Vacation Celebration

August 3, 2022

This year marks a milestone for my parents; this fall is their 40th wedding anniversary. I have a younger brother, and when we got together earlier this year to decide how our families would celebrate this achievement, we ended up reminiscing about experiences we had growing up. A number of those memories shared were from family trips, which spurred us to choose to take our parents on a vacation. We ended up choosing the Denver, CO area for several reasons; both our families have children under two – so a long plane ride was out, with COVID lingering we wanted to stay domestic, and my parents have never seen the Rocky Mountains before.

With a group of nine, three of which are children, we started looking into vacation home rentals as we figured those would be the most cost-effective option. I began scouring Vrbo and Airbnb for places that fit our desired dates and needs. Ever the fan of a spreadsheet, I put one together tracking the various options available, which amenities each had, prior reviews, and the cost. We narrowed down the list and ended up with a great place in the mountains. One tip that I came away with because of this process – make sure to check several booking sites for properties. The house we ended up with was listed on both Vrbo and Airbnb and ended up being a couple hundred dollars cheaper on Vrbo for the same dates.

Next up was the rental car. On the same spreadsheet I used for the properties I began to search and track options for rental vehicles. In our case the options were limited given, based on the amount of people and luggage we were going to need a 12 or 15 passenger van. We ended up with the 15-passenger van, as it was a cheaper and gave us a bit more room for the children’s car seats and luggage. A few noteworthy things about our experience, if you are a Costco member make sure to include them in your list of comparisons. Booking though them was on par with the best rate I was able to find and offered a few “upgrades” such as GPS and additional drivers at no extra cost – and their rates are pay at the desk (not prepay). Also check to see if your credit cards have any benefits, such as rental car insurance coverage, if they are used to book or pay for the reservation. Make sure to read the fine print if you are renting a larger vehicle though, as I found some exclusions for vehicles greater than 9 passengers.

Our last hurdle is the flights. Unfortunately, the last few months have not been great for airline prices. We have been trying to wait it out to see if prices come down, but we may just have to bite the bullet. We have some flight vouchers for a trip that was previously scheduled that was cancelled due to COVID that we need to use before they expire, ours need to be booked by September and used by December of this year. Which is my last recommendation, if you have any travel vouchers or certificates from canceled trips know what their expiration dates are and what the rules are surrounding their use.

While this trip is going to account for a larger portion of our family’s budget, our hope is that with careful planning we can maximize the value we get for our dollars spent. And are looking forward to creating memories with three generations this fall.