You’d think planning a fun weekend away would be easy, but the reality of this story was way more complicated than that.

One woman had organized a cottage trip, only to watch two friends drop out unexpectedly, one going completely silent the day of departure, the other offering vague, conditional plans about possibly showing up for at least one day.

The catch was the trip costs were already finalized.

So when the group voted to charge both friends a reduced fee to help cover the financial gap left behind, that decision ended up creating some friction.

One particular friend pushed back, claiming he’d been unfairly pressured into paying something he never agreed to owe.

That’s how a relaxing getaway ended up sparking a much bigger disagreement than anyone anticipated.

Keep reading for the full story.

AITAH for making my friends pay for a cottage they didn’t attend?

Long story short, my friend group and I planned a group cottage trip.

From the start, the plans were always a little shaky.

One of my friends told us 2 weeks before that he couldn’t make it, but then during the trip, he said he might be able to join us, and it was a case-by-case situation (specifically stating he will come a minimum of one day).

Her friends’ communication left a lot to be desired.

The other friend straight up didn’t respond to any of our calls or texts the day we departed, and ultimately didn’t come.

So then came the question of how to handle group expenses.

During the trip, the rest of us decided that it was fair to charge them a reduced fee for cancelling last minute/not responding.

We voted, and the majority favoured charging them 3/4 of a day’s cost for a 3-day cottage trip.

Now her friends are angry with the verdict.

Since then, although they paid, they have been very angry about feeling “pressured” to pay, and feel like they shouldn’t have.

What a mess.

Redditors chime in with their thoughts.

This user thinks she found the best possible solution.

This user shares their philosophy for planning group trips.

This commenter went through something very similar.

It’s important to take a hard line against flakiness, especially when your finances are on the line.

Ghosting the group chat on departure day and still expecting zero financial consequences is a pretty bold ask.

Nobody forced anyone to sign up for a trip and then vanish without a word.

Paying 3/4 instead of the full share was already the group going easy on them. That’s the part these friends clearly didn’t understand.

Ghosting has consequences, and apparently one of them shows up on Venmo.