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?

I'm quoting myself because I'm incensed on your behalf 😂

It really is an absolute cheek for people with a larger room and an ensuite bathroom, to expect people to pay the same price as them for a smaller room and a shared bathroom.

They will say "oh, but it's not like we will have a more luxurious stay: we are sharing that extra bedroom space with two children, and that bathroom is also shared between are four people, two of whom are kids. We'd trade places with you any day!".

To which the only sensible, reasonable response is: yeah but they're YOUR children! You chose to have them, not us!

As the parent of two children, I'd feel like a freeloading chancer trying to push for this. There's no way they can not know they're asking for a free ride. And as for subbing food for children (oh I'd never deny any child food): <hollow laugh> been there and done that. Be VERY sure you know what you're letting yourself in for. It's never just "oh they'll only eat a small side portion of chips".

The last group holiday I did the kids counted a half, so family 1 & 2 would each pay for 3 people, family 3 for 2.5 and the 2 couples as 2 each. So (total cost/12.5)*people in party.

I would also say no to the 6th room. If they want it then they should pay an additional cost for that as well. It’s only a weekend they should be able to cope with no overspill space for that long.

Book elsewhere or don’t go. A hotel that does family rooms might be a preferable option with everyone paying for own room.

Alternatively, the two couples without kids get two of the nicer larger ensuite rooms.
The rest of them can use airbeds and fight it out between themselves as after all they are already subbing the families with children by paying for all the food and then having the smallest bedrooms and sharing a bathroom.

I would price each room, including the spare, individually (so big ensuite room more expensive than small double with no ensuite) and then ask each family which room they would like to purchase.

Seeing the ages of the kids you're definitely mad to be subsidising the food shop for them. There will be snacks and extras a-plenty. Maybe split the cost of main meals between adults only, but anything they want that isn't accounted for by adult main meals, they bring themselves.

And as for paying £550 for 2 nights in a self catered double with no bathroom... You could go to a super-nice luxury hotel and have B&B for less than that.

If you are all paying the same, then it should go:

Family Room 1: Family 5
Family Room 2: Family 4
Family Room 3: Family 2
Double 1: Family 3
Double 2: Family 1
6th Room: 2 kids with a blowup for the last child

If the childless adults are paying the same for both accommodation and food, and more than what they need to and thus subsidising the others they should get the best rooms.

The 2 parts of your post are at odds with each other! You're allocating the families the 'best' rooms (bigger, with en suites) and then saying the couples should have the best rooms.

If the couples have the 'best' rooms, the children have nowhere to sleep, so the house only works if the families have the best rooms. And they should definitely pay accordingly.

I've been away with families before (as a child-free couple) and costs for rooms have always factored in children, whether they were in the same room or not. Family units (however they are made up) should pay for what they use.

The one time we did a family weekend away - 2 couples without kids, 1 single adult, one couple with 2 preteens - we all booked into a hotel & paid for ourselves. So much simpler.

Thoughts? Step away now 😳

Of course the child free couples shouldn’t pay the same as the parents of kids!!

They are already thoroughly saintly going on hol with all those kids. Unless family.

I bet you anything the couple with 1 kid will put that kid in the ‘spare’ room so that they get some alone time in their luxury king size suite….

This scenario sounds like a guaranteed recipe for arguments, tears, tantrums fall-outs & ruined friendships. You are either very brave, or a bit of a masochist, to take on the role of organiser.

Keep us posted on how it goes, OP!

Group holidays in large houses always end up causing problems that last for months afterwards. I would only consider going away with different families if everyone had their own chalet, caravan, villa . So much less hassle than sharing a kitchen, bathroom,living room . I certainly wouldn't want to pay the same as someone else and then suck up having a room with twin beds ,no private bathroom and overlooking the parking when someone else gets a big room, ensuite and eats all the breakfast stuff I've brought without bringing a share

The couples with the en-suites pay more - simple.

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.

which is why splitting the bill by adult / couple is extremely unfair.

either split it by heads (counting kids half or full) or simply agree that the families with children will pay 0.5 more than those without children. Which seems fairer to me seeing as the family with one child seems to occupy the same kind of room as the families with two children but also makes the whole thing much more complicated.

anyhow:
seeing as the food bill is split by adults - which is already very generous - you should probably split the costs by person and count each child separately (and not as half).

Families 4 and 5 are the couples, right? So they get two of the bigger, ensuite rooms.

Family 2 has 2 kids, sleeps in the other ensuite with their kids.

Family 1 has 2 kids: adults sleep in double, kids sleep in twin.

Family 3's adults sleep in double, kid sleeps in twin room on blow-up.

So the two childless families get the better rooms, along with one of the 2-kid families. How is this contradictory?

The parents who however has the sixth room should have a double not the king size ensuite.

Absolutely do not pay for the kids food! That'll be a fortune in itself, snacks, fruit, juice!

You're going to need to be polite but assertive. The sixth room is ridiculous- I'd work out a charge per room dependent on the size, en suite etc, then everyone pays for their own room.

There is another way to deal with this. A system used by some students when choosing rooms in a shared house : Starting with the best room and ending with the least desirable, each couple/family bids for a room and the room goes to the highest bidder.
I am another one that feels the holiday won’t get off to a good start and you would be better with hotel rooms.

Of course the families should pay more OP but that's not the point. They're CFs and this will reflect in other things like the shop.. adding all sorts of expensive rubbish for the children.

When I've been on holidays like this. No charge for the kids' portion of the main food. But parents paid extra for things only their kid would eat like snacks etc.

3 of those families have kids. It's supposed to be a holiday. Each of them is secretly thinking they'll offload their kids into the spare room so they can have sex without the kids there in the family room with them. All hell will break loose when it's discovered they weren't the only one to have that idea. 5 kids divided by 2 spare beds equals arguments!

Would love to be together and value that and financially it wouldn't be an issue, but it also wouldn't be fair. This is an event that would be likely to happen again in the future too, and if we split by couples now, it will keep going that way.
In addition to that, we go on holidays/weekends away with multiple friends with kids who have always offered to pay their fair share which has always felt right for all parties. It doesn't seem right to me that we would pay for some of our friends' kids and not others.

That's significantly more than the couples would be paying using the cheaper accommodation options OP mentioned: Even leaving children out altogether, a straight split of such a house would see each couple paying only 275, with possibly more comfort.