My friends all get a vacation rental every summer — but I'm sick of paying more just because I'm single. Is there a fair way to split the bill?

Let’s pretend, for example, that Stacy is planning to rent a four-bedroom beach cottage with five other friends this summer. Four of the travelers are married couples, while Stacy and one other person are both single.

Stacy and her other single friend both feel like the best approach is to split the cost of the cottage six ways, with each person paying an equal share. But her married friends favor splitting the cost per room, so doing a four-way split.

But does this make sense, or does it disadvantage Stacy and the other person who isn’t part of a pair?

The case for splitting per room

Splitting the costs by room is a common approach, and it’s the option recommended by Corey Bates, a financial and investment advisor at Solomon Financial. However, Bates recommended a twist that doesn’t involve just dividing the cost four ways when there are four rooms.

“The fairest approach to splitting a house or cottage would be to assign each room a value based on size,” he told MoneyWise. “For example, let the couples have the master and larger rooms, but they pay a bit more, and let the singles stay in smaller rooms but pay a bit less.”

This method could also account for other discrepancies. For example, if one room has an ocean view and another overlooks a brick wall, that could be taken into account as well.

And it provides flexibility for the group. A single person with a bigger budget might want to pay more for a better room in the house, while a married couple who are stretching to pay for the vacation may be happy getting cozy in a smaller space. Giving each room a value gives all of the travelers an option to find what works for them.

The case for splitting per person

Of course, there’s also an argument to be made for splitting per person.

After all, each person going on the trip increases the total overall cost of accommodations, since a group with fewer people might have been able to rent a smaller place. Plus, this system is simpler, everyone benefits from the property, and it represents a shared trip mindset since the group is having a collective experience.