Here’s the scoop on how we live it up at low cost to our sharehouse members.
What are the house rules?
- Members may not use hard drugs or engage in reckless and/or threatening behaviors. Being excessively drunk is no excuse for engaging in such behaviors.
- Pay on time (for yourself, for your guests, and for grocery overruns).
- Help out (with cooking, cleaning, and around the house) when you can, wherever you can.
- No kids.
- No pets (besides our mascot Yorkie, Prozac).
- No cigarette smoking indoors or inside the yoga studio/movie screening room. Cigarettes may be smoked on the upstairs deck and should be disposed of in the ashtrays (not the planters, please). And please don’t throw cigarettes into the yard or woods. No cars = no firetrucks, get it?
- No refunds.
Do guest fees really pay for the cost of our food and alcohol?
Like most sharehouses these days, guest fees pay down the cost of food and alcohol. This means that ALL guest fees go directly toward EVERYTHING we eat and drink- from gruyere to granola. What’s more, Seven Seas Sharehouse is at an advantage- with 4 guests per weekend (as opposed to 2 or 3 at other houses), we will be able to cover more chow without digging into your change.
What about overruns?
If we have a weekend with particularly indulgent eating and drinking, there may be a small overrun for our members to cover. Since we have four guest spots per weekend, if the spaces are filled, we estimate overruns will typically be less than $20. Receipts and balances will be posted on our Activity Board so everyone can see for themselves how much we spend and how much we’re saving each weekend.
What else is included in my share?
When you pack your bags to come to Seven Seas, you only have to bring your clothes, your personal toiletries, and your toothbrush. We provide everything else you might need: freshly laundered sheets, towels, and blankets, sun screen, bug spray, beach chairs, board games, trashy mags, yoga mats, exercise equipment, stocked medicine cabinet/first aid kit, and even dental floss!
Who cooks and cleans?
On weekends, sharehouse members can sign up to try their hand at cooking for the rest of us. In the past, current members of Seven Seas have prepared many successful dinners: fresh tuna, salmon, and squid sushi; a Brazilian feast featuring carne del sol churrasco; grilled lamb chops with a cherry balsamic reduction; and much more. Not cooking this time? We ask that you pitch in with the clean-up from meal preparation. We are happy to include weekly housecleaning and laundry service with the price of your share. We also grant eternal karmic goodness to those who tidy up during the weekends before or after heading to the bars.
What if I know I can’t make it on one of my scheduled weekends?
You are able and encouraged to trade weekends with others. It helps with scheduling and lets you meet more people too! If your Great Aunt Mildred is celebrating her 100th birthday and you absolutely won’t be able to come on your regularly-scheduled B-weekend, you can trade with another member who may want out of one of his/her regularly-scheduled A or C-weekend for a similar momentous event. Then, you both get what you want! We love cooperating!
Is it a good idea to trade weekends?
At the risk of sounding a bit like Big Brother, trading weekends is good for you. Not only does it grease the eternal karmic wheel, it mixes things up a bit. Sharehouse veterans will tell you the snoozer weekends are typically the ones where everyone already knows one another. We recommend you try to trade into every weekend series so you get to meet everybody in the house, and thus multiply your chances at meeting someone special you might really really really like.
Trading is tedious, can I sell my weekend to someone else, or have a friend come in my place?
No.
What is the procedure for executing a trade?
In May, once sharehouse members have been finalized, your fearless sharehouse managers will send you a master e-mail list. Should you desire to procure a trade, you simply use this e-mail to “Reply All” and find someone who matches your needs. For example, you might send an e-mail titled “Female A trying to trade out of 8/15 weekend,” or “Male C trying to trade into 7/2 weekend.” Once you’ve gotten a bite, you send us an e-mail with your confirmed trade, we all e-sign on the imaginary dotted line, and we’re good to go. NOTE: We strongly prefer trades between same-gender members, as we want to keep the balance 50-50.
Can I bring my friend out with me for one of my weekends?
Absolutely. Of course, you’ll want to bring your coolest friends out here to show them how we roll. We want you to be able to share the Seven Seas experience with the people you love most. In fact, many of the founding members of Seven Seas were guests at sharehouses in Kismet at one point or another! Guest sign-ups open to you on May 1st, and are reserved on a first-come, first-served basis. It’s worth stating the obvious here- people you bring should be good representations of you and should be the kind of people we’d all like in our beach house.
