Guests who want to go to Costco

So I have my first guest who requested to go to Costco. However I do realize it requires membership fee and if they want to go, gas and time. How much do you charge if any to the guests for an extra excursion?

I’ve never had such a request. My charge would range from zero to I won’t do it at all. LOL. Let’s say one of my regular guests that I like asked about it. I’d go with them for free, do my shopping too and get reimbursed from them as well as getting my rebates on their purchases at the the end of the year.

If it were a guest I didn’t like or I was unable to do this for some reason (I generally have lots of free time) I would refer them to this article and let them figure it out on their own.

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I can’t imagine being on vacation - or on a business trip - and wanting to go to Costco!

But if I had guests who wanted to there’s no way I’d take them. Far too much liability for me. Guests are buying accommodation - they’re not buying my services too :slight_smile:

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Would NOT take Guests to Costco, or anywhere, really. Too much hassle and liability. Would NEVER let them use our card.

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I wonder if it’s against their rules?

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Someone could use my card to go in and shop and simply pay cash. There are pictures and names on the cards but my guess it that those aren’t scrutinized at all.

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I personally would not drive guests. God forbid there’s an accident, guests would turn around and sue. Let them take Uber.

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??? I don’t provide transportation. I would just send them a link with the hours, address and membership info and let them figure it out.

I have gone shopping to the farmers market and our Costa Rican equivalent of Costco with my guests many times, usually meaning that they have tagged along on my weekly trips.
No charge … but I’d let them pay for the cab (these are way cheaper here).

It is all part of the fun of travelling!

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It is against the Costco Rules to let somebody else use your card. I have a business and I used to send my employee use my card to do shopping for the business. Costco caught onto this when they eliminated the self checkout lines. I actually wasn’t trying to pull anything, I thought it would be fine for my employee to do shopping for my business with my card. I was incorrect. They confiscated the card from my employee and made me come get it.

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If someone wants to tag along with me on my trip to Costco—Come ON!!!

I get a rebate on dollars spent and on charges on my Costco visa. Ring their items first, get a subtotal, ring mine, charge on card. I’ve got a double rebate coming. They pay me cash for the items I’ve charged for them.

Pre-trip logistics would involve making sure they brought enough cash on the trip to reimburse me. And I there would be a conversation about how much alcohol they were planning to buy. Enough wine for their personal use vs. not for a party.

I can already hear the nay-sayers warning me about the liability of having them in my car. My car, my risk, I would do it.

My rental is not in a “destination” so I could easily see guests wanting to go to Costco to get some supplies for the week. However my guests have their own car.

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Everyone has a different risk tolerance. Taking someone to Costco ranks very low on my scale but if someone doesn’t want to do it citing liability and insurance concerns is a good way to politely get out of doing it.

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No need for a sub-total. Just have them pay their part separately with card or cash.

The thought of being sued is a definite worry to me as people can be such idiots when they see dollar bills posing as compensation in front of their eyes.

But just as bad is what the media would make of it if there were any problems. I imagine horrible headlines…

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What I’ve learned from this Forum is that each listing (and host) is a unique circumstance: “one size does not fit all”

My personal experience is that about 70% of my guests have their own car (usually a rental). Those that choose to UBER, I’ve offered to take them to a local supermarket so that they could stock up.

Last year I had a Canadian couple arriving after 4pm on Thanksgiving Day. When they made the reservation I made them aware that many restaurants and markets would be closed by that time (and those open restaurants only via reservations). I suggested making reservations and I also offered to pick up some groceries for them if they would send me a list. They sent me a Trader Joe’s list, and I picked up their items while I was doing my own shopping. I left a receipt along with the groceries.

The next day the guests were going to UBER to TJ’s to pick up additional items that they could bring back to Canada. Apparently Trader Joe’s is not where they live and they had coveted items. I gladly drove them there while I did some of my own shopping.

For me, its not a big deal, as I have the time and willingness. If I didn’t have the time, I wouldn’t think that there would be an expectation for such.

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