & 2 kids - £660
Family 2: 2 adults & 2 kids - £660
Family 3: 2 adults & 1 kid - £550
Family 4: 2 adults - £440
Family 5: 2 adults - £440

If you took another approach and asked the larger families (assuming it’s them who are wanting it?) to split the cost of the “necessary” spare room, and did the cost per room, then you’d get:

Family 1: 2 adults & 2 kids - £687
Family 2: 2 adults & 2 kids - £687
Family 3: 2 adults & 1 kid - £458
Family 4: 2 adults - £458
Family 5: 2 adults - £458

or splitting the spare room through all families with children:

Family 1: 2 adults & 2 kids - £611
Family 2: 2 adults & 2 kids - £611
Family 3: 2 adults & 1 kid - £611
Family 4: 2 adults - £458
Family 5: 2 adults - £458

Often the reasoning on doing it by family is that it’s not just the bedrooms - everyone is benefitting from more lounge space, bigger garden, shared areas etc. But you wouldn’t have needed them to be as big if it weren’t for all the kids.

I realise this isn't the point of the thread but as someone without small DC and cannot think of anything more hideous than spending two nights away with other people and their offspring and being charged £550 for the room only!

And then subsidising the food on top?

I imagine you could get a lovely childfree hotel with dinner included for far less than that price. It seems mega expensive to me.

The families with two kids pay 650, couples pay 450 and the family with one child pays 550.
I would also stipulate that the shared bathroom be used just for the four adults without children. Any kids in the sixth bedroom should use their parents' bathroom.

No way on earth would I go away and share a bathroom with another couple! And certainly not at that price. And very certainly not at for the same price as people with an en suite (frankly, it's a cheek even expecting that).

I also think you should reconsider "kids eat for free". At that age, there is a LOT of wasteage on holiday, which is normal for parents but tends to come as a shock to child-free adults. Parents on holiday often like to take short cuts like (expensive) processed food which may or may not get eaten, options in case this or that child doesn't like what everyone else is eating etc etc. It's just easier than what they do at home, which is nag and cajole etc, and the parents will want that break. Don't assume all the kids will just eat a smaller portion of what you're eating. It can easily add up to more than you pay for yourself.

Sorry but I just don't think this set up works for this group dynamic (it also sounds hellish to me). I would be going to a resort where you all have your own bill for your own accommodation and your own food and drink. There is such a thing as too much togetherness.

I just don’t think I’d bother . £550 for 2 nights with a shared bathroom and other people’s kids during the day sounds like hell . At a push I’d go for 2 properties one for the people with kids and one for the 2 couples and the cost of the property being split by the people staying in it .

This

This! Arguments have started already and that's before the nightmare sounding "holiday" involving child free adults being stuck in a house with five screaming kids 🤣

🤔 I'd split it per bed / sleeping space.

So it's £££ ÷ 17.

The cuples pay 2/17 each,
Family with 2 children 4/17 + 1/3 for the extra bedroom.

Family with 1 child 3/17 + 1/3 for the bedroom.

Complex but fair if you ask me.
... and in future, avoid this kind of mess!!

This is what we did when we went away in a similar group. I think it's the fairest.

Though even doing that way which is more ‘fair’, paying £450 for two nights for a standard double with no en suite sounds a bit steep to me!

I think I’d rather do somewhere just for adults where I get my own bathroom at that price ;)