They Refused to Pay Extra for Their Friends’ Kids on Vacation
A person with no kids joined a group vacation with friends. When the group booked a bigger Airbnb to fit the children, the poster balked at splitting the bill evenly among the adults, and the friends called that selfish.
The poster asked Reddit’s r/AmItheAsshole whether refusing to pay extra was out of line. The Daily Dot reported the story on October 21, 2026, when the post had about 6,100 upvotes and 1,100 comments.
Show Marge’s quick verdict (spoilers)
The Scroll in Brief
- Five adults went on a group trip, and some of them brought children.
- The group booked a larger Airbnb for the kids, then proposed splitting the total equally among the five adults.
- The poster, who has no kids, objected and was called selfish for it.
- Marge’s ruling: not the villain, with one small catch about timing.
The Verdict: 😇 Not the villain. A bigger place for other people’s kids is a cost that belongs to those parents, and it should have been agreed on before anyone booked.
The Original Post
The thread above is the poster’s own telling, shared on r/AmItheAsshole. We have not verified it, and the Daily Dot said it could not independently verify the account either. The friends’ side was not available.
The Short Version
The poster, who does not have children, went on a group vacation with friends. There were five adults, and some of them brought kids. To fit everyone, the group booked a larger Airbnb, which pushed the total cost up.
The poster had agreed to split costs at the start, but changed their mind once the bill grew. When it was time to divide it, the group proposed splitting the total equally among the five adults. The poster objected, saying it was not fair to charge everyone the same when part of the cost came from making room for the children. They stressed that their objection was about the money, not the kids.
The friends did not take it well. One argued that children should not count when costs are divided because they have no jobs or income. Another called the poster selfish and said a vacation is about shared experiences, not tallying every dollar. According to the post, the friends saw the comment as insensitive to the parents and felt the poster was risking the trip over money. No update was reported.
What the Internet Said
Most commenters sided with the poster and said parents should generally cover the extra costs their own children create. One commenter said it depends on the sleeping setup: if kids sleep on the floor of their parents’ rooms, there is no added cost, but parents who want separate rooms should pay for them. Another compared it to a hotel, where parents would not ask friends to pay for their children’s extra room.
A parent in the comments agreed with the poster and said parents should pay for their own kids. The common thread was that these costs should be talked through before anyone books.
Marge’s Ruling
Marge rules not the villain. Splitting a bill five ways sounds fair until you notice that the bigger Airbnb exists because of the children. Asking the parents to cover that extra slice is a reasonable line, and it is not an attack on the kids. Calling someone selfish for it is a stretch.
The catch is timing. The poster agreed to split costs first and only pushed back once the number grew, and that is the part that stung the friends. A short message before booking, like “what is the plan if we need more room for the kids?”, would have saved everyone the fight.
For the next trip, agree on the rule up front: shared spaces split evenly, and anything added for kids is on their parents. As always, this is one side of the story, and the friends’ version is unknown.
Cast Your Vote
Marge has ruled. Now it’s your turn: pick a side below, then see how the Goblin Tavern on Discord voted.
The Tavern Verdict
Our Discord votes on every Goblin’s Verdict with reactions. To vote, open the post in #goblins-verdict and tap one: 😇 Not the villain, 👿 The villain, 🔥 Everyone’s a goblin or 🕊️ No villains. Here’s how the Goblin Tavern is leaning:
Tally: voting just opened. Join the vote in our Discord.
Keep digging: She Told a Friend Why the Group Stopped Inviting Her to Movies, She Changed the Wi-Fi Password on a Neighbor Who Stopped Paying and more Reddit drama verdicts.
Sources
- Daily Dot: Redditor Refuses to Split Vacation Costs for Friends’ Kids (October 21, 2026). The Daily Dot said it could not independently verify the Reddit account.
- The original r/AmItheAsshole thread, embedded above. We link it rather than copy it; the text belongs to its author.
- Featured photo by Askar Abayev on Pexels.
