Family Reunion: fair, just, or equitable? Or all three?

Post date: 2021-08-02 11:59:00

Our family of cousins and second cousins gets together for five nights every three years. Usually we do this in a place with a common gathering area and kitchen. The reunion fund pays for the common area and for the ingredients for dinner. Everyone pays for their own motel/hotel room. In lean years, some people (me) have stayed in nearby campgrounds.

We form up into family teams for cooking and cleanup each night. During the day we take in local attractions and in the evening we play cards and board games, visit, drink adult beverages, tease the little kids, and generally solidify our familial connections with each other. We've been doing this since about 1971 and we love it. If you marry into the family, you get the reunion. Be warned.

This year, my sister and I are in charge of the reunion in Southern California. We have not been able to find.a suitable common area in a hotel or resort and we have taken a large (7 bedroom) fancy-pants house for the week. It will house a little over half of us. The rest (another 15-20) will stay in a nearby, inexpensive motel.
The fund will pay for the house upfront and each participant/family will reimburse their share.

How do we determine their share?

Here are the rooms:
1: King bed/ bath (master suite)
2: Queen bed/bath
3: Queen bed/bath
4: Queen bed, twin bed, and a twin-over-full bunk bed (sleeps 5-6). Bath shared with room 7
5: Full-over-full Bunk bed / bath. (Sleeps 2-4)
6: Twin daybed with trundle, (sleeps 2)
7: Full sized bed shared/bath shared with room 4. (Sleeps 1-2)
Studio: Queen bed, bunk bed , and daybed, sleeps 5. Includes kitchenette, bathroom, separate living room.

How do we price this? Per person, per bed, per room?
Do we model it after motels and change a basic rate for a single queen or king bed and add a percentage for additional beds/people? What percentage is fair?

If a queen sized motel room costs $100 a night, do we charge 110 for a king and 80 for a double and 25 for each bunk bed?

I am looking for fair charges that will be manageable for families. The fund will cover whatever we don't charge but we are not looking to subsidize free vacations for everyone. Where do I start with this?

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