theDIBB Guidebook

**pchivvy** · 8 Apr 12, 01:56 PM

My husband and I were discussing a future holiday where we stayed with some family members (Aunt and Uncle) and it then led to an interesting discussion around costs so wondered how you all did things.

The situation would be:

2 of us, and my aunt and uncle. Now in the past when they have come with us, we have had a villa which has always been easier for them as they won't drive out there. Also, much cheaper of course by the time you split costs.

Now we have bought into DVC we would want to stay in this accommodation, however there would be a significant increase in 'cost' to us if we had a studio which then had to be increased to a 2 bed unit instead (wouldn't want them sleeping in the lounge due to lack of privacy).

Now do you not charge them anything, charge them the difference between the 'cost' of a one bedroom unit and the two bedroom unit (we would all have the use of the lounge so don't think its fair to charge an upgrade from the studio unit), or do something else entirely? In theory, option 2 sounds the most sensible, but I know that the 'cost' of this could be still substantially more than they have paid in the past.

Alternatively, they could stay somewhere else onsite, a value for example, but from what I can see the costs would be similar to the 'upgrade' charge.

Your thoughts, past experiences? :pop:

**loadsapixiedust** · 8 Apr 12, 03:25 PM

If you have split costs in the past then I presume they will expect to make some contribution. It's tricky to calculate with DVC whether to charge them just the cost of annual dues on the extra points used or the cost of renting the equivalent points. Would you be using points you'd otherwise be renting or do you have excess points you need to use?

We took DD and her partner last year which meant upgrading from studios to 2 beds. It didn't occur to us to make any charge as they are family and we invited them along. They'd never have stayed in Deluxe accommodation otherwise. As we'd just bought DVC we had 2 years points to play with so I didn't view it as a loss more a one off opportunity to share our good fortune and give them a treat.

I think you need to be careful you are not potentially putting your relatives in an uncomfortable position where they feel obliged to pay for accommodation they wouldn't normally choose and which may be way out of their budget. I assume if you are comfortable holidaying with them you are close enough to have a frank discussion about the costs involved and their preferences about accommodation. Maybe you should split your stay, you could treat them to a DVC stay and they could treat you to a villa stay?

evergreen · 8 Apr 12, 03:40 PM

if I had enough points I would suggest them renting from you to have there own studio, if not price up other resorts such as ssr with free ddp,
I would definitely expect something from them, as you didnt buy dvc with view to luxury hoildays for others,

**pchivvy** · 8 Apr 12, 03:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by loadsapixiedust

If you have split costs in the past then I presume they will expect to make some contribution. It's tricky to calculate with DVC whether to charge them just the cost of annual dues on the extra points used or the cost of renting the equivalent points. Would you be using points you'd otherwise be renting or do you have excess points you need to use?We would be banking them for our use the year after

We took DD and her partner last year which meant upgrading from studios to 2 beds. It didn't occur to us to make any charge as they are family and we invited them along. Agreed, I wouldn't charge my kids either, but my aunt and uncle have always split costs with us in the past and would certainly expect to be paying something.They'd never have stayed in Deluxe accommodation otherwise. As we'd just bought DVC we had 2 years points to play with so I didn't view it as a loss more a one off opportunity to share our good fortune and give them a treat.

I think you need to be careful you are not potentially putting your relatives in an uncomfortable position where they feel obliged to pay for accommodation they wouldn't normally choose and which may be way out of their budget.Whilst the money isn't a problem, they are quite careful with their money and wouldn't pay out the normal costs associated with staying on site. I assume if you are comfortable holidaying with them you are close enough to have a frank discussion about the costs involved and their preferences about accommodation. Maybe you should split your stay, you could treat them to a DVC stay and they could treat you to a villa stay?

One of the nice things about staying onsite though would be that we wouldn't have to drive them around, as they do tend to be totally reliant upon us when we are off site. As much as I love them, it is nice to have a little 'us time' here and there too. Its just about finding a happy medium between calculating a reasonable cost for both sides without them over paying and us contributing too much. I did also think about maybe just asking them to pay for QSDP for the two of us instead?

**pchivvy** · 8 Apr 12, 03:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by evergreen

if I had enough points I would suggest them renting from you to have there own studio, if not price up other resorts such as ssr with free ddp,
I would definitely expect something from them, as you didnt buy dvc with view to luxury hoildays for others,

I did look at this but the cost of a studio is still more than they would normally pay.

I do agree with your second paragraph, its just difficult deciding how to work out a happy compromise.

**°o°-Hannah-°o°** · 8 Apr 12, 03:53 PM

i'm sorry but if it were me and my family were expecting me to foot the bill for needing bigger accomodation that i only need as they are joining us... it is an awkward situation yes, and if you can afford to have the excess then fair enough

i'd offer up some options:
the cost of another onsite option
the cost of them having their own studio
and the cost of the upgraded room

personally i'd work on a £ per point basis but aas they're family not charge the price you can sell for, or alternatively work out how much you could sell those extra points for

we've had a trip where my fil came along, he wanted to stay in the same accomodation as us and so he needed the same amount of points as it was costing us... i probably sound like a right tight wad but i gave him enough points for our couple of nights at vero beach and rented him the rest of what he needed from a fellow dibber at his cost. otherwise it'd have left us short of points for the next trip we were planning and we had nothing left that we could borrow the extra

**pchivvy** · 8 Apr 12, 03:56 PM

Just to be clear, they are not expecting us to foot the extra ourselves, it is just how to calculate the 'difference'.

Shooby doo · 8 Apr 12, 04:18 PM

My Sis & niece are expecting to come with myself & DW in 2014,we only have enough points for a 10 night stay in a 1 bed so the agreement at the minute is that Sis will pay for a weeks stay off-site.I've looked into possibly renting enough points to stay for the whole 17 nights but we can basically get a 2 bed villa at the Staybridge suites for a lot less. I wouldn't have any problem allowing family to stay FOC if I had enough points but as there are additional costs involved,that had we been going ourselves we wouldn't incur,I think it only fair that they pay for that portion of the holiday!
SD

Lumpy · 8 Apr 12, 04:25 PM

we have never asked either family or friends to pay towards the accomodation when they have stayed with us on DVC however that's because we invited them and we would not expect them to payunder those circumstances (different if they had invited themselves).
However I understand this is a different situation so depending on how you feel about possibly being short of points for your next trip what about either charging them the annual dues cost of the points or as has been previously sugested the cost to rent half of the points required for the accomodation that way on your next trip if you are short of points and need to rent some you wouldn't be too much out of pocket.

p17blo · 8 Apr 12, 04:51 PM

I've looked at this and discussed it with my Family. This is what we have agreed - I'm sure this won't fit all but might help
4 people in total staying. I will pay the equivalent of a 1 bed villa and my family members will pick up the cost of the rest, most preferably by the purchase and transfer of points from another DVC member.

So here is an example - i'll just pick an arbitrary date for example so we will say 1st September 1 week at AKL with Savannah View.

If I were staying on my own, a studio would be 102 points
A one bed villa (which would be my share of a stay with wider family) would be 209 points
A two bed villa would be 273 points.

Therefore I would expect my family to find 64 points which they can pick up for $10 (or less) therefore cost them $640. I get the benefit of the larger living space etc as well as spending time as a family.