I think you are being really nice by letting them come along on your vacation (if this were me, the post would have begun something like " can you believe the outrage that these difficult people have insisted on crashing our family, once in a lifetime vacation." i digress, but it sounds like we have differnt kinds of ILs!)
anyway, i'd def. make sure to explain why you are using the hotels you are, and get the closet one possible. if youwant to be extra nice, you could always do some research to find places within their price range and close to your hotels (this is all if you aren't hopnig ythey will be babysitting your sleeping kids in your hotel while you and your spouse are out on the town!) |
I'd be staying at separate hotels. They inserted themselves into your existing plans. No way would I shorten my trip or increase my budget to accommodate that. And I definitely would not be assisting them with costs to make things "even" as PPs have suggested. I'm sure your trip was based on having your hotel costs covered by points you've been saving. |
Fair? OP planned her vacation and then had other people say they wanted to come too. It's not her responsibility to pay for these people if they can't afford the trip. OP is not staying for fee- she had to get those points some way. OP has a budget. She saved up points and planned for this vacation. It sounds like she did not budget for expensive hotel rooms for other people on her family vacation. |
While I think it is very generous for the OP to offer to help cover costs, clearly they are not in excess of vacation budget if they need to use hotel points to meet their vacation budget. You are already being generous by including them in your vacation. |
Is it possible to use your point to stay at nicer hotels for the second part of your trip? If yes, I'd do that. If no, I'd stay at different hotels. Just make sure you guys have phones to stay in touch. |
The OP said she was "happy to have them along". If I were her, I would share it. But then, I am a sharer. |
Oh my word, all the analyzing. Just tell them you have saved your points and let them decide which nearby hotel they want to stay at. They are adults, and will understand. They should be proud of you for sticking to a budget and not going over board. |
I get along fantastically with my family and have done many family vacations. Sometimes we're in the same hotel, sometimes 2-4 different hotels. It is not particularly complicated to stay in different hotels. Just choose one of the hotels and meet in the lobby each morning. Easy. |
I disagree. They invited themselves. Plus some distance on family vacations is a good thing. |