What would you pay for beach vaca housing?

[ksr5377]

I'm asking this to see if I'm being reasonable about what I'm willing to pay for a week at the beach with my extended family in a rented house.  Apparently when there are 6 families getting together there are also 6 different ideas of reasonable.

Either the total or per person price would be helpful as well as how many bedrooms you would expect for that.

[gardenmom5]

depends on the location.  Can you look up prices for various airb&b/hotels/motels of where you want to go?

[matrips]

I’d expect at least 8 bedrooms.  6 for the married couples, one for the boy kids and one for the girls.  

I don’t know prices at all.  But spending a week with 6 families isn’t something I’d spend a fortune on.  Maybe $1000 max each family?  I’m assuming the house would have nice amenities and be near a beach or lake. So less that what a nice hotel or your own place might cost.

[EmseB]

So many variables: location being the biggest, actual number of people and bedrooms needed, waterfront or within 1 or 2 blocks of the ocean?

I've seen some houses for 20-30 people go for 20k for a week in peak season, but you can obviously find cheaper.

Edited June 14, 2020 by EmseB

[2squared]

We just rented a beach house with private access to the beach on Tybee Island, GA. Four bedrooms, sleeps 10, one full bathroom + four sinks + two outdoor showers). One week = $3500

We saw prices more expensive for much fancier accommodations. Many places were already booked, and I assume they were cheaper for similar accommodations. 

I would think you would need a huge house for six families....and a lot of bathrooms. If each family comes with two kids, that’s 24 people. That will be expensive if you stay in one house. Could you find a place where you rent condos in the same complex? That would be my preferred approach. 

[mominco]

Depending on location the price will vary.We did this last year.My aunt and her kids all got together and shared a 4 bedroom beach condo with a loft.It was expensive $$$$  but they drove from home and so brought/cooked most of their meals.We rented a 2 bed/2 bath condo above theirs and another 2 families on the same floor as us.This was right on the beach so all the units were fairly expensive.None of us thought it would be that expensive but my aunt did warn us and we booked almost 9 months in advance,we also saved a lot on food since we ate a bit at the condo !We did go and have 1 meal out the whole lot of all !

[KidsHappen]

We have rented an AB&B in FL that had six bedrooms and slept 14 people with a pool for about $3500 a week. We have also rented two 3 bedroom condos for a little cheaper. And finally a 3 bedroom rental that had plenty of social space and a pool right on the beach in Panama City for about $1500. If I was going this summer I would expect to get something for a little bit cheaper. I wouldn't be planning much farther out than that. 

[Carrie12345]

In my family, financial means vary by a lot, so I can’t give a good answer. In the past, my parents have paid 100%, we’ve split in half, and we’ve considered other arrangements.  Generally, I’ve found that rentals get more “luxury” with size, raising the pp price compared to smaller rentals. I think the last giant beach rental I looked into was 5 figures, which was out of our proportional budgets. 

[Pawz4me]

It's hard to say without knowing the location (within US and is it on the beach or a row back, etc.) and other factors. Is it kind of a normal beach house or a luxury mansion, etc.? My BFF has a normal house on the Outer Banks that rents for around $3500 a week this time of the year. Four bedrooms, 2.5 baths. But it's common to see bigger places for a LOT more.

[Another Lynn]

There is no amount of money you could pay me to share a house with other people on vacation.  Oh, wait that's not what you meant, lol.  😜

[LarlaB]

I have a lot of experience with large beach hour rentals on various beaches on East coast and CA.  
 

The problem is, usually the larger the house the more it costs....period.   So one house that accommodates 6 families vs a house for 3 families could be double the price.  And factoring in location and proximity to the beach and season all have impact.

And what “I” would pay and what everyone else would pay is different. I wouldn’t be shocked to see an 8BR house go for $2-$3k minimum a night depending on location. 

[ScoutTN]

We never go in the summer bc prices are too high. We usually go in May or September. 

We pay about $1000 including all taxes and fees for 2br/2ba condo in a development with a pool walking distance from the beach, but not actually on the beach. Gulf coast, 30A. Summer price is about triple.

Edited June 14, 2020 by ScoutTN

[freesia]

We go every few years at the end of August. Our share for a couple of blocks off the beach is $1500.  That is the highest we will go. $1000 would be more reasonable for our budget. It is hard when family members have mire money. My brothers stay on the beach for more. My mother usually stays with us to make it more reasonable. This year, if we go, she is subsidizing us to stay on the beach. 