How much does it cost?
Guests pay $230 per weekend, and can arrive anytime on Friday and leave anytime on Monday. All guest fees are paid in advance when the spot is booked on our easy online system. This is an all-inclusive price for your guest- they won’t be asked to chip in any more for food, booze, or other amenities. Money between friends is usually much harder than money between strangers, and it’s quite possible your best friend will tell you Friday at 8am that she’s really not into having an awesome time at a beach house this weekend. This is why payment must be made at the time the reservation is made online. At this point, one of 3 things might happen:
- We might miraculously be able to fill that guest spot with someone dying to come out from our waitlist,
- You will find your own better-than-the-last-one replacement and have the switch approved by us, or
- You will be stuck footing the bill and feeling the heat from house members’ glaring eyes all weekend who didn’t get to bring their friends out.
What are the guest policies?
Guests may make an appearance at Seven Seas a maximum of 2 times per season during their first year, and once per season any year thereafter. House members can guest one additional weekend (besides your designated 6-week series) per summer. All Seven Seas guests must be invited to guest by a sharehouse member on a weekend when that sharehouse member will be present as well (duh!). And although we do love to have new folks at the house, we’re generally against guest monopolies (i.e. we don’t want you to invite more than 2 of your own guests per weekend, or reserve a more-than-reasonable number of guest spots during your series). Finally, all guests must be approved by the sharehouse managers. Should a guest not “work out,” they will be asked to leave the house/island immediately at their own cost, and will not be given a refund.
Can I stay at the house on weekdays too?
When the weekends are just not enough, why not stay the whole week? Yes. You get 30 free mid-week nights included in the price of your seasonal weekend share. It’s up to you if you want to use these to sandwich your weekend shares by coming out early or staying late, or if you want to spend whole weeks at a time during the summer.
What about guests on midweeks?
If you are staying during the midweek and would like to have a guest stay in Seven Seas with you, they can guest at the regular midweek rate of $75/night. The same guest policies for weekend guests apply (see above). The mid-week begins Sunday evening and ends Friday at noon. Midweek access is subject to availability and blackout dates.
What are the midweeks like?
Take our word for it- the mid-weeks are some of the best times out in Fire Island. The calm and quiet atmosphere makes for great lazy days on the beach, long bike rides to neighboring villages, and your unlimited use of our much emptier beach house. It clears out in Kismet, which means you have the run of the place and can enjoy the island however you like.
Do you rage until 6 a.m. or go to bed at 6 p.m.?
For the sake of our house members and our friendly Kismet neighbors, we have instated house quiet hours from 1am-10am. Although the house is young and lively, we are respectful enough to understand that when people want to go to sleep, we should party on elsewhere. If you’re still revved up at 1am, take the crew to the bar or the beach. In the morning, we ask that people be respectful of their sleeping house mates by keeping down noise levels until 10am.
I came out and didn’t like the rules (or the food, or the music, or the fun). Can I have my money back?
There are NO REFUNDS and no guarantees.
Can I get a refund?
There are NO REFUNDS of any kind whatsoever ever.
What should I bring for a typical weekend?
You should bring enough clothing for the length of your stay and appropriate attire for the weather and the activities in which you plan to participate. You will need your own personal toiletries (i.e. toothbrush, razor, hair comb, deodorant, etc.), although shampoo, conditioner, soap, toothpaste, and other sundries will be provided for you (see above). We provide clean bedding and towels.
Can I leave items at the house between weekends?
If you desire to leave some clothes or a few other personal items behind, you are welcome to do so, provided that they occupy a space equivalent to one drawer or less. Seven Seas Sharehouse is not responsible for your personal belongings, and cannot guarantee your favorite striped tee will be in the drawer upon your return. For larger items (bike, surfboard, conga drum), you must get approval from management first.
What should I leave at home?
Besides the obvious items we mentioned above as not allowed (hard drugs, kids, pets), we also suggest you leave items of value at home. There is no need for fancy stuff at the beach. Besides money for your balances (collected on designated weekends) or guest fees, you don’t need a lot of cash here except if you plan on going to the bars where there is an ATM and where they do accept credit cards.
