USVI-On-Line

Our next trip is in August. There will be 4 adults (2 couples) and a 5th, my sister, is thinking of joining us. Each couple will have a bedroom and my sister will get the third bedroom if she comes. The bedrooms are all equal.

How would you split the cost? We did this before with two couples and one single and I can't remember for the life of me how we split the cost.

If it were a hotel, obviously my sister would be paying the same price as each of the couples, but we're not going to make her pay 1/3...but 1/5 seems kind of low.

What do you think?

If she's going to get an equal share of the villa (her own bedroom), I'd divide the villa cost by 3, but everything else (like groceries) by 5.

we split 5 ways with a similar mix of people. one per had an equal bedroom to herself with her own bath. everyone was agreeable to that so that is how it went.

We've always had a single in our group trips and we've divided the cost per person knowing that she wouldn't be able to afford it if we made her pay the same as the couples going. We do give her the smallest/least choice bedroom (usually with twin beds anyway) or one year she had to share a bathroom with another couple who also who were willing to get a small reduction in price to offset the inconvenience. You could also have your sister pay for ferry tickets, buy the booze or pay for a special meal to compensate the others in the group. It all depends on whether your group is a bunch of number-conscious accountants more interested in everything being completely even or whether they are party people more interested in including her and having a good time.

When not a strict "couples thing" we would divide by the number of people, in this case, 5.

We had the same situation in March and divided by 3. A lot of rates are based on # of bedrooms. At dinners, it was divided up couple/couple/single.

California Girl wrote:If she's going to get an equal share of the villa (her own bedroom), I'd divide the villa cost by 3, but everything else (like groceries) by 5.

question if sis did not go would you rent same place?

If so 1/5 cost for villa

We are in a similar situation- 2 couples, one single, and my 2 children are free of charge (Phew). We are dividing by 5 as we understand that the single earns well below us as couples and otherwise could not afford to come.
However, if your sister may decide to bring someone with her (friend or otherwise) than 1/3 is appropriate.

We had 5 last year, 2 couples and a single

We contacted the villa rep and asked if they would give us the 4 person rate for 5 people and they agreed, so it worked out well for everyone. If they had not given us the discount, we still would have divided it by 5, we agreed to that ahead of time and it was a better deal then just rented 2 bedrooms


The 2 bedroom rate is 2550 and the 3 bedroom rate is 2800.
2 couples at 2 bedroom rate is 637.50 a person
5 people at 3 bedroom rate $560.00 a person

It depends on your travel group - if everyone is close and your sister is known to the other other couple and they agree to a 5 way split then that would be best for your sister. However if your sister isn't known to the group then to be fair I would say you need to split the villa by 3.

Just put it to a vote. Who's for splitting 5 ways?

Teresa - yes - she's your sister
Sister - yes - duh
2 guys - yes - Small premium for a 50% more female-age around the pool.... no brainer.

1 gal - maybe yes/ maybe no

Tally the votes - Minimum of 4 yay vs max 1 nay.
There's your democratic answer.

Pia wrote:I agree with California Girl - villa by 3

I agree with Pia and California Girl...divide the villa be 3. As for food...we do that by person...$100.00 each usually for the week...

We always do per person. Laura

1) I wish Steve S was my math teacher when I was in school.
2) I'd go with the family discount and give her the 1/5th rate...if you're sharing the groceries and the car and other stuff like a charter boat...I'd just do one big total and divide it by 5.

When you add it all up, there's less focus on who got an entire room or who drank the most beers or who woke up at 3am and polished off all the Milanos cookies...hey don't judge. Sleep eating is real.