How to Split Costs Fairly: What Is a Fair Share?

The deposit is paid on a villa. The group trip chat is lively with excitement. Then someone types the question everyone was thinking …… ‘So how are we going to split costs fairly?’

It can be a very delicate subject – one that can stick with people for years if you get it wrong!! Sometimes never spoken of, just quiet regret that it wasn’t agreed ahead of time and wasn’t fair.

Fair Shares on a Group Trip when everyone is different

It can seem quite straightforward, but sometimes people see things differently for different reasons. The scenarios:

• All Couples or All Singles
• Couples and singles
• Families, and / or couples or singles
• Multi-generational family groups

Accommodation

All Couples or All singles

Oh this one is easy - everything is split equally, right? Hmmm - wait there still can be nuances that cause regret:

You booked a villa that everyone loved … great - the Group trip has made it out of the group chat! Then you get into several challenges:

• Either in advance or when you get there, you realise that some rooms are ensuite, some share a bathroom, one has a lovely balcony and one is very small with no window! So should everyone pay an even share? Have a discussion and reach agreement however the split is to be.
• Often a good option if the rooms are otherwise suitable for everyone, is to split evenly but allocate the rooms based on a blind draw basis. There still might be comments and jokes, but everyone agreed to it. So move on.
• OR if the group prefers, do an uneven split to price the Ensuite room more than the shared bathroom rooms and the box room.
• OR do the room allocation based on individual needs or what you are each happy with.

Whatever you decide - do it in advance and be transparent.

Hotel rooms can be a much easier solution for a group, as everyone chooses the room type they need / or that is available and that you are each happy to pay for.

Couples and singles

This can be really tricky, so definitely needs an upfront discussion.

Agree up front if the costs are being split per head OR per room OR on a different specific costs basis.

• If there are single rooms, and double rooms in the villa, then an even split per room can still seem unfair. Does it seem fair that the single person pays the same room rate as 2 people in a couple sharing a double room? Or is it something the single/s are happy with to get the room to themselves and not have to share a twin room with another single? It might depend on what’s available in the villa. Only the group can decide.
• If someone has a specific ask, make sure there is a chance for them to share their wishes, and for everyone to take it into account in the decisions. At the end of the day – in a villa, not everyone will get the perfect outcome – there will always be some compromise needed.
• If the group can’t work through this, maybe a villa holiday is not for you!

Families and / or Couples or singles

Often this comes down to the age of the kids across the families and how many rooms they are taking up. As always there is no one right answer, you just need to agree on an answer that you are all happy with.

• Do you charge each family the same, regardless of the family size and kids ages?
• Or do you charge the families based on the number of rooms they are using?
• If one family has younger kids, and they sleep in cots in the parents room, should they pay the same as the other family with 2 kids sleeping in a separate twin room?

Multi-generational families

This one is quite interesting as can bring some different scenarios.

• Do the Grandparents want to pay for certain items for everyone, such as the villa?
• Do direct family groups want to settle everything for their grown-up kids, or does every adult pay an equal share?

Food and beverages:

On the surface, food and drink sounds like it won’t be an issue, but there are just a few things to consider and agree up front:

• If self-catering, do you simply do group shops and split everything between the number of people evenly?
• Do you pick a night each to buy and cook for the Group?
• Do you each do your own thing? Can get complicated if sharing a smaller kitchen.
• If eating out, do you just split the bills evenly? Or do you adjust for who did or didn’t have starters / desserts / cocktails, etc.
• Do you split alcoholic drinks only across the drinkers, or evenly across all adults? You may have wine only drinkers, beer only drinkers and some who drink both which might also need consideration for fairness. Hey and don’t forget, some non-alcoholic drinks cost as much as beer or wine, so if that’s someone’s personal choice then an even split may still be the answer.

If there are kids in the mix, then you might want to decide:

• Do all kids eat and drink free? Just the adults in the even split?
• Do you apportion as a percentage based on the age of the kids? A 12 year old can eat a lot, so do you share the costs like they are an adult? 6 to 12 years maybe a half share?
• A baby / toddler likely has very different needs to the adults and teenagers – so do you simply cover their costs across all adults (and don’t worry if someone wants some of their cereal or juice) OR do you agree the parents buy their food and drinks separately and that is just for the kids?

It’s the group's choice, whatever you decide together up front, stick to it!

Then there’s the other stuff:

Trips and other transport costs:

Whether it’s singles, couples or families, typically no one wants to get stuck with extra costs that they don’t benefit from. With trips it is more straightforward – only those who go on the trip pay a share? Kids entry passes are often cheaper, so you should consider that too.

With transport there are still certain factors to consider, for example:

• Is everything split evenly across everyone OR only across all adults on the trip?
• If one person drove to the airport - you shared the parking evenly, but they had fuel to think about too, and can’t join in everything on the last day to the return drive. If it’s couples who travel regularly together, maybe you agree that the other couple will drive on the next trip. Or maybe the driver doesn’t pay for the airport meal?
• Maybe you cut drivers out altogether and share taxi costs across those in each taxi.
• Rental cars can be popular for those who want to use one for their transfer, and also to be able to nip to the supermarket as and when during the stay (which usually benefits everyone). But if some got a taxi to and from the villa which might add up to the same as a rental car, is it fair to make them pay toward the rental car?

There is no one solution on any of these things – except one that everyone agrees to and thinks is fair. Whichever you decide, do it in advance so there is no regret and no unnecessary awkwardness during the trip or afterwards.

Agree these splits before any expenses are incurred, and write it down in the group chat. Clear, up-front, and open for any query. If everyone agrees you are done, and you likely saved yourself a lot of hassle later.

Keeping track without a spreadsheet nightmare

You might think the really hard part now is how to track everything as you go ….. each time someone different pays for something that only part of the group benefitted from, the maths gets even more complicated. But rest easy – that’s what Tallykins is built for!!

Download Tallykins from your app store, no passwords or personal data needed. Add everyone to the event with their own mascot, and log each event with the fair share agreed as you go. Tallykins sorts the lot and lets you see Who Owes What throughout the event and allows for Grouping to allow couples and families to group their shares together for Tally-up purposes, whilst still seeing the individual split of each transaction. If one person gets the Organiser Pass, you can also share the event across the other free users in the Group so everyone can log events and keep track as you go in real time.

No ads, no personal data needed – just Fluff, Fun and Fair shares!

Let Tallykins do the maths 🐾

Download free — Organiser Pass from £3.99, no auto-renewal.