Can a friend join our cottage holiday if she needs two afternoons for work?
TravelPeople, dialogue, accommodation and prices are fictional.
‘Please go out without me. I don't want to change the holiday,’ Jo tells three friends considering a coastal cottage in their home country. She has approval from her employer to work remotely on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons; the other days would be leave.
The cottage quote is £1,200 for six nights, with four bedrooms. Split four ways it would be £300 each rather than £400 among the original three. Jo offers to pay the same share even though she would spend eight hours working. She asks for a bedroom with a desk and no noisy games in the kitchen during calls. The listing's actual workspace and connection have not been checked.
Amir would love her company but says the group should be free to take their one car out all afternoon. Jo agrees, then asks whether they could always be back by six so she can join dinner elsewhere. Beth worries that they'll keep cutting walks short rather than leave Jo behind. Everyone says they are easygoing; nobody has compared the two workdays with their hoped-for outings.
What should they agree before adding Jo to the booking? Is there a workable version where her calls are respected and the others still feel free to spend the day out?