'AITA for thinking I shouldn’t have to pay double for a trip with my wife and friends?'
"AITA for thinking I shouldn’t have to pay double for a trip with my wife and friends?"
Context: My wife and I got an Airbnb with my brother and his friends. It was 5 males and 1 female (my wife.) This trip was planned in advance and wasn’t supposed to be a guys trip or anything. My wife coming was planned from the beginning.
We had a 5 bedroom Airbnb hotel and my wife and I shared the master room. We originally agreed that we were going to split the Airbnb cost evenly between the 5 guys, but I agreed to pay a little more since I got the master room with my wife.
Fast forward to the trip ending and it’s time to pay up… we now have one friend complaining that we should charge by headcount instead of by room, and that we should split the total cost of the Airbnb between 6 instead of 5 (I would have to pay double the cost now for myself and my wife.)
But if I am paying equal shares for my wife and I, wouldn’t that mean she’s also entitled to a room? I understand paying a bit more for the master room, but I think it’s odd to ask me to include my wife in the headcount when we shared a room and didn’t affect any amenities or spaces being used…
We obviously paid for groceries/food/drinks by person and I handled the bill for my wife on that stuff. I just thought the Airbnb should be split by room. My friend now wants me to pay an extra $283 so he can save $62. What do you all think?
Here's what people had to say to OP:
According_pizza8484 wrote:
NTA. It should be split by room not by person, and you agreeing to pay extra for the master room sounds fair. How much extra were you originally paying? If you agreed to pay 100 extra even this would be reasonable from the sounds of it, your friend is being a cheapa** and I doubt the vacation will be fun with his attitude going in, I'd personally cancel it altogether.
orpheousoxide wrote:
NAH. Eh...I agree that it should be divided between six people not five. If it was couples, you can go by room. If it's a couple and singles it does feel like the singles are subsidizing the one extra. Not sure if this arrangement also meant you got your own attached bathroom while four others share one. However, that argument should have occurred before the trip not afterwards when money is due.
kurokomainu wrote:
NTA It's irrelevant what this guy thinks after the fact. What matters is what you all agreed to at the start.
"We originally agreed that we were going to split the Airbnb cost evenly between the 5 guys, but I agreed to pay a little more since I got the master room with my wife."
Assuming "we" includes that guy, he has no leg to stand on. The time to bring up his points was when you were coming to an agreement before the trip. Once made, the agreement doesn't need to be made nil and argued again from scratch just because he changed his mind when nothing else changed. His arguments for why the split should be otherwise are moot at this point.
ETA: ask this friend how he would feel if it were the other way around and you'd all agreed to his idea at the start and then you unilaterally demanded it be the other way after the fact. Sometimes what counts the most is keeping to what you agreed to even if you later change your mind. Otherwise, how can you all budget and make plans around these kind of agreements?
No-stress-7034 wrote:
ESH. If one of the other people on the trip had a problem with the original plan for how rooms would be split, then they should have brought this up before the trip. However, I do agree with that person that your proposed split wasn't fair.
It sounds like you got the nicer room - the master rooms are often much nicer. Plus, you aren't just paying for a room, you're paying for the whole house. Six people are sharing the common spaces of the house, not 5. Splitting it 6 ways would have been the most fair way to do this.
jma7400 wrote:
NTA. I think how you guys did it at the start is pretty crappy on your end. It should have been split 6 ways not 5 ways because 6 people were staying. That being said it was agreed upon before the trip so that should stand. You are not the AH for sticking to the plan. He had a chance to voice his concerns at the start but didn’t so he can’t complain now.
Nonaandfunsehunse wrote:
I don’t find it weird paying per person, the master bedroom is typically much nicer than the other rooms. Who was part of the decision to pay per room? And your statement about “paying a bit more” might have been misunderstood.
Own_armadillo416 wrote:
Regardless of how I would do it, or anyone else, the issue here is that you seemed to have an agreement with the group and someone changed their mind at the end. Agree with others posters saying exchange money as soon as the plans are agreed upon in the future.
Isabella2003 wrote:
Yes? No? Maybe? If there are 6 people going, you split the rental 6 ways. You're paying for the whole rental, not just the bedrooms. But the time to figure that out is before the trip, not when the vacation is over. There was an agreement. Asking someone to tack on over $280 as a last minute change is unreasonable.
WesternMainer wrote:
“You had a chance to disagree when the trip was being planned and discussed. We reached an agreement about cost sharing, which I am honoring. I’m not comfortable changing our agreement after the fact for this trip.” Then just stop discussing. If he feels strongly about it, he can raise the issue for discussion before the next trip.