'They accused me of 'ruining their trip'': Responsible coworker bails on a work trip after catching his 'trusted' colleagues being sketchy in their Airbnb, he leaves them to fend for themselves then takes it to HR

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Jesse Kessenheimer • Writer and Editor
Apr 15, 2025 9:00 AM EDT

Friendships with coworkers are a dice roll. 

You could be starting a lifelong camaraderie with a person who deeply understands your life or you could be embarking on a fast track journey to the HR complaints department. Separation of work and life is crucial if you intend to keep a job for longer than a few months. Because once you burn a bridge with a coworker, you're stuck picking up the charred pieces every day from 9 am to 5 pm. 

After many decades in the workforce, you get a keen eye for the sorts of friends you want to make in the workplace. Remaining amicable, of course, is a priority, but if you have a group of coworkers who clearly don't respect you or your boundaries, perhaps it's time to cut ties. This young man in our next story learned a valuable lesson about the dangers of making besties on the job after a work trip went south and he was stuck with the bill. Keep scrolling to see how this life lesson turned into a meeting with HR that'll likely leave his disrespectful coworkers fired—or worse.

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    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • "AITAH for soloing a trip after my coworkers brought strangers into our Airbnb and made me feel unsafe?"

    I (26M) went on a trip with two coworkers (24F) that we planned earlier this year. They invited another coworker (24M) to join later. We agreed to split costs for things like groceries, a rental car
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  • (under my name), tickets, and some errands. I fronted the costs for a few things like festival tickets, groceries, and an e-SIM, with the understanding they'd pay me back.
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  • We had three group rules: safety first, we all come home together, and no randoms in the Airbnb. On night one, after barely sleeping during our travel, I
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  • stayed in while they went out with two men they'd just met on Hinge. They got blackout drink and didn't respond to my texts until late. Around 1 AM, one of the random men tried to enter our Airbnb alone. I told him to leave.
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  • At 3 AM, they all returned-drink and soaking wet. My coworkers told me to "close my eyes and cover my ears" while they hooked up with the two strangers on the
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  • balcony. I felt shocked, uncomfortable, and unsafe, so I quietly packed my things and left at 3:30 AM. I paid $50 to get the rental car
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  • out, found an overly expensive last-minute hotel, and continued the trip solo. The next day, they were apologizing for what happened the night before and admitted how intoxicated they
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  • were. I responded by saying I didn't agree with what they did and felt extremely disrespected. They asked for their basketball tickets so I sent them to avoid conflict and still wanted them to enjoy.
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  • Later, Coworker 3 arrived and noticed the Airbnb was trashed from the state they left it in
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  • they haven't stayed there since after day 2. He stayed one night and moved to a hotel because of how disgusting it was. When he tried to reach out, #1 told him she "didn't feel safe around me," which confused both of us.
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  • After the trip, I calmly asked to be reimbursed for agreed-upon shared expenses. Instead, they refused and accused me of stealing groceries, going through their luggage, taking the car for
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  • myself, and "ruining their trip." Meanwhile, they kept partying and posting about it online. They were also saying how I owe them for their food and uber expenses.
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  • Now they're spreading rumors at work, saying I'm "scary" and "untrustworthy." But all I did was follow our rules, pay for things upfront, and remove myself from a dangerous situation. I didn't
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  • cause a scene and I chose safety and peace. Now they're refusing to pay me back for what we agreed to split on. AITAH for leaving and finishing the trip on my own?
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  • JJOkayOkay You may want to look up how to take them to small claims court. Get your money.
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  • Also, feel free to tell people at work what they did. If they're going to spread lies about you, you can spread the truth about them.
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  • burner_suplex NTA. They're mad you didn't put up with their stupid horseshit and they're bringing it to work. Go to HR, or your nearest equivalent because they're intentionally creating a hostile work environment
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  • Smileeycake NTA, but please never pay things for others expecting their honesty, this scenario is more common than you think, ofc they will refuse to pay what they own! Also you are crazy if you don't spread what they did, specially the balcony part!
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  • Peircedskin I'm surprised you haven't been hit with a bill from the Airbnb owner. The place was trashed and the owner had to spend money to clean up and make the place perfect for the next guests.
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  • Go to HR and tell them exactly what happened, with their social media posts as backup. If your co-worker can tell their story too it will help immensely.
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  • Total up the amount they owe you, including the full cost of the Airbnb clean up and present them with a bill. If they refuse to pay see a solicitor/lawyer and sue them for the amount they owe.
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