As kids get older, sometimes it’s fun for them to have a friend join them on family vacations. If your child was invited to tag along with one of their friends on a family vacation, what would you expect to pay? Would you expect to cover hotel, car, airline tickets, activities, food, souvenirs, or a few of these expenses?
In a Reddit post, a mom shared that her daughter joined a friend on a trip to Costa Rica, and the mom was shocked when the family sent her a really expensive bill after the trip.
The mom wrote, “Ok so my daughter (16) went to Costa Rico with a friend and her parents & grandparents. I assumed they would only charge us for her food and activities like zip lining. Nope. They are asking for a portion of her accommodations and car rental as well.”
The mom wasn’t sure how to respond to this bill. She shared, “I would never dream of charging so much when I was going anyway! We have the money so this ain’t gonna break me. I just want to have a conversation.”
She also explained why she expected to only cover activities and food. She wrote, “Why on earth did I assume she was tagging along? Because that’s what we did for my other daughters friend two years ago.”
The mom genuinely wanted advice on what to do next, and several Redditors scripted texts for her to send to the friend’s parents. One person wrote, “Thank you again for taking (daughter) with you, she had a wonderful time. I want to get you repaid promptly but to be honest this bill has thrown me for a loop, I must have misunderstood what it meant for come along with you. Can we talk (at school pick up/ next time you’ll see them / on the phone)?”
Another person suggested, “Hey so correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think you mentioned anything about having to pay for the room and the car in addition to ___’s food and flight and everything, it kinda threw us for a loop. Did something go wrong on the trip, or was this a miscommunication?”
In the end, it turns out that the mom didn’t even need this advice because the problem resolved itself. She updated the story writing, “I can’t believe it. I did nothing and I got an email today removing the VRBO fee. I can’t believe it!! I just saved myself alotta money by doing nothing!”
She also added what she learned from this experience. She wrote, “Next time I will def communicate my exact expectations.”
It seems that the friend’s parents changed their minds all on their own about asking for such a big refund for the trip.
What would you have done if you had gotten a bill like this from one of your children’s friend’s parents? If you had a child’s friend tag along with you on a vacation, how much would you expect the friend’s parents to pay for?
