Can I ask for payment?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of people (or one person over and over, who knows) are saying that getting two rooms instead of one is some kind of egregious error that justifies not paying. That someone who would do something so ridiculous doesn't deserve to be paid. (I think that's the logic, correct me if I'm wrong).

I thought I'd come in an explain my thinking.

Families who sign their kids up for these camps, have already invested a lot of money. There are years of club fees, and the cost of travel. Many have done skill development camps, and had private coaching. These families had also paid the registration fee for this camp which was hundreds of dollars. And part of the motivation to do that is college admissions.

Once you've invested that much, an extra $100 to increase the likelihood that your kid is well rested, and thereby increase the likelihood that they'll do well at the camp that you have paid thousands of dollars to get him to, made sense to me. And if it made sense to me, on my budget, then my guess was that it would make sense to other parents with more generous budgets, who had spent more than I had, especially given that they'd presumably originally budgeted for a whole room, plus gas and tolls. So, when I sent my original text, that's what I proposed.

Now, could one or all have suggested something different? Sure. But they didn't. And maybe they overlooked that I was booking two rooms, or they felt it was awkward to say anything.

Can you give us an update? Did you ask and did they pay?

They did pay and I don’t have any reasoning to think that their reason for not paying was anything like the reasoning or the poster who thinks I should maybe let them sleep in my room. I think it is more likely that forgot, or mom and dad each thought the other paid or
something like that.

Your son should have slept in your room and the three other boys share.

Not everyone wants to share beds. If that’s your expectation, you’ve got to say it to the chaperone parent before the trip. It’s one bed per person. If the other kid wanted a separate arrangement and paid for his room, are you going to override and bring the two other kids he didn’t want in? My kid would call me right away and you’ll get an earful. The hotel won’t issue another room key without his permission anyways so that would pretty much settle it, because the other two kids will be locked out. But before getting there, why would you even propose it? You can’t just save money at the expense of other families.

I am confused by both this, and the people say they kids should have spoken up at check in.

I made the reservation. I had a prepaid reservation, and added two more rooms to it. When we were at check in, we changed the credit card for one room. In my experience that isn't that uncommon. "Hey, I want to use this card." or "Can I split this reservation between these two cards"?

But it didn't change the fact that we were already committed to 3 rooms, or the fact that the reservation was in my name, and would issue as many or few keys as I asked for. I agree that forcing the kid who had paid to let the other kids in his room would have been uncool, but it would also have been dumb, because it wouldn't have changed the number of rooms, one room.

[Anonymous]

Honestly, if you feel strapped for cash and the others seem to have plenty, I think I'd just send them a note with the final breakdown of costs as if were what had been agreed upon.

This is because the kids asked YOU ("Can we get a ride, too?") If you'd invited them, I'd say you needed to cover it, absent an offer from the parents. But in this case, you were just giving them a ride. I wouldn't ask them for gas money or anything, but their direct expenses, yes. Just send a text to the parents saying, "I finally had a chance to tally everything. Here's the total."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, if you feel strapped for cash and the others seem to have plenty, I think I'd just send them a note with the final breakdown of costs as if were what had been agreed upon.

This is because the kids asked YOU ("Can we get a ride, too?") If you'd invited them, I'd say you needed to cover it, absent an offer from the parents. But in this case, you were just giving them a ride. I wouldn't ask them for gas money or anything, but their direct expenses, yes. Just send a text to the parents saying, "I finally had a chance to tally everything. Here's the total."

Again with the choosy begging? Seriously you need to stop. Inviting kids for the ride is not the same volunteering to pay for the hotel. Who pays for $500 trips for kids they barely know, whose parents they’ve never met in person? Have some common sense, treating the kids with the meal at the restaurant was more than enough.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of people (or one person over and over, who knows) are saying that getting two rooms instead of one is some kind of egregious error that justifies not paying. That someone who would do something so ridiculous doesn't deserve to be paid. (I think that's the logic, correct me if I'm wrong).

I thought I'd come in an explain my thinking.

Families who sign their kids up for these camps, have already invested a lot of money. There are years of club fees, and the cost of travel. Many have done skill development camps, and had private coaching. These families had also paid the registration fee for this camp which was hundreds of dollars. And part of the motivation to do that is college admissions.

Once you've invested that much, an extra $100 to increase the likelihood that your kid is well rested, and thereby increase the likelihood that they'll do well at the camp that you have paid thousands of dollars to get him to, made sense to me. And if it made sense to me, on my budget, then my guess was that it would make sense to other parents with more generous budgets, who had spent more than I had, especially given that they'd presumably originally budgeted for a whole room, plus gas and tolls. So, when I sent my original text, that's what I proposed.

Now, could one or all have suggested something different? Sure. But they didn't. And maybe they overlooked that I was booking two rooms, or they felt it was awkward to say anything.

Can you give us an update? Did you ask and did they pay?

They did pay and I don’t have any reasoning to think that their reason for not paying was anything like the reasoning or the poster who thinks I should maybe let them sleep in my room. I think it is more likely that forgot, or mom and dad each thought the other paid or
something like that.

Your son should have slept in your room and the three other boys share.

Not everyone wants to share beds. If that’s your expectation, you’ve got to say it to the chaperone parent before the trip. It’s one bed per person. If the other kid wanted a separate arrangement and paid for his room, are you going to override and bring the two other kids he didn’t want in? My kid would call me right away and you’ll get an earful. The hotel won’t issue another room key without his permission anyways so that would pretty much settle it, because the other two kids will be locked out. But before getting there, why would you even propose it? You can’t just save money at the expense of other families.

I am confused by both this, and the people say they kids should have spoken up at check in.

I made the reservation. I had a prepaid reservation, and added two more rooms to it. When we were at check in, we changed the credit card for one room. In my experience that isn't that uncommon. "Hey, I want to use this card." or "Can I split this reservation between these two cards"?

But it didn't change the fact that we were already committed to 3 rooms, or the fact that the reservation was in my name, and would issue as many or few keys as I asked for. I agree that forcing the kid who had paid to let the other kids in his room would have been uncool, but it would also have been dumb, because it wouldn't have changed the number of rooms, one room.

What’s confusing about it? The kid gave you the money, it’s his room regardless of you paying for it with your own card and him reimbursing you or you making the reservation. That one kid is settled. The other two kids knew they were getting one room, you got one for them. Why all the hand wringing?

[Anonymous]

This situation is so dang easy you are wasting way too much time thinking about it. Just tell the two parents how much the hotel was. I promise you, they are not expecting you to cover the costs. I find it rude they didn’t ask you how much it was so they could Venmo you.

[Anonymous]

Those other parents may have given their kids money for the hotel. As the mom of a teen son, I can totally see one or several of them pocketing the cash and then just thinking to themselves, "oh Mrs. jones never asked for the money so I forgot." The whole...it's better to ask forgiveness than ask permission thing.