Cottage, camping or a trip with friends: choosing the right weekend
Everybody wants the cottage weekend. Nobody agrees on the date. Between shared custody, shift work and a summer full of weddings, finding a weekend when eight adults are free at once takes a bit of method. Here’s how to get from the first poll to the last e-Transfer.
One weekend, one option
For a two- or three-day trip, skip the time slots and use whole days. There are two ways to set it up.
- One date per weekend. Select only the Friday of each weekend and explain in the description: “Each date stands for the weekend starting that day, Friday evening to Sunday afternoon.” The grid stays short and easy to read on a phone.
- Three dates per weekend. Select Friday, Saturday and Sunday. You’ll see who can arrive Friday night and who can only make it Saturday. Handy for camping with flexible arrivals, but six weekends means eighteen columns.
Our advice: use the first approach to pick the weekend, and the second only if staggered arrivals actually affect what you book.
Compare four to six weekends
With fewer than four options, there’s a good chance none of them works for the whole group. Beyond six, people skim, and the furthest dates stop being realistic. Before sending the poll, cross out the weekends you already know are a problem: a wedding everyone’s invited to, a kids’ tournament, half the group’s office party.
Start early. For a summer cottage, begin looking at the end of winter; for a ski weekend, in the fall. The good places get rented long before most groups of friends finish talking it over.
Long weekends go fast
Holiday weekends are the most sought-after, by cottage renters and campgrounds alike. In Québec, that means:
- Easter (Good Friday or Easter Monday, depending on the employer);
- National Patriots’ Day, the Monday before May 25 (Victoria Day elsewhere in Canada);
- Fête nationale (June 24) and Canada Day (July 1), when they fall close to a weekend;
- Labour Day, the first Monday of September;
- Thanksgiving, the second Monday of October.
Add Québec’s construction holiday at the end of July, and the August civic holiday in many other provinces. For these dates, poll earlier and expect higher prices or minimum stays. Remember that not everyone gets the same days off: a nurse or a grocery clerk may well be working the holiday Monday.
The trouble with “Maybe”
Accordate’s score gives two points for each “Yes” and one for each “Maybe.” For a dinner, that’s ideal. For a cottage with a deposit, a “Maybe” doesn’t pay its share. Picture two weekends: the first has three “Yes” and five “Maybe” (11 points), the second has five “Yes” and three “No” (10 points). The first wins on score, but only the second lets you book with confidence.
A two-round approach works well:
- Round one with “Maybe” turned on, to get the big picture.
- Round two with only the top two weekends, “Maybe” turned off, and 48 hours to answer.
We’re down to two weekends for the cottage. This time it’s yes or no: we book on Friday with whoever said yes. [link]
Before you book: deposit, cancellation and who pays
Pick one person to make the booking, ideally whoever knows the owner or has the most patient credit card. Before paying anything, they should check:
- the number of bedrooms, beds and guests allowed;
- the deposit amount and when the balance is due;
- the cancellation policy, in writing;
- cleaning fees, pets, check-in and check-out times.
The person booking shouldn’t carry the risk alone. A simple rule: everyone sends their share of the deposit by Interac e-Transfer before the booking is made. Paying is confirming.
Splitting costs without the awkwardness
Agree on the formula before the trip, not after. Per person or per room? Does a couple pay double? Does whoever arrives Saturday pay for one night less? Also decide what happens if someone drops out after the deposit: either they find a replacement or their share is still owed. For groceries, one person shops and the total is split evenly; drinks are each person’s own. Track everything in a shared list and settle up within the week.
Example: in June, Emily wants to bring eight friends to a cottage in the Laurentians in the fall. She offers five weekends, one date per weekend. Thanksgiving gets the best score, but with four “Maybe” answers. She runs a second round without “Maybe”: Thanksgiving weekend gets five “Yes,” the last weekend of September gets seven. She sets the final date in Accordate, Ryan books once all seven deposit shares are in, and Sophie handles groceries.
Once the date is set, everyone can add it to their calendar in one click, and the comments under the grid are a good place to sort out carpooling. Your friends don’t need an account: a link sent by text or Messenger is all it takes. Create your weekend poll, then have a look at the date poll guide or our tips for planning the holiday party.