Calculating cabin cost confounding

Dear Amy: My three siblings and I are planning a mountain getaway for our parents’ 50th wedding anniversary celebration.

My parents will be in the master suite and we have all agreed to split their cost and expenses as a gift.

When renting a large cabin with separate bedrooms, do you think singles should pay the same rate as couples? Should all four siblings share the total cost for the entire group?

There is a family of three (includes a baby), there is a family of four (two older teens) and then there are two single adults.

What is the etiquette when splitting costs among family units of varying sizes?

Do you charge per person, per bed or per room?

If singles shared a room, do they pay half of one share? And what about food costs? How should we split food costs?

This is causing a big rift between us.

Feelings and emotions have gotten the best of all of us, so your input into this mess would be greatly appreciated. — Distressed

Dear Distressed: This isn’t an etiquette question as much as it is a practical question with many solutions.

My suggested solution is that you should charge per bedroom in the cabin. Then people can pay for their own privacy, or share a room to save more, if they choose to.

In terms of paying for food, perhaps it would be most practical to set a price-per-individual for the weekend — say $75 per person (or whatever), which would also cover the cost for your folks. You could load this money onto a pre-paid card for food and your group would draw it down as you go.

Keep in mind that individuals should expect to pay for their own alcohol separately.

I hope you all can reach an agreeable compromise on the terms about this before the upcoming event.

It wouldn’t be much of a celebration for your folks if their kids were caught up bickering over money the entire weekend.

I’m sure that some of my readers will want to weigh in with their own recommendations.