Family wants to give money for stay

We are going in November...have a 2 bedroom at BLT. There will be 8 of us, my immediate family (myself, hubby, and two kids), and my mom is bringing my sister-in-law along with my niece and nephew. My mom INSISTS on giving me some money since I'm using up points for this trip. She will continue insisting so I need to come up with some kind of number to give her before our trip. She is the kind of person that will NOT take no for an answer.

Has anyone else had family insist on paying them something for a stay and if so how did you go about figuring out what they should give you.
Have them take care of the tab at Top of the World as you grab a spot to wait for the fireworks...or when Top of the World and fireworks come back. That’s what we normally do.
 
I am going to add another thing I did. I told them I didn’t want money. When they insisted, I said they could then give me what they felt was fair and if it was more than I did, I’d use the t during the trip toward group dinners, etc

This way, I didn’t set an amount that may be more than what they were thinking. It always stayed in their court since I wanted no more than 0
 
I am going to add another thing I did. I told them I didn’t want money. When they insisted, I said they could then give me what they felt was fair and if it was more than I did, I’d use the t during the trip toward group dinners, etc

This way, I didn’t set an amount that may be more than what they were thinking. It always stayed in their court since I wanted no more than 0

I'm going to do that next time! I was trying to walk the line between enough so they don't feel like they're taking advantage vs more than they were thinking. They're not taking advantage at all - they just feel that way. I invited them because they love Disney as much as I do and it's fun.
 


This kind of situation would make me and the rest of my family really uncomfortable. I would do just a quick assessment of how much each point costs you (amount you paid for contract/years you get on the contract then/# of points. Then add in the cost of yearly dues per year and that is the total that point cost. You can then figure out how many points a studio is and multiply that by the cost total point cost. My family is even-steven like that......at least between the siblings. When my mom was alive, she just paid for everything and told us to shut our traps if we tried to protest. At least this way your mom will feel like she paid her way and she can enjoy the trip. Many people like being generous but generosity makes a lot of people feel really uncomfortable. I've learned that since owning a lake house. We would invite people down for the weekend and they would offer to bring stuff, at first I would protest but then I could see people were not as laid back and were apprehensive on helping themselves to a snack throughout the day. Once I relaxed and just told them to bring certain things like apps, munchies, a side dish, a bfast casserole, etc they seemed to enjoy themselves so much more because they helped contribute and their demeanor was much more relaxed!
 
Have them take care of the tab at Top of the World as you grab a spot to wait for the fireworks...or when Top of the World and fireworks come back. That’s what we normally do.

Can I just say... we just got our membership loaded with our first resale contract, and we're taking my in-laws next October for my MIL's 50th birthday and DW's 50th anniversary. I am so excited to take them to Top of the World!! I'm really hoping the fireworks are back on. THAT will be magical.
 
Can I just say... we just got our membership loaded with our first resale contract, and we're taking my in-laws next October for my MIL's 50th birthday and DW's 50th anniversary. I am so excited to take them to Top of the World!! I'm really hoping the fireworks are back on. THAT will be magical.
There is always one day on our trip where we don't go to the parks and relax. That day always ends with an early dinner at a MK resort with a quick monorail ride to Top of the World to save our spot. Its always the highlight of our trip! The sunset, the fireworks, the drinks, the service. There really is no better bar. Anyone we take on our trips just takes care of the tab there, all is square. The Wow-factor makes it worth it for everyone!
 


She is the kind of person that will NOT take no for an answer.
We have traveled with my in-laws and have worked out a few different "payment" options because they have insisted on paying something. People do like to pay their share, so here is what we have done.
First was just figuring out a cost of points per person and then charging what your MF are for the cost of their traveling party, even on top of that they have picked up a few dinners during our trip.
You could just have her buy a disney gift card so that you can use it during your trip. You didn't mention how long you are going for but you could just say $50 per night. Super good deal for them and they will feel better about paying you something.
 
Have them take care of the tab at Top of the World as you grab a spot to wait for the fireworks...or when Top of the World and fireworks come back. That’s what we normally do.
If the trip is next month, the TOTWL probably still won't be open. Plus probably no fireworks yet.
 
unless we are treating (as in, the room is a gift), we charge everyone $20 per point used. we typically pay for something during the trip (dessert party, table service dinner, etc) for everyone to deflect some of the blow of charging family the rate a stranger would pay. if its a two bedroom that costs 200 points and us two and another couple are going (whether its siblings, parents, friends, whoever), we charge the other couple for 100 points at $20/pt. it seems nice and whimsical to be like "oh, pay for a dinner, or buy our souveniers, etc", but all that leads to is stress from the non owners ("did i spend enough on souveniers, was that an expensive enough dinner") or being butthurt from the owners ("they thought one dinner at plaza was enough to cover 6 nights!?"). just divide up the cost of the room ahead of the trip, and then if you do anything magical for eachother on the trip, its because you care for eachother, not because you had a fiscal duty. now, if you have family and friends who think they shouldnt have to pay anything because the room was "free", that is a different conversation and a completely different tone to a post on this thread. :)
 
unless we are treating (as in, the room is a gift), we charge everyone $20 per point used. we typically pay for something during the trip (dessert party, table service dinner, etc) for everyone to deflect some of the blow of charging family the rate a stranger would pay. if its a two bedroom that costs 200 points and us two and another couple are going (whether its siblings, parents, friends, whoever), we charge the other couple for 100 points at $20/pt. it seems nice and whimsical to be like "oh, pay for a dinner, or buy our souveniers, etc", but all that leads to is stress from the non owners ("did i spend enough on souveniers, was that an expensive enough dinner") or being butthurt from the owners ("they thought one dinner at plaza was enough to cover 6 nights!?"). just divide up the cost of the room ahead of the trip, and then if you do anything magical for eachother on the trip, its because you care for eachother, not because you had a fiscal duty. now, if you have family and friends who think they shouldnt have to pay anything because the room was "free", that is a different conversation and a completely different tone to a post on this thread. :)

I don’t think there would be any hurt feelings if both people are on the same page.

When I tell my guests I want nothing, I mean it so no matter what they do is more than enough. And, they know me well enough to know I really mean it. I bought what I did so I could do these trips with family and friends.

But, I know people do things differently, so there really is not one way that works for all!
 
This is such a great question and so much of the answer depends on your relationship with your family. In our family, the expectations are generally clear from the beginning and regardless of what solution you settle on, doing so earlier rather than later will make everyone's trip more enjoyable. I crunched numbers to the penny before we bought DVC and I also tally up vacation costs for all of our trips. When making that calculation, I start with the purchase price plus estimated dues that we committed to pay in 2018 dollars when we purchased, then adjust for inflation. By folding everything into one number, I have an approximate cost for each point and, thus, for each trip. If you like that level of granularity, the calculation is simple.

If not, I agree with the earlier poster that 1/2 of the annual dues applicable to the points used to book the trip seems sensible.
 

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