Money Moral Dilemma: Should my friends who can't make our whole holiday still pay the full amount?

GIVETOCHARITY

Get them to ask the landlord or agent for a discount - they will get a clear answer and you can avoid confrontation....

honestcove

If they are still your friends after being so tight and unfair to you, they must be really special friends. Perhaps then you can could not just subsidise their holiday, but pay all of it for them.

Stelly21

It's all been said really, they need to pay in full, end of story. The fact they have even asked to pay less says what type of people they are!! They shouldn't of even pit you in this position. Not great friends at all and I personally wouldn't holiday with people like that again 

goggum

They not just asking to pay less; they are asking you to pay more.  Supposing more than one of the group did this? Presumably someone in the group is financially responsible for the booking and any cancellation penalties etc. if the trip is not viable.  Always agree in advance how costs will be split in the event of unforeseen issues or changes in circumstances.  I hope your friend is reasonable about this.

Bigphil1474

I think it depends on why they can't make the full week and if they gave any pre-warning. I'm in a similar boat, in that a group of us have booked a house for a week away in July, but I did say that I may not be able to make it due to a work commitment that may or not be cancelled before the trip (still don't know if it's going ahead or not). The other 7 have agreed to split the bill between them, and I will pay if I can make it. In my case it will be all or nothing though. If i was going to be able to go for a few of the days, I would expect to pay for my share for the property for the whole week.

gloriouslyhappy

A group of friends and I have booked a holiday apartment for a week. Some are now saying they can't make the whole week, and have asked to pay less. We can't downgrade, as we still need an apartment big enough for all of us, so it'd mean the rest of us paying more. When this has happened to me before, I still paid the full amount. Should I tell my friends they still need to pay in full, or should I agree to pay more, to avoid arguing?

What a cheek! ‘Some are now saying’ means they’ve only just changed their minds about their length of stay and decided the rest of you should subsidise their holiday. I can’t abide people like this - at best thoughtless, at worst entitled, either way a pain. Tell them to contact the holiday apartment management and see if they can negotiate a discount for the group rental and if not, pay up and shut up. 

I wouldn’t worry about any arguing - real friends wouldn’t do this, and I’d quietly drop these people from my friendship circle.

Emerion

Also, with one week to go, the chances of finding a suitable smaller apartment for the ones that are coming for the full week are not good. You’ll probably still end up paying more. 

 Some people need the obvious pointing out : “If you pay less, the rest of us will have to pay more than our share to make up the difference, through no fault of our own. Would you be happy paying more if our positions were reversed? I thought not. Yes, you do have to pay the full amount.”

And as others have said, never book for friends unless it’s money upfront. You assume people will be reasonable because they are your friends, but so many won’t.

ginger_chocolate

Being generous I can only assume that it hasn't occurred to them that if they pay less, the other people staying will have to pick up the tab (they may think, for some reason,, that the owners of the accommodation will reduce the overall rate - if they don't do holidays very often they may have rose-tinted glasses about this kind of thing).

So I would approach with the assumption of good faith and just say: "I understand it's annoying to pay for the full week when you're only staying a few days, but unfortunately if you don't pay the full amount agreed to then the rest of us will have to pay the excess and that doesn't seem fair on everyone else."

LizzieFlorence

Yes they should pay the full amount. Looking at it logically they would be getting a subsidised stay  with their share being divided by all of you on the days of their stay and then the remainder of the stay divided by those of you who stay on. Hardly seems fair.

BNJ

Get new friends, they shouldn't even be asking this!

(I'd accept a 'can "x" come in my place' request if they suddenly can't make it, and the rest of us UNANIMOUSLY agreed to "X" coming). Otherwise they should just pay what they agreed to.