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He Planned A Budget Beach Trip Around His Friends—Then They Canceled And Wanted Their Money Back

man planning a vacation on a map

Pexels/Reddit

Canceling a trip you committed to is one thing. Asking the person who organized it to blow up their own vacation so you can get your money back is something else entirely.

The man in this story booked a three-bedroom Florida condo across the street from the beach after both of his friends enthusiastically confirmed they wanted to go.

He double checked before booking. They both said yes again. They paid, they started a countdown, and then three weeks before departure, both pulled out.

The man understood their reasons and didn’t hold it against them. But now they’re pressuring him to cancel the whole condo so they can be refunded.

Now he’s stuck scrambling to find replacement travelers just to save face.

Keep reading for the full story.

AITA for not cancelling a vacation because my friends changed their mind last minute?

A few months ago, I was offered a great deal on a condo in Florida. The total cost split three ways is under $500 per person for the week.

The condo has 3 bedrooms and is across the street from the beach.

So he immediately invited a couple of friends to tag along.

I asked two friends if they wanted to go. Both immediately said yes.

I double checked before booking and they were both excited to go, so I booked the condo. We all paid our shares.

My friends started a vacation countdown timer and seemed truly excited about the trip.

But then the cracks in the arrangement began to show.

Lately they have been expressing an interest in reducing the cost of the trip (flying vs. driving). I priced out the cheapest options possible.

Both of my friends are retired and one has limited funds.

Then the inevitable happened.

Now the trip is only three weeks away, and both friends have canceled due to personal reasons.

I understand that life happens, and although I am upset they can’t go, I understand their reasons for cancelling.

Then his friends asked something that was way out of line.

Here is the rub — they are both asking me to cancel the entire trip so they can get their money back.

He immediately has a problem with this proposition.

The issue is that I still want to go. I’ve been looking forward to this vacation, and I’ve already planned around it.

I don’t feel like I should have to cancel because they can no longer attend. I am not retired and this is a vacation away from work for me.

He tries going about refunding his friends another way, but hasn’t had much luck.

To try to help, I’ve been reaching out to other friends to see if anyone wants to take their spots. If I can find replacement travelers, the canceled friends would get some, if not all, of the money back.

So far, I haven’t had any luck, but I’m making an effort because I don’t want them to lose their money if it can be avoided.

Now he finds himself stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Here is my dilemma — they agreed to the trip, and their inability to go isn’t something I caused. On the other hand, I do feel bad that they’ll lose their money if I don’t cancel.

They are my friends and I don’t want this to end a friendship. I can’t afford to pay for the entire trip alone.

WIBTA if I went on the trip anyway instead of canceling it so they can get refunds?

What a horrible position to be in.

Redditors chime in with their thoughts.

This user doesn’t think his friends are really entitled to a refund.

It’s unlikely that a refund is possible in this scenario.

True friends don’t behave this way.

His friends need to get a dose of reality.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a disabled man who is considering cutting off his friends because they take advantage of him.

There’s an unspoken rule with group trips that a lot of people don’t want to acknowledge: when you commit and pay, that money is at risk if you back out. That’s the deal.

It’s not the organizer’s job to make everyone whole when plans fall apart, especially when he’s the one who did all the legwork to begin with.

He found the deal, booked it, confirmed twice, and even priced out cheaper travel options when his friends started worrying about costs. By all accounts, he did everything right.

His friends will just have to eat the cost of their flakiness.

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