Where are we going?

1. Look around. The Map and Destinations tabs show every place under consideration, scored the same way, with travel difficulty from each home.
2. Add houses. Check the Lodging tab first so we don't add the same house twice (the site blocks a repeat link or name and opens the existing one). On My picks, paste a listing link (Airbnb, VRBO or a cabin company). The site reads the page, places it on the map, and scores it against our family's needs in about a minute. Add as many as you like; add the nightly price if the page doesn't show it.
3. Pick the week. On the My Availability tab, mark each week Can't / Could / Prefer. The results roll up by household, and the site ranks the weeks that work for everyone and shows which houses are open then.
4. Talk it over. The Chat tab is one thread for the whole family. Tag the house you're discussing so the thread stays attached to it; each house's details show its recent messages. Type @ to mention someone. A 💬 flag at the top of every page tells you when there are messages you haven't seen, red when someone mentioned you.
5. Spot what's new. Houses added after you joined carry a green New badge until you open them, and the Lodging tab shows how many are waiting.
6. Save favorites. Tap the ♡ on any house to keep it in your own favorites list (nobody else sees it). The Lodging and Lodging Availability tabs have a "My favorites" filter.
7. Check availability. The site can't read a host's calendar, so when you look at one, open the house and record the weeks you saw open or booked. The Lodging Availability tab lines every house up across May 1 to Aug 20 so we can see who is open when. "Not available for our week" disqualifies a house from the ballot.
8. Nominate two. Each household nominates the two houses it is actually recommending, from anything on the site: its own finds, an AI Selected house, or another family's. Only nominated houses go on the ballot, so a destination with no nominated house can't be voted on. If two households nominate the same house it appears once and the votes aren't split. Can't decide? The 🎲 button on My picks nominates two of your favorites at random.
9. Vote. Nominations lock on Sept 21 so the ballot is fixed. Then rank the nominated houses from your favorite down (at least three); ranked-choice, changeable any time before voting closes Sept 28. A 🎲 on the Vote tab fills a random ranking if you truly can't choose. We book the winner right after, because 7-bedroom houses for June go fast.

• Every adult votes; every household counts once. If two people in a household both vote, their ballots count half each.
• Rank at least three. A house you leave off gets no points from you.
• Counting. Instant runoff: the house with the fewest first choices is dropped and those ballots move to their next choice, until one house has a majority. Ties break on total points, then on the house's score.
• Results are final at the deadline. No extensions for a household that doesn't vote.
• If the winner can't be booked when we call, the next house in the final ranking is the pick. No re-vote.
• Disqualification is only for availability. A house leaves the ballot only when someone confirms it isn't available for our week, never for taste.

Houses show who added them only in a small "More" line at the bottom of the detail view, so people judge the house, not the person. Results stay hidden until Joseph opens them.

We are five couples plus four kids (11, 8, 4 and 2). A house needs five couple rooms (a king, a queen, or two fulls) and two kids' rooms (bunk beds welcome; kids sharing one bed need at least a queen). That's seven real, enclosed bedrooms. Lofts and sofa beds count for nothing.

For health reasons, nobody in the group can sleep above 5,000 feet. Any destination or house above that is flagged ⛰, has its weather/location score capped, and takes a flat 10-point penalty (4,000 to 5,000 ft is marked borderline). Day trips higher are fine.

Per household, door to door. 1–3 under 4 hours or one short nonstop · 4–5 one nonstop plus a drive · 6–7 a long drive or a connection · 8–10 a connection plus a long drive, 10+ hours.