We have done this many times with various groups of friends and family. We usually divide evenly per person. (Or per couple/per family). Eg we had 3 families travelling together. Two had 2 kids while one had only 1 kid (who got the sofa bed). We still split 3-ways.
And yes, we have had many situations where there is a huge discrepancy between master and other rooms. It usually works out and we have never charged more for the nicer room. This is how it has worked in the past:
- couple A with 2 young kids in master, couple B in 2nd bedroom, couple C in 3rd, 4 kids (belonging to B and C) in a kids room
- organizer in master, couple B in 2nd bedroom, couple C (arrived 2 days later) in blah bedroom
- oldest sibling in master, siblings B in 2nd bedroom, siblings C in 3rd bedroom, siblings D (DH and I) in blah garage bedroom (Siblings C later said they would’ve preferred the garage to get away from the snoring!)
We’ve even put one couple on the sofa bed with another couple in a much fancier master and still split the bill evenly.
What helps is arrangements are made mostly for practicality and there are reasons for specific bed allocations. Eg the couple with the sofa bed were the early risers.
In your case, it kinda makes sense to charge by room since one family wants multiple rooms. I’ve planned many times to charge more for the much fancier master (as it seems more fair) but somehow an even split always works out to be the least awkward way to handle things.
I’d be careful to make sure the place you choose is acceptable to everyone involved. I usually put together several options with prices and pros and cons (after I have narrowed the list down based on everyone’s must haves and want-to-haves along with max budgets) then send it out and ask for votes.
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