On one hand, I am impressed with all the phone communication that OP's family had as the younger son and his family were driving to the beach house. At least those already at the house were communicating with them.

BUT I feel so badly for the younger son and his family. There is no way that all the telephone back and forth and pressure regarding the accommodation of a child (college kid is not paying her/his own way but tagging onto mom and dad's payment), did not put a damper on the younger son's start of his vacation.

The oldest should have gotten the 2 leftover rooms. They are getting 2 rooms. And their daughter sucks.

Anonymous wrote:The college kid is downright rude. She should have waited politely, instead of making all this to-do about needing a shower and unpacking. Thank goodness the other relative stood their ground.

Aren't they all? My college-aged nieces and nephews are so self-absorbed. I think it's the age and generation. If they threw a fit, we'd have a little laugh and move on.

I don't think when I'm grandma/grandpa age, I want to host my kids and grandkids all under one roof. How does that work for the grandparents? Do they do all the planning, cooking, and cleaning?

My parents pay for one vacation every year, and they get each kid a hotel room for their family. It's very generous of them, but I think next year I will offer to pay for a second adjoining room for my family, as we never stay in one room anymore. Hoping it doesn't offend my parents or siblings.

I would have told her the college student to just shower, change, and clean up after herself to make it look like she wasn't there if she couldn't wait.

What's not fair is that Younger Brother had to stand up for himself. Older Sibling should have shut up College Kid as soon as she started whining.

The family with the youngest/neediest children should get a larger room, even over the grandparents.

Oldest child and grandma need to stop ganging up on the youngest child. (You know this isn’t the first time they got annoyed by him insisting on getting his basic needs meet)

Be prepared for the youngest child to start prioritizes his and his family’s needs over the ingrained and inequitable hierarchy in your family.

If the rules are "we will wait for all the adult children to arrive", then those are the rules. Showing up early doesn't get bonus points.

I also would not necessarily trust either the photos or what the rental company says because everything is rarely "always awesome" in vacation homes. Angles can be deceiving in photos; undesirable things can just be cropped out of photos.

The oldest sibling sounds like an absolute nightmare!

Anonymous wrote:This IS a perfect family conundrum. I love it. 5 rooms, who gets what. Youngest sibling gets sh** on. Sounds like oldest sibling was “just asking” meanwhile she doesn’t realize the pressure she’s putting on people who are still en route. They just wanted to be treated like adults (finally!). Oh I love it.

If I knew I had last pick of rooms I wouldn't arrive hours before everybody else.

Anonymous wrote:Why didn't the college student hang out and shower in the room her parents were occupying? She was acting entitled and ridiculous.

Next time, I'd either get more master bedrooms/king suites, or let the youngest brother choose before arrival. You can always call the reality company to answer questions about layout etc.

+1
I'd be embarrassed if my child acted like this. This college age student is given a lot of power in OP's family dynamic.

The college kid is not a child, she’s an adult acting like a child. If she needs to shower she has access to one in her parent’s room. She should’ve dropped her stuff in one of them and waited until everyone else arrived before calling it her home for the week. She sounds selfish and spoiled and if she had that attitude with me I’d tell her she can take the sofa.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why didn't the college student hang out and shower in the room her parents were occupying? She was acting entitled and ridiculous.

Next time, I'd either get more master bedrooms/king suites, or let the youngest brother choose before arrival. You can always call the reality company to answer questions about layout etc.

All of this.

This was forming in my mind as I read it and someone stated it perfectly.
College kid hang out and shower in her parent's room
((AND STFU!!!))
She's at the beach. She should have grabbed a towel and out to the sand. I'm sorry for the tension but it's not youngest sibling at all.

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for the reminder why DH and I stopped sharing beach houses with family and friends.

Good rule of thumb. Do separate condos or a cruise.

This IS a perfect family conundrum. I love it. 5 rooms, who gets what. Youngest sibling gets sh** on. Sounds like oldest sibling was “just asking” meanwhile she doesn’t realize the pressure she’s putting on people who are still en route. They just wanted to be treated like adults (finally!). Oh I love it.