Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Guest room fees?

[Sharon Villines (sharon]

On Dec 14, 2014, at 2:00 PM, Marty Roberts <martyr [at] sonic.net> wrote:

> We converted our kids play room (they're now teens) into a guest room.  The 
> discussion came up at our recent meeting about whether to charge for its use. 
>  what kind of rules and fees do you have for your guest room(s)?  Ours has no 
> shower…and only a fold out sofa bed.

This sounds pretty primitive. I have two thoughts:

1. You could charge a fee to fund an improvement of the facilities -- adding a 
shower. That may require a larger space.

2. Giving up the playroom because all your kids are teens may be 
short-circuiting future purchases. Playrooms attract young parents or would be 
parents.

2-3 years ago, the playroom designed for kids under 6 or so, was not being 
used. All except 2 who didn't use the playroom were 10 and above. There was a 
move to change the room for older children. This year we have six children 2 
and under. Three are new babies who will be using the room for years.

Most people with children under 4 or so use the room very heavily because there 
are different toys there than at home, more room to play, and parents or 
caregivers can sit and read or visit with each other. Children also play there 
during meetings.

So you might think in terms of charging so you can save money for a redesign of 
the CH so you can have both a playroom and a guest room.

Sharon
----
Sharon Villines
Takoma Village Cohousing, Washington DC
http://www.takomavillage.org