Hey all. We do a big group trip every summer, usually twelve to fourteen people across a few families. Historically everyone brings their own tent and the campsite looks like a refugee camp with gear everywhere and no common space. Someone suggested one large shelter as a shared hub plus small sleeping tents. Does that setup actually work or is it a solution looking for a problem?
It works and it is honestly the best group camping configuration there is. The hub plus satellites model solves the exact thing you described - you get a real common space for cooking and hanging out, and everyone still has their own privacy at night. Use a large camping tent (https://coody.us/collections/large-tents) as the hub, Coody's big models like the Familia 17.2 run around $2,199 and give you serious standing room for a group. Split fourteen ways it is nothing. Practical tip: whoever owns the hub tent should not also be the one setting it up alone every single year. Rotate that job or you will quietly resent everyone by year three. Ask me how I know. Also agree on who stores it in the off season, that is the other argument waiting to happen.