Splitting holiday home costs in a group

Published on Sun, 18 October

By nights, by household, with a children's share – how to split a holiday home fairly, even when not everybody stays equally long. With a worked example.

The holiday home is usually the biggest item on a group trip – and the one most likely to cause friction. Does one family stay shorter? Do children count? And who already paid the deposit?

The fair rule: person nights

Split the house by person nights: each person counts as many nights as they sleep there. Children count with their children's share, for example 40 or 50 percent. That way every household pays exactly the share it uses.

Deposit, balance, security deposit

Often one person pays the deposit months before the trip and someone else the balance. No problem: both record their amount as an expense, and the settlement evens everything out. A security deposit you get back isn't a cost – or record the refund as a counter-entry.

What else belongs to the house

• Final cleaning, bed linen, towels: part of the house price, so split them with it.
• Tourist tax: charged per person and night – best as a separate expense.
• Firewood, electricity by consumption: like the house, by nights.

Common mistakes

• Splitting by heads only, although one household stays shorter.
• Forgetting children – or counting them fully without talking about it.
• Keeping the deposit "in your head". Months later nobody remembers who paid what.

How Tripkitty does it

In Tripkitty you enter each traveller's arrival and departure. Accommodation expenses are then split by nights automatically, children with their share, and the settlement shows per household who transfers how much to whom.

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