The sticky part of finding the right vacation rental … or any type of accommodation … for a large group? Sleeping arrangements. How many beds are there? What sizes? Private or shared bathrooms? We all have our particular – sometimes peculiar – preferences when it comes to our space.
When my family rents a home, we don’t mind sharing a bathroom. And in the beach home we rented, my single brother happily slept on the futon which doubled as the sunroom couch during the day. At the other end of the spectrum, I’ve talked to sisters who love traveling together, but refuse to share a bathroom.
I can almost guarantee the configuration issue will make your search for a large occupancy rental home a challenge. Once you have a clear understanding of the preferences of each member of your group, you may need to do a little simple math.
1. Automatically round down maximum occupancy in the rental listing. Owners typically calculate maximum occupancy as every possible sleeping surface occupied -- including fold-out couches, daybeds and dual-purpose futons. I call it the “slumber party syndrome”. Few groups are going to fit that scenario, so don’t get your heart set on a place that clearly won’t work from the get-go. Read the fine print and think logistically.
The River Queen, a historic home on the banks of the Russian River, has seven bedrooms, five and a half baths and sleeps 20. Uh-huh. Who can do the math and show their work? I’m not saying this home wouldn’t be a perfectly viable option for some groups. But don't fall in love with the 47-foot-long deck of the Titanic-style sun porch before you figure out who’s taking the bunk beds.
Here’s another example. The maximum occupancy of Reflections in Russian River town of Guerneville is 11. The master suite has a king-sized bed with its own bathroom – that’s two people. The second bedroom has a queen-sized bed and separate bathroom – that’s four people. The living room has a queen sleeper. Ah. And which two people will sleep in the middle of the common living room to bring the main house occupany to six?
Moving out to the patio, one cottage has a queen-sized bed and separate shower (bringing the total to eight people). The other cottage has two bedrooms—one with twin beds and one with a daybed—that share a bathroom. One person is each bed brings the total to 11. Certainly a workable equation for a group of couples with some single friends or kids. But only you know whether this particular vacation rental provides the right configuration for your group of 11.
2. Recognize that size DOES matter. Bed size, that is. (Call this the geometry portion of your math exercise.) I know more than a few couples who refuse to sleep in anything smaller than a king-sized bed, period. But it’s safe to assume that your gang of girlfriends would prefer twin – or at least separate – beds. See where I’m going with this?
3. Resolve the bathroom conundrum. Some of the most charming homes I’ve visited don’t have a separate bathroom for every bedroom. Sometimes it’s just not architecturally feasible to build modern convenience into historic character! However, if “separate bathrooms” is the bottom line (so to speak) for your group, you will find homes that fit the requirements. Typically it’s easy to spot – the number of bathrooms is equal to the number of bedrooms. This information is listed prominently on each listing.
4. Fill in the common-ground variables. The beauty of renting a vacation home is that every member of your group can gather in a comfortable, private common area. But if the maximum occupancy seems stretched to its limit, you may find common area facilities don’t add up either. For example, the indoor dining room in Reflections (occupancy 11) seats eight. If you’re planning to serve Thanksgiving dinner to a full house, you’re going to cart along some TV trays or card tables.
Then again, maybe group dinners aren’t in your plan. In that case, Reflections offers plenty of room—between its main house and patio—for smaller groups to congregate casually. Again, just think it through ahead of time.
Recommended resource: As you've no doubt guessed by now, I consider Russian River Getaways a good resource for large occupany homes (if you're planning a large gathering in the Russian River area of Northern California, of course). The management company features a dozen vacation rental homes with occupancies of 10-20. I’ve walked through about 10. Stylistically, they are a mixed bag. But Russian River Getaways listings are chock-full of really good photographs and there are detailed and relevant and you can expect the staff to be very helpful.
Again, many vacation rental listings are often written by owners, meaning some information that’s important to you may be left out. And some owners can be hard to reach or downright unresponsive. If you’re planning a gathering of particularly fussy people, I recommend listing everyone’s personal preferences down on paper and don’t reserve a home until every single one of your questions is answered to your (that is, everyone’s) satisfaction. Only then do you have a workable equation.
Personal aside: Of course a first-hand objective review can save the day. I’m working on a “Large Occupancy Rentals” edition of “Renting Paradise” and welcome any and all personal experiences. Send the to joyce@rentingparadise.com.