[YaelAldrich]

We're going to a place on the OBX next week with my folks.  We got our rental pretty late last month because of my mom's cancer (we weren't sure if she would be able to go) and COVID-19.  We're paying 5K for a 7BR/4Ba home with a pool and hot tub that is one house from the beachfront.  Last year we paid 2.7K for a 6BR/4Ba home with pool about .6 miles from the beach.

[catz]

No idea, probably I'd be willing to pay maybe 25% more than a hotel in the area at market rate for our family.  Depends partially on set up.  I'd want at least 3 bathrooms for that many families, but maybe other people would be ok with a bunch of kids in sleeping bags in one space and a couple bathrooms.  I have older teens now.  I think it really depends on location and peak vs. non peak.  We often intentionally travel off peak.   

If I had 6 families whining, I'd lay out a range and a few possible options, put it out there and if anything err on the cheaper side if there are families who have financial restrictions.  If there was a ton of in fighting I might be inclined to book a hotel room or private cabin and tell people to book their own and you can meet for hiking/meals/beach, etc.  

[katilac]

On 6/14/2020 at 6:24 AM, Another Lynn said:

There is no amount of money you could pay me to share a house with other people on vacation. 

So much truth. I actually have done this, and would do it again with certain people, but definitely not with 6 families, lol. There are not 5 families total that I'm willing to share with, much less all at once. 

I cast another vote for it varying way too much to say, and also for looking at more than one house. 6 families and one kitchen sounds like a nightmare. 

[QueenCat]

Location and timing really can change things up. We decided about a week ago to do a long weekend in the OBX for this coming weekend. 1 bedroom condo for 3 nights is $1600. There weren't any available on the beach, it's about a 5 minute drive to closet access or 20 mins to our favorite spot. A week would have been $2500 for the same condo, so you do get better deals for a full week. Dh just doesn't have the time for a full week right now. Now you have me ready for it to be Friday!

[SamanthaCarter]

For a week, I'd be willing to chip in up to $1000 for my family, plus cost of food. I'd want beachfront, no pool, because I'm not gonna get stuck as lifeguard. 

[katilac]

29 minutes ago, QueenCat said:

 Dh just doesn't have the time for a full week right now.  

That's when you take two cars!

[SamanthaCarter]

Just as a suggestion, cost generally goes down per night the longer the rental, so if you choose one slightly smaller than needed and staggered people's arrivals and departures over two weeks, you could get away with a smaller house. My mom and dad do this. They have 5 adult children and 4 sons-in-law, and 6 grandchildren. They can get away with a five bedroom house by taking the master suite themselves (they pay!) and letting the rest of us stagger our trips. This way, there are only a couple of nights where the overlap requires someone to sleep on a couch or floor. Usually there is one couple/family that never actually sees the other, because they don't overlap. This is not a downside to some, since there are some who prefer to be on vacation without nieces and nephews. 

Edited June 15, 2020 by SamanthaCarter

[prairiewindmomma]

I am old enough that I need a proper bed at night. I would want my own bedroom and bathroom. I’d be ok sharing the bathroom with my family (6 people) and having my kids camp out in sleeping bags. If the amenities were good (pool, grill area, great general location for swimming) I’d pay $2-3k. If it was a cheap run down condo with no private amenities or a crappy beach I wouldn’t want to pay more than $1200.

[StaceyinLA]

Went to Gulf Shores about a month ago with my dd and her dh and his family (they invited me to tag along because the house was so big). It was a 9 bedroom house that slept 30 people. I think they paid about $650/night for the place, which worked out to $650 per family because they stayed 4 nights. (They let me and another dd’s oldest 2 kids crash for free, but we only stayed a couple nights). The house was 3 stories, had 2 kitchens, baths for every bedroom, most being en suites, had its own pool, and the walkway to the private beach on the Gulf was about 5 steps from the back door. 

This was an awesome setup, but Gulf Shores is usually not our go-to for beach stays. We typically stay in Destin/Miramar, and pay about $1800/week for a 3 bdrm condo in our favorite spot. This is usually In early May or early September.

Edited June 16, 2020 by StaceyinLA

[Alicia64]

I just wanted to add that the vacation home places add in extra charges like cleaning fees, service fees and pet fees.

I was fine w/ everything except the service fees still confuse me. I don't think the homeowners get the service fee. I think it goes straight to the company and I haven't found a good description of what it is.

A.

[QueenCat]

1 hour ago, Alicia64 said:

I just wanted to add that the vacation home places add in extra charges like cleaning fees, service fees and pet fees.

I was fine w/ everything except the service fees still confuse me. I don't think the homeowners get the service fee. I think it goes straight to the company and I haven't found a good description of what it is.

A.

With Airbnb,  the service fee covers things like their operating platform,  customer service agents, and other business expenses.  

