Splitting costs what's fair?

[nancyr84]

We have reserved a Villa for next May. The original plan was my husband and myself, his sister and husband and 15year old son. We had planned to split the cost of the villa in half with them. We would get the master bedroom so it seemed fair to us. Now we found out their other grown child and girlfriend are also planning on coming.No mention of them contributing any money. It's akward mentioning this to them .Their financial situation I'd much better than ours . It's leaving me with an uncomfortable feeling. What's everyone think

[lprof]

Three adult couples... split the costs three ways.
Will the villa cost more with two additional people... are you making the arrangements? If yes, inform them of the increase and a new split.
Not as easy as my typing, I know. Hope it will work out for you.

[djmom]

I agree. It also completely changes the dynamics of the vacation. Will the price for the villa change? In that case it would make it very easy to bring it up.

P.S. It's your husband's job to bring it up

[nancyr84]

Price of Villa stays the same. Should have mentioned that.

[lprof]

I'm still seeing it in terms of thirds... one third for you, two thirds for them... space, usage, fees. And the 15 year old is a lucky card... not even counted.
Just not as easy to bring up.

[bdkane]

I also agree - Id opt to split it three ways, one way I have dealt with the uncomfortable factor is be sure to share the bill/invoice with them in advance... as well as include any correspondence from the villa management company-especially those stating cost! As far as the master bedroom situation - I always break out Rick G's rules! http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/f ... hp?t=11927

rule#3. You get to pick your room in the order that you pay. I've already paid the deposit, so I go first. This deals with the equal rooms problem and #1 deals with whiners.

I always pay the deposit

[chicagoans]

I agree with the others above on splitting by thirds (and the other folks should have offered that up!)

FWIW: our next trip we have a 5 bedroom for 7 people: 2 couples plus our combined 3 kids. The other couple (1 kid) planned to pay half, and we said no we'd pay 4/7 and they could be 3/7. Sounds like splitting hairs but I'm just trying to be fair to them. The other option would be paying by bedroom: our 3/5 to their 2/5.

I also agree that you should bring this up in advance. Something like, "Hey great to hear that [names] can make it! The villa pricing will be $xx for each couple (no charge for your son.) We should also talk about how we want to handle grocery expenses. What are your thoughts?"

Also since someone mentioned RickG's rules... is couple #3 getting their own car? (Most important, do you have your own car?) I don't like being tied to someone else's schedule. And you'll want to make sure there is parking for 3 vehicles if that's what your group will have.

[nancyr84]

I made the arrangements and made deposit which they gave me half of. The Villa has 3 equal size bedrooms and one smaller one. Three bathrooms.

[djmom]

Perfect! I agree with the others " the villa has three equal bedrooms for each couple, so we divide the price by three... but we wouldn't dream of charging extra for (insert teenager name here), he'll get his own bedroom but it isn't quite as nice as the one for all the couples."

And agree with the jeep issue too.

[PA Girl]

I love djmom's wording and I agree, split the cost by adult bedrooms.

We sort of almost ran into this with friends that want to come along on a future trip. They assumed their would only pay for themselves and their college aged kids and friends wouldn't be included in the head count because "they will sleep on the couch or floor"

I explained it doesn't work that way on STJ and they haven't brought it up since.

[dhanc1]

Aside from the cost issue, I would be a little (ok a lot) perturbed that someone would just decide to invite additoinal guests without first getting an ok from the others involved in the trip. Additional and unexpected individuals can change the whole dynamic of a trip and put stress and strain on a trip you may have been anticipating for some time. I know these are your friends and I am the last one to give advice as I avoid confrontations with a passion. Usually though I put them off so long that by the time I address the issue, I am madder than the situation calls for. You might want to go ahead and bring the subject up sooner than later. I'm also wondering if you are more upset over the addition of additional guests without your approval or the cost. Both are worthy of a good hissy fit though IMO.

[EagleRayLover]

I agree with everyone's post but you may actually be able to start the conversation by sending them A copy of Rick's rules. That brings up a lot of topics that you can have an open discussion about - hint hint all of your concerns mentioned already- villa, jeeps. It can also bring up the sometimes touchy subject of money for villa food or alcohol which Rick address so well by having everyone pitch in the $100 up front. You could do this as a little dinner date / planning party if you all live close enough or a Skype rum party- make it low key initially and see where it goes! You" ll know the vibe right away, but let us know how it goes! We are going with two newbie couples in October and we have had no problems at all planning everything out thus far!

[stjchica]

Might as well deal with it now, because are you going to also split the car and groceries? We usually do.