How to Choose a Short-Term Vacation Rental With a Group

Staying at a beach house with friends can be a lot of fun. Deciding which house to rent via a poorly organized group chat? Not so much.

Using vacation rental platforms like Airbnb and Vrbo for group trips makes sense. In most cases, they’re more affordable than hotels for large groups, according to a 2022 NerdWallet analysis, and they foster group activities like cooking and playing games. So it’s hardly surprising that more than 80% of bookings on Airbnb are for groups, according to data shared by the platform.

Yet these benefits come with trade-offs. There’s the whole shared bathroom issue and the “which-couple-gets-the-much-nicer-bedroom” dilemma. But before check-in, there’s the question of which rental to choose that matches the group’s preferences.

In May, Airbnb added features aimed at making group travel easier to plan, including shared wish lists and group messaging with hosts. These features smooth out some of the logistics of planning a group trip, yet no feature in an app will make herding cats (i.e., your friends and family) easy.

Here are some tips and guidelines to help your group communicate when choosing your next vacation rental.

Set a budget

Determining how much everyone is willing to pay is probably the most fundamental question facing your group. It’s also the one most likely to be skirted. Talking about money can feel uncomfortable or embarrassing, yet failing to do so can lead the group to spend more than everyone is comfortable paying.

Some members of your group might be embarrassed to share their budget, for fear of spoiling the fun or coming across as cheap. So being the first to suggest a low-end budget can actually be a service (and relief) for others.

Zainob Fashola, a travel expert, recently planned a group trip to the Bahamas with friends. Their group quickly landed on a budget.

“We wanted a modern villa close to the beach, at a max of $1,000 per person for five nights, managed by a well-reviewed host or company,” Fashola said in an email.

Determining a budget early can narrow the range of options, smoothing the decision-making process and making sure everyone feels comfortable. Make sure to check “final” prices — not listed prices — when searching for properties, as add-on fees can balloon the final bill.

Assemble your options and take a vote

After you’ve set a budget (and, presumably, a destination), the next step is identifying potential rentals. This is where things can get messy in a hurry. Think group chats with members randomly sharing links. Here are some tips to streamline the process:

• Appoint a leader. This doesn’t have to be a formal process. As the one reading this, you’re likely a good candidate.

• Create a list. You can use one of Airbnb’s new shared wish lists or create a spreadsheet. Make sure everyone can see and edit the list, wherever it lives.

• Keep an eye on location. It can be easy to get lost in the pretty pictures of the rental itself and forget the importance of its location. You might want to decide on a neighborhood ahead of time, to further winnow the options and avoid choosing a rental in the hinterlands.

• Double-check the bedroom situation. Many rentals say they can accommodate large groups, but what they really mean is that there are a bunch of air mattresses in the living room. Make sure each option has enough bedrooms for your group.

Some group members will likely have strong preferences, while others couldn’t care less as long as they have a bed. It’s important to get as much of the group’s input as possible, but don’t wait for everybody’s input.

“When we decide on a destination, the more vocal members, usually those familiar with the area, have specific requests regarding neighborhood, views, and house style,” said Fashola.

Once the top choices have been determined, settle it with a vote. This can be as informal as an emoji-based system in a group chat or a secret ballot survey.

“That trip was last minute, so we skipped the Google Sheet, listed four available options in the chat, voted in minutes, and booked the villa immediately,” Fashola explained.

Herd those cats

Group decision-making is always an exercise in patience and communication, and deciding on the perfect vacation rental poses its own challenges. Since it involves money and budgets, it can strike nerves for some or leave others bitter they’re overpaying. And the stakes are high to make sure the rental itself doesn’t get in the way of a successful trip.

Airbnb has launched some features that help with organizing the task itself, yet the real struggle comes from competing personalities, preferences and communication styles.

For Fashola, finding the perfect rental for her Bahamas trip proved relatively easy, but splitting the restaurant bill is still proving trickier. After letting one member choose the restaurant itinerary on a recent trip to Greece, the group was shocked at the final price tag.

“Now, we always check menu prices before trusting her suggestions.”