By Soo Kim
Reporter
0
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
A post about a sister-in-law upset about a Disney World vacation paid for by a family member has gone viral on Reddit, where it received 11,900 upvotes at the time of writing.
"I travel a lot for work so I have so many hotel and airline points it is crazy. This summer I am taking my family to Disney World. We are going to stay at one of the resorts on the property," Reddit user u/Safe_Ad_6111 wrote in a post on the site's Am I The A****** (AITA) subreddit.
The Redditor said that their sister-in-law and her family "had a hard time" during the COVID-19 pandemic so they "decided to do something nice" and invited them on the trip.
Read More
Passenger Demanding Couple Stop Changing Baby’s Diaper on Plane Praised5 min read
‘We’re So Ashamed’: Parents Dragged Over Reason They Sent Teen Son Away4 min read
Bride Telling Stepsister That ‘No One Cared’ About Her Wedding Applauded5 min read
"My treat. I said I would pay for their flights, hotel, and park tickets," they wrote. While many would jump at the chance to go on a free vacation, the sister-in-law had a problem with the plans.
...
"Everyone was excited until she started talking to my wife," the poster wrote. "Now she is upset that we are staying at one of the resorts and they have to stay in Disney Springs. Apparently I'm being cheap by using points for their hotel instead of just paying for them to stay at the same resort as us."
Is the sister-in-law overreacting or is the poster in the wrong?
Psychiatrist Dr. Carole Lieberman told Newsweek that while the Redditor had good intentions, their mistake was in "not being upfront from the beginning" about the hotel stay when extending the invitation.
Etiquette expert Lisa Mirza Grotts disagreed, telling Newsweek that the sister-in-law "put their foot in their mouth by mentioning that their hotel should have been better. The entire vacation was a gift and a very generous one at that."
The Redditor said their wife told her sister and brother-in-law to "STFU [shut the f*** up] and accept the gift but they didn't."
Instead, the couple complained that they were "making their kids jealous by not letting them enjoy the same stuff" as their family.
The poster said the hotel booked for the sister-in-law and her family is "very nice," but "it's just not The Grand Floridian," which is described as a "lavish" resort and spa on the Walt Disney World website.
They later gave the sister-in-law and her family "the choice of accepting my gift or not coming since I could still cancel their reservations."
"They started yelling at me for being an a****** and taking something away from their children. I had talked to them like adults but when they started screaming their kids heard them and found out that they might not be going," they wrote.
"Now their kids are pissed at their parents for possibly f****** up their vacation. And I'm the bigger a****** for making them look bad in front of their kids."
'A Sneaky Surprise'
"The problem was that it came as a sneaky surprise," Lieberman, a psychiatrist based in Beverly Hills, California, said, explaining that it's natural for the sister-in-law and her family to assume they'd be staying in the same hotel as that of the poster's family.
"The poster let her believe this because he was a little embarrassed that he was using points for them," she said.
The poster's wife "made the situation a lot worse" and "her language was uncalled for," Lieberman added. It seems like she "didn't want the in-laws to be there altogether" and "sabotaged" the poster's good intentions behind their back.
'Always Show Appreciation'
Grotts, who is the author of A Traveler's Passport to Etiquette, said: "Whether their hotel was as lavish or not is not the point; the generosity should have been celebrated by this family member. Instead, they made an embarrassing gaffe that was foolish, clumsy and awkward for all concerned."
"None of us should ever downplay what we are given in life, be it a stay in a motel or a hotel. The key is to be grateful, thankful, and to always show appreciation," she added.
'Very Entitled'
Several users shared messages of support for the original poster.
In a comment that got 17,800 upvotes, user Empty_Comfort_4513 said: "You're gifting them airline tickets, park tickets AND a nice hotel and they demand more? Cancel their tickets. Immediately...NTA (not the a******)."
Redditor modders82 wrote: "OP (original poster) most definitely NTA. Talk about looking a gift horse in the mouth. They should be thankful you offered to even pay for flights, let alone tickets AND the hotel....AND for the WHOLE family?? Like the level of entitlement is beyond comprehension."
User throwitaway3857 wrote: "you're NTA but your SIL [sister-in-law] & her husband are. They're extremely rude & ungrateful."
User Pissy-chamber wrote: "OP gave her an all expenses paid vacay and [she's] so entitled [because] she didn't get to sleep on a golden bed and eat on a diamond plate! Come on she honestly is very entitled."
Newsweek reached out to the original poster via Reddit for comment.
Do you have a similar story to share? Let us know via life@newsweek.com. We can ask experts for advice, and your story could be featured on Newsweek.
View 0 Comments
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines