How do you plan a trip when everyone has a different budget?
Short answer
Set the shared baseline at the lowest comfortable budget in the group, and make everything above it optional and individually paid. That way nobody has to say out loud that something's too expensive, and nobody has to skip the trip.
Talk about a range, not a number
Asking people what they can spend puts them on the spot. Proposing a range — "I'm thinking around $1,200 each all in, does that work?" — lets someone say it's too high without having to volunteer their finances.
Structure the trip so opting out is invisible
- One booked group dinner instead of five, with market lunches around it
- Optional paid activities scheduled against a free alternative, not against nothing
- Accommodation chosen for the whole group, so nobody splits off to a hostel