Can the group split the payment when renting a cottage in Sälen?

Splitting the cost of a holiday cottage is the issue that holds up most group bookings in the mountains. Everyone agrees on the cottage, everyone agrees on the week – and then things come to a standstill, because no one wants to pay the full amount and then have to chase twelve people for ten weeks. It’s a perfectly legitimate question, and there’s a straightforward answer, but it’s not the answer most people are hoping for: the booking always has a contracting party, and payment is made via an invoice.

That doesn’t mean the group has to sort it out on its own without any structure. On the contrary, there are a couple of approaches that work very well, and which mean that anyone booking a a large mountain chalet for the whole gang you won’t have to tie up your money for a long time. Here, we’ll go through them, as well as what happens if someone pulls out.

Short answer: one booking, one invoice – but several ways to share

The booking is made by an individual or a company, and it is that party who enters into the agreement and is responsible for payment. This is not unique to us, but simply how lettings work everywhere: an agreement requires a contracting party, and responsibility for the property requires a designated recipient.

The division of costs between you therefore takes place within your group, not in our system. This may sound like a drawback, but in practice it is an advantage: you can split the cost exactly as you wish – by room, by number of nights, or according to whatever you have agreed upon – rather than being forced into a model that the payment system happens to support. All you need to do is agree on this before you book, not afterwards.

Who the contracting party is and what this means in practice

The person listed as the booker is the one who receives the booking confirmation, the person we communicate with, the person responsible for ensuring that the terms and conditions are adhered to, and the person liable for payment to us. If any damage occurs to the property, we will contact the person who made the booking, regardless of which member of the group caused it.

You should therefore choose a booking organiser carefully. It should be someone who has an overview, who is involved throughout the stay and who is prepared to take on the role of leader – not necessarily the person who happened to find the house. In larger groups, it is wise to appoint two people: a booker and a treasurer. They do not have to be the same person.

How the group shares the cost fairly

Three models cover the vast majority of situations:

• Per person. The simplest and most common option. Works best when everyone stays for the same number of nights and the bedrooms are more or less of a similar standard.
• Per room. This provides a fairer allocation when the house has everything from large double rooms with en-suite showers to loft spaces. Set a price per room that adds up to the total, and let the group choose in turn.
• Per night. This is necessary when some guests arrive on Thursday and others on Saturday. Work out a rate per person per night and invoice internally based on the actual number of nights.

Whatever the model: make a note of it in the group chat before the booking is made, and collect the money in two instalments rather than one. The most common cause of friction afterwards isn’t the model itself, but the fact that it was never stated out loud. Remember to factor in the extras when splitting the bill – made-up beds, cleaning and a chef’s dinner should be included in the calculation from the outset.

Payment in two instalments – how this affects the timetable

Here are two terms that are often confused. Splitting the payment means that several people share the cost. Payment in instalments means that the booking is paid for in two stages: one part at the time of booking and the rest closer to arrival.

The latter is standard practice for bookings made well in advance, and this is precisely what resolves the group’s cash flow problems. The person making the booking only needs to have the first instalment available when the booking is made, and the remainder is collected over the following months. The deadline for the final payment, and the terms applicable to bookings made shortly before arrival, are set out in the booking terms and conditions and in your confirmation – please check the dates there and add them to your calendar well in advance. The entire process is described in our guide to how bookings, payments and deposits work.

If someone drops out: what happens to the money

This is the sort of situation that makes bookers anxious, and it deserves an honest answer. If one person in the group decides not to come, it does not affect the booking: the house is booked, the price is set for the house as a whole and not per person, and the agreement remains in force. It is therefore a matter between you, not between you and us.

If you want to protect yourselves against this, there are two simple strategies. The first is to agree from the outset on what happens if someone drops out – that their share is either divided amongst the rest or that the person who drops out covers their own share. The second is to collect the money early; a group that has paid their share in October rarely drops out in February. If the whole group needs to cancel, that’s a different matter, and it’s governed by the cancellation terms – we’ve described them in the article on cancellation and rebooking.

Corporate booking: invoice, reference and authorisation

If the trip is a business trip, everything is simpler. In that case, the company is the contracting party; the invoice is sent to the company with the correct reference and cost centre, and no private individual needs to pay anything out of their own pocket. Please state in your enquiry that this is a business booking, and specify the reference and, if applicable, the purchase order number to be included on the invoice – this saves a step in the approval process.

The same approach applies to kick-off events, conferences and staff trips, where we have accommodation and services tailored to these purposes during business accommodation in Sälen.

Summary – agree on the cost before you book

It is perfectly possible to split the payment for a holiday cottage in Sälen, but the split is arranged amongst the group and not as part of the booking. Appoint a booker and a treasurer, decide on a payment-sharing model and what happens if someone drops out before you book, make use of the option to pay for the booking in two instalments, and collect the money early. Check the payment dates in the booking terms and conditions and in your confirmation, and add them to your calendar. With these five points in place, sorting out the finances will take half an hour in October rather than becoming a real headache in February.