Entitled friend bails on group trip and demands a refund for her share of their nonrefundable Airbnb, but they refuse, so she accuses them of ‘pocketing’ her money: ‘Refunding her means the rest of us each pay more’

Author image for Lana DeGaetano
Lana DeGaetano • "Show me to me please."
Aug 20, 2025 6:00 AM EDT

Group trips, if they actually make it out of the group chat, will either be the most fun you've ever had in your entire life, or the catalyst for friend-ship ending feuds that usually have everything to do with entitlement, money, and arrogance. This next story illustrates how, if a friend bails on a non-refundable trip at the last second, they are usually not entitled to a refund. Keep reading.

You finally put down all the cash you need to lock down the Airbnb you've chosen with your friends for an overnight adventure. Vacations are few and far between for most of you, so excitement is filling the air as you inch closer and closer to the date of your vacay. To ruin the momentum, a friend bails on the trip and expects a full refund for a nonrefundable accommodation. If you can't find a replacement for your friend, then her money isn't coming back to her back pocket… Scroll below to read the full story.

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    via Getty Images For Unsplash+

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

  • What you don't expect from your friend is accusations of stealing her money. If a nonrefundable accommodation was chosen by everyone, then there is a spoken understanding that nobody will get their money back. The friend in this story chooses to end friendships rather than to part with the money she's lost, which isn't a particularly grand sum.

    Everyone's situation is different, but if she agreed to the trip, then she should be well aware of the risks.

  • "AITA for refusing to refund a friend who bailed on our Airbnb trip and says we’re ‘pocketing’ her money?"

    A group of us booked an Airbnb for a night away. It was a flat $280 rate for the place, originally, when planning there were 6 people ($46.67 each). Another
    via discodisco2323
  • girl joined then making it 7 people (months ago), so we recalculated to $40 each as final figures prior to paying a deposit followed by the rest of the payment.
    via discodisco2323
  • Everyone paid, the booking was finalised and agreed to 8 weeks ago and the host has been paid in full.
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  • Two weeks before the trip, one friend says she can't come and is demanding her $40 back, accusing us of "keeping extra
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  • money." I explained that there's no extra — the $280 is a flat rate - for the place regardless of 1 person or 10 show up, so
    via discodisco2323
  • refunding her means the rest of us each pay more ($46.67) 2 weeks before the trip after we already paid. We can't find a replacement this close to the
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  • date. Also, chasing 6 friends for initial payment was a nightmare, i shouldn't have to run around after them again for an extra 6 quid each because shes dropped out.
    via discodisco2323
  • 11:24 AC % % X 78 6 456 1 2 3 0 I Mar 04, 2019
    via Kelly Sikkema for Unsplash

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

  • AITA for saying no? btw its non refundable. If 5 more people cancel, everyone shouldn't have to keep paying more for their spot. Whats your opinion?
    via discodisco2323
  • Fit_Dimension9564 NTA. The cost was agreed, everyone paid, and the booking is non-refundable — that's just how - group trips work. If she bails last- minute, it's on her, not on the rest of you to cover her share. You're not "pocketing" anything; the price is fixed whether 7 people go or 6.
    via Fit_Dimension9564
  • No-To-Newspeak I have had to bail on a trip at short notice. I ate the cost and never expected or asked for a refund. I had made a commitment.
    via No-To-Newspeak
  • Specialist-Fan-9278 Make her chase each person for the $6.67 - that's not your job.
    via Specialist-Fan-9278
  • discodisco2323 Thats what i told her! And she said that was ridiculous she couldn't do that... but expects me to send her money out of my pocket and get them to send me money?
    via discodisco2323
  • cachalker Frankly, I'd hand her the $6.67 and tell her she's more than welcome to chase down the other 5 for the remainder, but it's not your problem to solve for her.
    via cachalker
  • discodisco2323 I did that! She was disgusted that i asked her to ask the rest of the girls herself, she treated me like a travel agent
    via discodisco2323
  • Organic_Start_42 Remind the ah travel agents get paid and a good deal
    via Organic_Start_420
  • ijustlikebeingnosy NTA. My friend bailed on a much higher Airbnb and never asked for a dime back because she said it's her fault and the rest of shouldn't be punished.
    via ijustlikebeingnosy
  • discodisco2323 Yeah this girl is an acquaintance, she's a friend of a friend
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  • Consistent_Proof_772 Don't invite her anywhere again
    via Consistent_Proof_772
  • discodisco2323 You wanna know the sad part? We all forked out over $400 for her surprise party last month. She will never be invited anywhere again
    via discodisco2323
  • makebetsgetsecs NTA Tell her to message the host and request her $40 back. See how well that works for her.
    via makebetsgetsecs
  • discodisco2323 She said "oh i know the host won't refund me. But I thought that you guys would" .. what..
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  • bigloser42 If someone is willing to throw away a friendship over $40, then they probably aren't worth having as a friend anyway.
    via bigloser42
  • discodisco2323 10000000%
    via discodisco2323

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friendship vacations entitlement best friends friends reddit story Airbnb friend entitled people karma group entitled reddit thread r-entitled Reddit summer vacation entitled people friendship feud vacation
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