Reddit users weigh in on adult siblings’ vacation bedroom dispute

Siblings are known for occasionally struggling to get along, especially in instances where they might have grown up sharing a bedroom.

And, based on a recent Reddit post, it seems that this rivalry can continue well into adulthood.

In the post left on the popular “Am I The A**hole?” subreddit, one sister recently explained that she was in charge of planning a family trip including her parents and younger brother.

Because of how difficult it was to find housing with three bedrooms, she had called her brother ahead of time to see if he could handle sharing a room with her that had two separate beds, she said.

“He said it was fine because we’d each have our own bed and asked me to book it. Once our parents signed off on it, I booked it,” the Reddit post read.

However, after arriving at the property, her brother said he thought the two of them should each take turns sleeping on the pull-out couch in the living room instead of sharing.

“I say I’m not going to do that. If he doesn’t want to sleep in the room designated for us, that’s fine. But I’m not sleeping on a pull out on vacation when there’s 2 beds,” the Reddit post continued.

After asking her brother why he agreed to the original arrangement if sharing a room bothered him, he told his sister that they were adults and were “too old” to share a room. He admitted he only went along with the idea after assuming she would agree to taking turns on the couch.

“I said he shouldn’t have assumed or at least had a conversation with me. He kept insisting and I said no. If he wants to sleep out there our whole vacation, fine. But I’m not alternating when I paid for a bed,” the sister wrote on Reddit.

This led to her brother sleeping on the couch every night of the vacation, she said, but he would lash out at their parents for coming into the communal room while he was sleeping.  

“If people wanted to hang out in the living room at night, he’d start bugging us to go into our rooms so he could sleep, as early as 8 PM. We’re on vacation, we’re going to stay up a little later and hang out. I always offered to let him sleep in the extra bed in the room but he refused unless I promised that I would sleep on the pull out that night. Which I didn’t do,” she explained.

“By the end of the (7 day, 6 night) trip, he was irritated with all of us over this. My parents and I feel that he’s the one who put himself in the situation and that there was an alternative to him sleeping on the couch but he chose not to. However, my brother is insisting that I should’ve swapped with him.”

After posting, many people turned to the comments to agree with the Reddit poster, mentioning how unreasonable her brother was being.

“He willingly agreed to the sleeping arrangements as part of the booking process. It was crucial to it being booked,” one comment began.

“That he withheld his alternative plan of you two switching off on arrival is just plain weird given he had every chance to have this conversation. He was always welcome to the second bed as agreed. But nonetheless he proceeds to behave like a stroppy toddler about the whole thing and about people utilizing the living room he’s subsequently decided to sleep in. He own goaled himself all the way with this one.”

Another commenter questioned: “Why on earth lie that you’re ok with it, then demand the room to yourself and then pick a living room pull out couch as the hill to die on?

“Sounds like he was making everyone miserable because he didn’t get his way but neither was he gaining anything from his stupid stance. What was the point of any of this? Has he apologized? Does he seem to feel bad about it? Is he usually this entitled? Why did he think it was acceptable for you to take the couch but not him? Good on you for not giving in.”