Friends want couple to pay and extra $283 after vacation because they stayed in the master suite: 'He should have spoken up before the trip'

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JR Atkinson • Writer and Editor
Oct 21, 2025 10:00 PM EDT

It can be really awkward to talk about money with friends. It's usually a topic most people try to stay away from, because feelings can get hurt quickly. You also never know the depth of someone's relationship with money. Every one of us grew up in families that had particular ways they dealt with money, and that baggage stays with us for a long time. Maybe you grew up with very little, so you adopted a scarcity mindset. Maybe you grew up with a lot, so you are more reckless with your spending. No matter what background you come from, money can be a touchy subject. 

But when you do things with friends, the issue of money is bound to come up. Especially if you take a trip together. Those tend to cost pretty significant chunks of change. But there are well-acknowledged ways around this. Usually, that means splitting something evenly. But is that actually fair at the end of the day? To some people, it is. And to some others, it should be more detailed than that. 

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  • A group of friends on a trip sit on the steps of an Airbnb.
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

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

  • Either way, though, you can usually agree that however you're splitting it should be defined beforehand. You should decide on a course of action and stick to it. That way, you have plenty of time to back out if you're not comfortable with it. But that's not what happened in this story, where a group tried to renegotiate a split after the trip had already happened. Read on for the details.

  • Am I in the wrong 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.
    via u/Acrobatic_Regret_839
  • 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.
    via u/Acrobatic_Regret_839
  • 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
    via u/Acrobatic_Regret_839
  • 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.
    via u/Acrobatic_Regret_839

  • Commenters chimed in with their opinions.

    WesternMainer 3h ago . "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.
    via u/WesternMainer
  • Isabella2003 · 3h ago 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.
    via u/Isabella2003
  • • throwitaway82721717 3h ago NTA. You can't wait until after the vacation to start changing how people are being charged. If there wasn't an issue before it shouldn't be an issue now.
    via u/throwitaway82721717
  • NonaAndFunseHunse 3h ago 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.
    via u/NonaAndFunseHunse
  • • ScaryButterscotch474 3h ago NTA Nope. If your friend had this view... he should have spoken up before the trip to allow people to make alternative arrangements if they disagreed. After the fact is too late so he can suck it up.
    via u/ScaryButterscotch474
  • Own_Armadillo_416 • 3h ago 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.
    via u/Own_Armadillo_416
  • A couple enters an airbnb with their luggage.
    via Unsplash+ (A. C.)

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

  • Mindless_Giraffe4559 3h ago NTA. You pay what was agreed upon at the beginning. lol..Even if there were 10 people in that room it wouldn't cost any more. It was per room, not person.
    via u/Mindless_Giraffe4559
  • Outrageous-Banana905 • 3h ago One room shouldn't have to pay double! They aren't paying utilities! A fraction more, yes, because they got the master bedroom. Double? Hell no!!
    via u/Outrageous-Banana905
  • According_Pizza8484. 3h ago 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 cheapass and I doubt the vacation will be fun with his attitude going in, I'd personally cancel it altogether
    via u/According_Pizza8484
  • Lovebeingadad54321 • 3h ago NTA. Up front was the time for your "friend" to bring up this objection, not at the end of the trip. Sounds like someone went overboard on spending on booze and souvenirs and wants to renege on the deal.
    via u/Lovebeingadad54321
  • Kal_Ort_Por • 3h ago Cheap ass friend. Next time, have everyone pay up front.
    via u/Kal_0rt_Por
  • . Recent_Data_305 · 3h ago There was an agreement in place before the trip. Offering to pay a bit more for the larger room is very reasonable. I suspect that this "friend" is one of those people who wants to split dinner checks evenly after ordering drinks, appetizers, and dessert. NTA
    via u/Recent_Data_305
  • • jma7400 3h ago 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.
    via u/jma7400
  • marmite-on-toast 3h ago • My friends and I always split by person not by room. Not fair to penalise people for being single, and makes it cheaper for everyone.
    via u/marmite-on-toast
  • Warbird979 • 3h ago NTA. It sounds like the terms of who would pay what was agreed to beforehand. Your wife wasn't a last minute addition, her being there was planend all along. The friend should have brought up his objections ahead of time.
    via u/Warbird979
  • No-Stress-7034 3h ago 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
    via u/No-Stress-7034
  • 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.
    via u/No-Stress-7034
  • orpheusoxide · 2h ago 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.
    via u/orpheusoxide
  • However, that argument should have occurred before the trip not afterwards when money is due.
    via u/orpheusoxide
  • ViennaVean • 3h ago . You all agreed beforehand, that you pay for room, so you pay for room. Next time if your friends want to pay for head, they need to say it before you book your hotel.
    via u/ViennaVean
  • Spare-Shirt24 • 3h ago NTA Everyone agreed upfront what the split for the Airbnb should be
    via u/Spare-Shirt24
  • mzmm123 · 3h ago NTA . I would refuse to pay extra at this point. The time to have a complaint about how the price was divvied up was BEFORE the trip happened, not after the fact. You agreed to pay extra for the master bedroom - and that was fair and that should be the end of it. Your friend is the AH to try and change the agreement after the fact
    via u/mzmm123
  • Heavy-Equipment8389 2h ago What's fair is to stick to the original agreement, that was agreed in advance when reservations were made.
    via u/Heavy-Equipment8389
  • Cuban... • 2h ago Edited 2h ago Standard procedure is always its split by head count unless decided beforehand to split by room or couple. It wouldn't be fair that the two of you got the cost of a single person. You aren't paying double you're just paying per person. But you guys did decide in advance that it was per room. That's fine in that case. NTA
    via u/CubanDave87
  • AdInevitable2695 3h ago ESH This should have been thoroughly discussed, and paid for, well before the vacation took place.
    via u/AdInevitable2695

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