Based on the update above I think it’s reasonable to send a message to the parents of the boys who didn’t pay telling them the cost of the hotel room and asking them to pay. You can be polite about it as if they should be expecting this information from you and will pay promptly. If they don’t, I guess just let it go. |
Camp was a 7 hour drive with an 8 a.m. arrival time, and no overnight option between day 1 and day 2. So we stayed in a hotel before day 1 and between day 1 and day 2. |
Per your update: you drove 14 hrs round trip for a 2 day camp? And with no on-site housing so you had to pay for a hotel room for the duration of camp?
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Yes, you can ask for payment. They’re teens and probably didn’t even think about it. A quick and friendly email is all it will take. The other parents were rude not to thank you for driving and taking care of their kids overnight. |
Lesson learned. Next time, send a quick text ahead of time to let parents know cost breakdown. Please Venmo me X if your kid is joining us. No drama, no assumptions, no lingering resentment.
How many people were there in total? It sounds like 5. How many rooms did you have and what were the sleeping arrangements? |
Yes |
This sounds like a mess. Why didn’t you tell the parents the plan for the rooms and payment in advance? And have your kid tell the other kids too? |
I think you can follow up because you did send the link, but lesson learned for next time!
For this time, I’d say something like…” finally following up on lodging costs. The 2 nights came to 350 and Billy and Tommy shared so 175 each. I am happy that I was able to make this happen for them, and I enjoyed getting to know your boys! That’s it. No food, no gas costs. If you took my dc I would absolutely expect to pay for the hotel ( and I’d pay for gas and food too) but for this scenario just get reimbursement for the hotel and move on. |
+1 This is perfect |
Were you out of pocket costs for the kid who didn’t pay or are you just hoping to get some money to cover gas and things you were spending anyway?
If it’s the former you should definitely send an email. If it’s the latter then the kid should have offered something but I don’t think you can bill them after the fact. |
Agree plus 1. And if the one kid who paid actually paid for the whole room- I’d say- cost for the room is X and he paid it all so payment would go to that kid/family. |
I agree with the majority of the posters. Now, it would feel really weird to chase down people now and ask, “Hey, remember that fun trip your kid went on? That’ll be $102.50, thanks.”
What do you estimate are your additional costs? Don't count gas because that expense would've been the same. It sounds like kids brought money for food but some didn't have enough. Cash can be hard to estimate but I'm surprised they didn't have some electronic form of payment. You said one kid gave you money for the hotel. It sounds like you had your own room and 4 kids slept together in second room. Is that right? How much hotel money did the one kid give you for hotel and what was the cost of the second room? |
Based on this, I think you can let the parents know their share of the cost for the hotel. I mean you did those parents a favor. This wasn’t a trip that you were inviting kids to join. It was a ride to camp. How rude that it wasn’t offered. As for gas, I wouldn’t ask for money for that. You would have had to pay for it anyway. |
The most important lesson to be learned here: teach your teen not to volunteer your services without checking with you first. This whole thing would have been avoided if you had kept with your original plan. |
Why on earth didn’t you sort this out beforehand? And what kind of camp was this? |