[lmrich]

If you are looking for a place on the beach with a private pool? $$$ Make your budget and help find a place; it is harder than you think. 

I have found that places are not cheaper this summer. I am trying to find a mountain place 1/2 between my son and us so we can at least see him. Shocked that it is so expensive and how many of the houses are just awful or at least appear awful in the pictures. 

 

[73349]

I'm on Team Zero Dollars. 🤑

But why not have like-budgeted families pair up and rent three (or maybe only 2) smaller places close to each other, maybe even from the same owners?

[hjffkj]

2 hours ago, lmrich said:

If you are looking for a place on the beach with a private pool? $$$ Make your budget and help find a place; it is harder than you think. 

I have found that places are not cheaper this summer. I am trying to find a mountain place 1/2 between my son and us so we can at least see him. Shocked that it is so expensive and how many of the houses are just awful or at least appear awful in the pictures. 

 

 

I was talking to a neighbor who has a beach house that she usually rents out every week in the summer except the weeks they are down there.  I asked if she had to lower her price in order to entice people to rent.  She said it wasn't worth it to her.  Since both her and her husband are working from home they are able to go to the beach house more often so instead of lowering the price and filling up more weeks she's just going to spend more time at the beach.  

I imagine a lot of other people are doing that too.

[Pawz4me]

8 hours ago, hjffkj said:

 

I was talking to a neighbor who has a beach house that she usually rents out every week in the summer except the weeks they are down there.  I asked if she had to lower her price in order to entice people to rent.  She said it wasn't worth it to her.  Since both her and her husband are working from home they are able to go to the beach house more often so instead of lowering the price and filling up more weeks she's just going to spend more time at the beach.  

I imagine a lot of other people are doing that too.

Hmmm . . . kind of off topic, but I wonder how they do their taxes, or if they're not exactly on the up-and-up with them? According to my BFF, they can only stay at their beach house two weeks a year for vacation purposes. They can stay as often as they want if they're doing maintenance. But if they stay more than two weeks for their own vacation/pleasure use they legally lose the ability to claim it as a rental property. Her DH is a retired CPA, so I've always assumed he knew what he was talking about regarding that. Of course I assume it's easy enough to fudge on "maintenance." I guess you could spend a week and during that week spend an hour scrubbing the grout around a tub and claim you were there doing maintenance.

[QueenCat]

On 6/15/2020 at 2:21 PM, katilac said:

That's when you take two cars!

If the kids (adults) were going,  I  would. They turned us down. 

[hjffkj]

3 hours ago, Pawz4me said:

Hmmm . . . kind of off topic, but I wonder how they do their taxes, or if they're not exactly on the up-and-up with them? According to my BFF, they can only stay at their beach house two weeks a year for vacation purposes. They can stay as often as they want if they're doing maintenance. But if they stay more than two weeks for their own vacation/pleasure use they legally lose the ability to claim it as a rental property. Her DH is a retired CPA, so I've always assumed he knew what he was talking about regarding that. Of course I assume it's easy enough to fudge on "maintenance." I guess you could spend a week and during that week spend an hour scrubbing the grout around a tub and claim you were there doing maintenance.

 

Well technically they'd have to do maintenance every day they are there in order for it to legally count but scrubbing for an hour is maintenance. I don't know what they are doing. I imagine it is a combination of fudging it and doing actual needed maintenance.

[katilac]

7 hours ago, Pawz4me said:

Hmmm . . . kind of off topic, but I wonder how they do their taxes, or if they're not exactly on the up-and-up with them? According to my BFF, they can only stay at their beach house two weeks a year for vacation purposes. They can stay as often as they want if they're doing maintenance. But if they stay more than two weeks for their own vacation/pleasure use they legally lose the ability to claim it as a rental property. Her DH is a retired CPA, so I've always assumed he knew what he was talking about regarding that. Of course I assume it's easy enough to fudge on "maintenance." I guess you could spend a week and during that week spend an hour scrubbing the grout around a tub and claim you were there doing maintenance.

The rule is actually 14 days or 10% of the number of days it's rented, whichever is greater. The more you rent it out, the higher the number of days you can stay there yourself. So if your friend doesn't exceed 149 days of renting the property out, then 14 days would be the greater number. But if they rent it out 200 days of the year, they can vacation for 20 days. 

If you exceed the number, it's not a rental property and you can't deduct rental losses, but you can still deduct rental expenses (against rental income). 

 

[Alicia64]

19 hours ago, QueenCat said:

With Airbnb,  the service fee covers things like their operating platform,  customer service agents, and other business expenses.  

The thing is, the service fees drastically vary on each rental. That's what I didn't like.

A.