If you share a vacation home with others ...

When four of us went to Florida on an all girls trip, the person that did all the leg work got the MBR...I think we just walked in and one of us said "Joan you take that room since you did all the travel arrangements". I think if you do the leg work, you get the room.

My husband and I always take the smaller bedroom without it even being a topic of conversation. In the grand scheme of things, it's not something worth getting worked up over and we sleep just as well in a smaller room as in a bigger one.

We avoid the problem by only choosing rentals that have enough master suites so each couple gets one.

If that wasn't an option, if there was anyone who did more work than another in making arrangements, they'd get it. Or we'd flip a coin.

You need to find a house that has only Master Bedrooms. Don't laugh, they do exist. My boss has a beautiful rental with four master suites (all king beds) and one children's master suite (2 sets of bunk beds).

They're out there. Good luck!

We've only done this with extended family. Some combination of aunt/uncle, sister/BIL, sister/BIL/niece, me/dh/2 kids.

When we stayed in the beach house belonging to my aunt's mom, aunt and uncle got the master bedroom.

When we've rented other beach houses, if there were enough rooms for children to be separate then whoever did the work of hunting down and renting the beach house usually got the master bedroom.

If kids had to stay in the room with their parents, then we worked it out based on which rooms had which beds. If possible, the master bedroom went to the one who did the work, which was usually me, but sometimes a different room would suit us better (two queen beds or a double and two twins).

When we were doing a beach trip every year, sometimes we'd give up the master bedroom to my aunt/uncle just because.

We're all pretty flexible and get along great, so it was never a bone of contention. We were usually only in the rooms to sleep anyway, so it really didn't matter.

I would make the assumption that the person doing most of the work would be offered the master as a thank you for the effort involved. It really isn't that big of a deal to get the MB but it is a nice little upgrade imo. However, I know it doesn't always go that way. 

We went on a big family trip where dh did massive amounts of legwork to put the trip together. We got the open loft and our kids slept on the couches.   Needless to say we will NEVER be traveling with some of those people again. 

I think you are smart to try and figure it all out now before the trip. Imo if the people who you are going with don't automatically offer it to you then I would suggest the person(s) getting the master pay a little bit more. You can decide if that would be worth it to you. I would not just offer it to your travel mates.


I hope you get some great ideas here.

whoever does the legwork gets the better room.

I agree that the person who does the planning and booking gets the master. I am usually that person, but we will offer up the master if it makes sense. The last time our nephew had to sleep on a cot so we gave my brother and SIL the master since it was bigger. Also, DH and I sleep on a queen sized bed at home so usually a smaller bedroom doesn't bother me.

Honestly, it's one reason why we try to rent separate condos at the same place rather than 1 large house. Gives everyone a bit of space of their own.

We travel with my DH brother and sister, and their families, every couple of years. We just rotate. I wish we could all get MBR, but with all the family members we are closer to 15 or 16 people and it's hard to find 4 MBR or suites in a home, so we get our turn every second or third year. It's just ok, but we stay in some really nice homes that we would otherwise never get the chance to, so I guess it is a trade-off. Last year we stayed in a lovely lakehouse that had two MBR so that helped.

Am I the only one thinking "Who cares which bedroom I get?" I don't go on vacations to hang out in a bedroom.