Occasion guide
A shared plan for a holiday house
A house gives the group somewhere to be together. It also raises practical questions: who gets which room, who buys food and who returns the keys? Agree the arrangements while everyone still has time to reply.
Agree the essentials before arrival
- Confirm which nights each person is staying, then agree rooms.
- Keep the address and the host's check-in instructions somewhere private, shared only with the people staying.
- Decide which groceries are shared and which purchases are personal.
- Ask willing people to take a meal or a grocery run, rather than leaving it to whoever arrives first.
- Read the host's actual house rules and departure instructions, and share them with everyone.
Use different agreements for different costs
An equal split may suit one cost and not another. The house, the groceries for a shared meal and an optional outing can each involve a different group of people. Agree the rule for the house first, then record groceries and activities separately. Write the agreement down in one place:
“We split the house [equally / by room / by nights stayed]. Groceries for a shared meal are split among [who ate]. [Name] pays upfront and we settle by [date].”
Example with fictional figures. Eight friends share a €840 house and agree to divide it equally per person, so each owes €105 (8 × €105 = €840). Groups often choose another rule, such as splitting by room, or by nights stayed when some people leave early. Whatever your group picks, agree it before anyone pays. This example is not a default fairness rule.
A second example. Six guests share a fictional €90 grocery shop for one meal, so the agreed equal share is €15 each. A guest who arrives later is not automatically part of that meal.
A simple stay outline to adapt
- Arrival: check-in, rooms and the house rules.
- First day: a grocery run, then a shared meal.
- Middle days: optional outings and a meal someone has agreed to cook.
- Last day: a final tidy-up, then checkout.
Replace this outline with your real dates and the host's deadlines.
Before everyone leaves
Assign rubbish, kitchen cleanup, room checks and key return according to the host's instructions. Name who checks the final expense records, so one person is not left with every unfinished job.
Keep private details private
Put access codes, booking references and phone numbers in your group's private space, not in anything public. This checklist explains what to organise, not your group's details.
Keep one plan the group can check
Cairn's manual demo shows an itinerary, dinner attendance and an illustrative expense split among the six dinner attendees. It does not cover rooms or grocery lists, and it is a fictional demonstration, not a created trip.
See a group plan in Cairn