<p>I am organizing a week at a beach house in South Carolina for next May.</p>
<p>The plan is for six women to rent the house.</p>
<p>We will need to pay a deposit and then in full some weeks beforehand. I will pay in dollars, but the other women will pay in Euros (or need to convert their Euros to dollars).</p>
<p>Does anyone know of any means of doing this other than one person taking the responsibility for collecting all of the funds from the individuals in order to make the payment?</p>
<p>I of course also have the concern of one person canceling at the last minute, leaving the rest of us to pay her share.</p>
<p>I know a lot of people who have vacation properties that they rent out. I don’t know any who accept payment from several different people for the same reservation. That isn’t to say that that possibility doesn’t exist, but that it would be a rarity. My guess is that since you seem to be the only one in the country, that it would fall to you to be the ‘banker’, having your friends pay you and you paying the owner of the property.</p>
<p>The concern of one person cancelling is a common one in arrangements like this but it wouldn’t be ‘at the last minute’, would it? You’d presumably have already paid the balance several weeks ahead at most places.</p>
<p>My oldest daughter suffered through this last year, taking her turn as the organizer for her college friends’ annual Beach Week. She did have to collect the money from everyone else and pay using her own credit card (or a check). After years of honing the process, the agreement is: no cancellations. If a sub can be found, that’s fine, and the person who has to cancel gets his/her money back.</p>
<p>My d says she’ll never do it again. But she was collecting from a dozen people, some of whom are less stable/dependable than fendrock’s friends, I am sure. :)</p>
<p>I have done this twice. The first time was a nightmare.</p>
<p>The second time, I required all funds to be in to me about ten days before they were due to be paid over. One person “couldn’t commit” so we committed without her. When she did decide to go, we got an air mattress for her.</p>
<p>The entire thing is dependent on the reliability of those you are renting with. I have done this for family reunions, and we just divvy up at the end. But they are rock solid with financial commitments. </p>
<p>To keep the good graces of the person you are renting from, would not require their involvement. Who knows what other use you may need to make of those good graces! </p>
<p>Euros in advance might be a lot of work for any of you. Bank transfers are pricey. Perhaps pay the deposit yourself, and then on arrival, ask for the total due from each person as they can easily have US$ cash in hand at that point. The tricky thing is the cultural expectations of those from abroad, if not American.</p>
<p>I’ve done it twice. I also arranged for each person to pay the landlord/condo owner individually their share of the final payment…and no cancellation refunds was part of the stipulations. The landlord/condo owner e-mailed me as the payments came in. I paid the smallish deposit and the friends reimbursed me the small amount that held the condo. 6 people, 3 couples each time.</p>
<p>People who want travel flexibility pay for it in higher fees, insurance, etc. on their own. There’s nothing unfair or inappropriate about requiring up-front, non-refundable payment from your friends if you are the one who has graciously agreed to make the arrangements for the party. I can’t imagine friends not understanding the need for this.</p>
<p>Set up a paypal account and have your european friends pay you in advance for their share through that. Their Euro’s will be converted automatically into dollars.</p>
<p>emilybee, great suggestion, I will look into that!</p>
<p>I agree that the best thing is to ask for the full amount upfront, although I suppose I feel hesitant because it is not required by the property.</p>
<p>My suggestion is to ask the full amount upfront. You don’t want to be responsible in case anything happens. My D did this with her friends and not everyone ended up paying his/her share and in addition, she was left trying to clean up the place so they get their cleaning deposit back as a few of them just left earlier in the day without telling her.</p>
<p>Done this for years with friends. USA only though, no conversion rates involved. It’s always been money up front, paid in full way before actual payment due. Money kept in an account for vacation purposes. If someone backs out, too bad unless they find a replacement.</p>
<p>Agree that you should , if you have concerns, get full payment for each person’s share up front as a sign of their commitment. My S has been shafted when fronting $$, and I have too when buying concert tickets for people who then cancel and expect me to find someone else to buy the tickets.</p>
<p>I’ve done this before, and broken down the full amount due by each person (it was all singles) by how many months we had to pay (so, for example, one time it was $900 each, with 10 months out, so $90 a month). I asked each to pay me the (as in the example) $90 each per month, and I would pay down the balance due each month, until the final payment (the proprietor was fine receiving 10 payments). It worked out well, no one had to cough up a lump sum, and we knew everyone was invested equally. We also had a “no cancellation” policy, and we were not comfortable with “send a replacement” - no one cancelled. :)</p>
<p>I’d also write up a short, friendly contract for everyone to sign so that you are all on the same page about food, drink, cleaning, groceries, daily activities, and those other details that can kill a friendship in a shared vacation when different prople have wildly different expectations.</p>
<p>Will you be splitting costs on groceries? Who will shop?
Splitting duties on meal preparation? Clean up?
Alcohol? Yes? No? Who buys it? Who pays?
Will everyone be expected to go out to eat together? Every night or just a few dinners?
Will bills for eating out be separate, or split evenly?
Are there some activities you all expect everyone to participate in?
Who cleans up what? And when? What about the day you depart?</p>
<p>It sounds silly, but I do have friends who have declared “Never again!” after group vacation rentals because none of this was addressed ahead of time, and people had completely different expectations.</p>
<p>Normally someone is responsible for the whole group. The only time I’ve seen different was when a
eight of us rented two condos in Kiawah, SC. If that is your SC destination you may want to check with them. One lady paid the deposit, and the rest of us checked out individually, and paid with our credit cards. She was credited the deposit on her bill.</p>
<p>I’ve done this for 11 years. I am the contact person with the owner or realtor. I sign the lease and make the payment, and then am reimbursed by my friends. There’s never an ounce of doubt that any of them will back out. If there was, I would never do it.</p>