Screaming baby at ski resort -- who's right and who's wrong?

Me too, specially since he mentioned that the brain surgeon was attending
a "conference". What he should have pointed out was that attending the
conference was a scam to make his ski trip to Colorado tax deductible.
"Professional conferences are a cliche at Colorado ski resorts. Quick meeting
in the morning and then hit the slopes. All costs a nice tax deductible business
expense for professional development.

Maybe this article will end up with brain surgeon brother in law in IRS audit.

 

Please ask the blogger if his brother in law is taking a nice big fat tax deduction for the trip.

 

People take trips with their families to conferences all the time in all professions. And conferences in many professions are also chances for mini-vacations. That's how they are set up or they wouldn't be at places like ski resorts or Vegas. How do you know how it was paid for? His office might have covered his expenses and he covered his family's. That's been the case on the couple of conferences I've gone on with my wife. In the end, I still think the point was that the doctor never sees his family and this was a chance for them to spend some extra time together.

And further more, a trip like that would probably mean fairly little for a tax deduction to someone who likely makes as much money as he does. Regardless, I don't think a tax deduction was at all the reason he took his family on the trip.

 

I'm just waiting for the story of someone on vacation in Indianapolis who couldn't get any sleep because of drunken APSE judges.

 

I get that when you go places you're not going to be guaranteed complete silence at all times. And everybody has the right to take their family on vacation. And it's completely unrealistic to expect people not to bring their kids places. I remember flying back from a visit to the in-laws and my three-year-old daughter was crying uncontrollably because of excruciating pain in her ears from the cabin pressure. We were doing everything possible to comfort her and some lady started screaming, "OK kid, we get the point. Shut up!!!" It took everything I had not to get up and get in her face about it. And I always feel for other parents in that situation. But I can also understand the frustration of shelling out huge money for a once-a-year trip -- particularly if you're of average means -- and then being kept up all night by someone else's kid through the paper-thin walls. No excuse for the passive-aggressive anonymous letter under the door, though. They should have contacted hotel management about getting a different room or a white-noise machine or something.

 

The blogger presented story like doctor was on important trip. I bet you that
the doctor was on a ski vacation where their happened to be a conference.

 

"Thank you for bringing your screaming drunken sports editor to Indianapolis. My family saves up all year for our annual vacation to the Indianapolis Courtyard Marriott and there is no reason we need drunken sports editors running through the hotel after racking up huge bills at St. Elmos."

 

People take trips with their families to conferences all the time in all professions. And conferences in many professions are also chances for mini-vacations. That's how they are set up or they wouldn't be at places like ski resorts or Vegas. How do you know how it was paid for? His office might have covered his expenses and he covered his family's. That's been the case on the couple of conferences I've gone on with my wife. In the end, I still think the point was that the doctor never sees his family and this was a chance for them to spend some extra time together.

And further more, a trip like that would probably mean fairly little for a tax deduction to someone who likely makes as much money as he does. Regardless, I don't think a tax deduction was at all the reason he took his family on the trip.


If he makes that much money, why not shell out for a chalet or a suite and spare everyone else the agony of his kid's teething?

 

People who are nice to you in these situations make getting through them so much easier. When my oldest was about a year and a half, I traveled with him to visit family by myself. On the way out we had a seat on the plane open to us, we didn't buy him a seat, and he sat in it buckled the seat belt and everything for a bit. He thought he was quite big. The flight attendants thought it was cute. On the way back we had the same situation and he wanted to do it again. Flight attendants would have none of it that time and my son lost it. Instead of getting annoyed of him, everyone around him entertained him and helped calm him down. There was one gentleman right behind us who was especially kind. I couldn't thank him enough.

 

Because he wouldn't have been able to predict at the time he booked the room how his kid would be.

 

You're probably right. And I bet any number of people on this board have or know someone who has done the same thing at one point or another. I'm guessing he paid for it the right way. Does it make a difference if he actually attended the sessions, which I am guessing he also did? Regardless, he did it to be with his family more, which is the point.