Woman Says Her Sister Wanted $400 for a Family Vacation — Then Told Her She’d Be Sleeping on Twins or an Air Mattress

A woman says she backed out of a family vacation after her sister asked her and her fiancé to help pay for the rental house, then told them they would not get a real bed while the sister’s kids got first pick of the rooms.

The woman, 33, shared the situation in a recent Reddit post, explaining that she and her 35-year-old fiancé were invited on a trip by her sister, 42. At first, she said she was told her sister and brother-in-law would pay for the rental property. She was not even sure they could go because her fiancé had just started a new job, so she asked for the exact dates before committing.

Two days later, the plan changed. Her sister told her the house had been booked, the dates had shifted, and she now wanted the couple to pay $400. The poster later found out that amount was about one-third of the rental cost. Her sister said she and her husband would cover food for the week, so the poster agreed once her fiancé was able to adjust his time off.

Then came the sleeping arrangements.

According to the post, the sister had allowed her three children, ages 18, 14 and 12, to choose their rooms first. By the time the poster and her fiancé were told what was left, their options were a room with twin beds or a room with bunk beds. The poster said she did not think it was fair for them to pay a third of the rental fee while two of the children slept in rooms with a king and queen bed.

Her sister suggested they push two twins together or use a blow-up mattress. She also made it clear she was not going back on the room choices she had already given her kids.

The poster’s fiancé suggested skipping the family trip and taking a separate vacation as a couple. The poster said they had the money to do something else, but prices were higher because they were traveling during peak season, so she was unsure if backing out was the right move.

After getting feedback, she posted an update. She said there had been a chance one of her sister’s children might bring a friend, which would have meant the kids would need the room with the twin beds. When she asked whether that friend was still coming, her sister said it did not matter. Even if the friend came, they were not making the child give up the room. They would put a blow-up mattress in there instead.

That was enough for the poster. She told her sister it did not make sense to pay for a vacation where she and her fiancé would not be comfortable. She said the whole thing hurt her feelings because they were expected to contribute to the rental but were not considered when the rooms were assigned.

Her sister did not take that well. In another update, the poster said her sister claimed the situation was being taken out of context. The sister said the vacation was “their” trip, the $400 was only meant to offset the cost, and the couple’s payment did not mean they got equal say. The poster pushed back, reminding her that they had been invited before the house was booked and that the dates had even been changed after her fiancé had already requested time off.

The argument escalated from there. The poster said her sister sent a long message saying she and her family were basically doing the couple a favor by inviting them and that they had been more than accommodating. The sister also said it was probably best if they did not come, even though the poster had already backed out.

In the end, the poster and her fiancé decided to skip the trip completely. They also decided not to take another vacation this year so they could put more money toward their own Asia trip the following spring. They had previously planned to take that bigger trip with her sister’s family, but after the rental-house argument, they are leaning toward going on their own instead.

The comments were mostly on the poster’s side. One person summed it up by saying the couple was “too grown to be pushing twin beds together.” Another commenter argued that the sister was not offering a family vacation so much as asking the couple to help pay for her own. Several people pointed out that if adult guests are being asked to contribute money, they should not be treated like an afterthought once the rooms are handed out.