Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Common house reservations

[Kay Argyle (kay.argyle]

Events in the common house are encouraged to be open to the community. In
practice, extended-family parties are private. A nominal donation is
requested for events that aren't primarily community, to cover utilities and
supplies. Some pay it, some don't.

There was some concern initially about the guest rooms being monopolized,
especially at holiday season. The original policy (which, since it's never
been repealed, is still official, although totally ignored) was that each
household got two weeks free use and was asked to donate $15/night after
that. 

There are two parallel reservation systems (for any facility). are made on
(a) the paper calendar by the "internal mail"  and (b) the calendar 

About once a year there's a double-booking when someone reserves something
one place but not the other, then someone who hasn't checked both places
tries to reserve it. It has been concluded that the paper calendar has
priority, even if it was the later booking (a decision not popular with
everyone), and if someone doesn't say "I've already written it on the
calendar by the internal mail" (a file box with a folder for each household)
when they ask it be added to the email calendar (mailed weekly or oftener).,
someone is sure to remind them.

In practice monopolizing hasn't been an issue. Booking issues have been
worked out mostly amicably. It helps both that many households never use the
guest rooms and that we have overflow space -- more than once guests have
ended up sleeping on borrowed mattresses on the floor elsewhere in the
common house.

Kay


-----Original Message-----
From: Catya Belfer-Shevett [mailto:catya [at] homeport.org] 
Sent: Thursday, October 30, 2008 6:58 AM
To: Cohousing-L
Subject: [C-L]_ Common house reservations


Hi all,

I'm looking for the common wisdom on common house space reservations to 
start a discussion with my group this Sunday (we're moving in soon).

How do you handle guest rooms reservations? Are there worries about 
people monopolizing them? What do you do about that?

How about the great room?  Inclusive (of the community) events? 
Exclusive/private events? Big events? Small events?

Other community rooms? Living room or whatever?

Thanks!!

        - cat

-- 
Catya Belfer-Shevett   ~   webmaster, www.cohousing.org
www.catya.org   ~   Cohousing in MA! www.mosaic-commons.org
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