AITA for saying couples on group trips shouldn’t get priority?

AITA for saying couples on group trips shouldn’t get priority?

So me (27M), my brother (27M), his wife (26F), and her friend (25F) are on vacation right now. We’ve been planning this trip for almost a full year now and it’s come to fruition. We’re splitting the stay four ways between the four of us. My brothers wife hasn’t had a job for a month or so now but has since we started to plan this.

Because we couldn’t see AirBNB rooms in person really over photos no room designations were made prior. One location I shared a bedroom with them but was given access to no outlets while they did. The second I was given the room with no AC while their’s did.

(The country typically has no central AC so some rooms have units. We later found a hidden AC unit in my room but was still given the room when we all believed there wasn’t any).

The third location I have to climb three flights of stairs while they’re on the main floor. Since we’ve gotten here they’ve decided they get first pick of rooms. Their reasoning is because my brother alone is paying for half of the stay (2/4 splits) that they get first pick.

I argued that it’s unfair they get to just discount the other two people (myself and the friend) just because they as a couple are sharing a cost. There should be more conversation to this. We are all on this trip and we’re each paying our part, just bc they’re a couple doesn’t mean they should get majority shareholder power.

My brother said I was being selfish bc he thought my argument was that they should sacrifice the better rooms for me. Which is not my argument, but that they alone don’t get to make those decisions. It’s his wife’s decision to not work (I fully support) and my brothers decision to finance both their travel expenses, that doesn’t mean my input on a trip I’m paying my share for is selfish.

Here's what people had to say to OP:

ddddina wrote:

I usually think its fairest if the person who organized the trip (booked the accommodations, etc) chooses their room of choice. Of course, fairness is subjective and if you think their behavior is unfair its worth a discussion.

blushiba wrote:

They are a couple and need a room that accommodates two people.

OP responded:

That’s fine. The problem wasn’t the size of the room, it was the quality of the rooms.

ttchabz wrote:

I’m curious what room does the 4th person get?

OP responded:

She slept on the couch bed for two locations and the third one she’s climbing the three flights with me. She’s not upset about it but she’s definitely getting the worse end which I argued as well.

GlitteringDevice484 wrote:

So your complaints about the previous arrangements are: 1. Not having an outlet next to your bed, 2. Having AC in the room but originally thinking you hadn't and 3. Being upstairs, like most bedrooms. It seems like you're a bit too sensitive to be travelling with people tbh.

Your brother is right. The couple gets priority because they're paying half the bill. How do you think it's fair that two people share a bad room while one person gets the best room? If it helps, think of your brother and his wife as individual people who are each losing out because they're effectively only getting half a room. YTA.

hardboiledegg2024 wrote:

You realize that your current methodology means that your brother and his wife are effectively paying more right? No one counts occupancy by head, we count it by room. Also, no double bedroom would be twice the cost of a single bedroom. Not even if you wanted to nitpick and calculate their double usage of the shared facilities.

What I don’t get is why is your issue with your brother rather than his wife’s friend. She’s occupying the other single room and would be your “competitor” in the scenarios you outlined. Yet she has been somehow omitted from the story.

YTA.

Edit: Also if you go by votes, they easily get majority right? Why would you feel they should only get one vote if you’re all paying equal share.

tigergirluk76 wrote:

YTA for using her not working as some kind of justification. Whether she pays her own share or he pays it for her is irrelevant. Her share is being paid. They are sharing a room and you are getting your own, therefore their room is costing twice as much as yours, so inevitably they will get the bigger/main bedroom.

If you were staying in a hotel and paying for your own room, you would be paying twice as much per person as them. You're actually getting a bargain in airbnbs as your room is half the cost of theirs.

queenguineverekitten wrote:

NTA, but you know that. Obviously, if properties have one double and two singles then it only makes sense for them to get the double, but otherwise you should be taking it in turns to get first choice or you and the friend will just end up resenting your brother and his wife. If they’ve had first pick for the first 3 properties, get the friend on board and have a conversation: there are 4 of you so you take it in turns.

While that means that your brother and his wife will have first pick 50% of the time because that’s just the maths, you and the friend still get first pick some of the time, instead of always coming after the couple.

captains-log2021 wrote:

They don’t have to always get the best rooms, but at least a room that is large enough for a couple (bed size, etc). Apart from that consideration, everyone has a right to choose.