Before comparing two totals, rewrite every charge as quantity × unit price × billing unit. A hotel may charge per room-night, a ticket per passenger and a vehicle per service day. Multiplying everything by the number of travellers—or dividing everything equally—can both give the wrong answer.
Copy this worksheet
Item: Hotel / Billing unit: Room-night / Quantity: Rooms × nights / Price and currency: ___ / Included services: Breakfast/tax ___ / Who pays: ___ / Changes or unanswered questions: ___
Item: Intercity transport / Billing unit: Passenger journey / Quantity: Travellers × legs / Price and currency: ___ / Included services: Bags/seat ___ / Who pays: ___ / Changes or unanswered questions: ___
Item: Vehicle / Billing unit: Journey or service day / Quantity: ___ / Price and currency: ___ / Included services: Waiting/tolls ___ / Who pays: ___ / Changes or unanswered questions: ___
Item: Guide / Billing unit: Day or hour / Quantity: ___ / Price and currency: ___ / Included services: Language/duration ___ / Who pays: ___ / Changes or unanswered questions: ___
Item: Attractions / Billing unit: Admission and ticket type / Quantity: ___ / Price and currency: ___ / Included services: Internal transport ___ / Who pays: ___ / Changes or unanswered questions: ___
Item: Meals / Billing unit: Table, dish or person / Quantity: ___ / Price and currency: ___ / Included services: Drinks/service ___ / Who pays: ___ / Changes or unanswered questions: ___
A blank is not a free inclusion. Mark it unconfirmed. If you booked a hotel yourself, check that the agency proposal does not charge for it again.
Test the arithmetic with an example
These are illustrative numbers, not market prices. Four adults share two rooms for three nights, at an assumed RMB600 per room-night. Accommodation costs 2 × 3 × 600 = RMB3,600. An agreed equal split is RMB900 each. Do not multiply that total by four again or mistake three nights for four.
If one vehicle hypothetically costs RMB1,200 in total, an equal four-way split adds RMB300 each. Accommodation and transport would then total RMB1,200 per person, excluding everything not listed. This only works when the group agrees to share those costs. A solo room, early departure or one-day participant requires a separate agreement before payment.
Track spending and available funds separately
Keep hotel deposits or pre-authorisations outside the consumed-spending column. They may temporarily reduce available funds; ask the hotel, platform and card issuer about release timing. A refund that has not arrived cannot pay tomorrow's transport bill.
Retain each original currency, then record the planning exchange rate and date you used. Final bank charges and posted amounts determine actual spending; this worksheet does not predict exchange rates. The Shanghai government payment guide describes mobile payments, cards and cash. Merchant payment capability does not establish that your account can send money to another person. Agree how friends will settle shared costs before relying on an app transfer.
Calculate three scenarios before booking
First, total the confirmed plan. Second, ask what changes if one traveller withdraws: which tickets are refundable, and does the vehicle cost stay the same? Third, estimate an extra night using accommodation, transport-change and meal costs you can actually obtain. Do not apply an arbitrary percentage and assume it covers every disruption.
If the third scenario is unaffordable, reconsider city changes, upgrades, optional activities or booking flexibility. Keep essential transfers in the calculation. Do not treat a possible insurance reimbursement as cash already available.
Send the supplier this request: “Please separate per-person, per-room-night, per-vehicle and daily charges. State currency, taxes, waiting and overtime, anything we have booked ourselves, and which costs change with group size. Please list unresolved costs separately.” Keep the answer with your orders, and update paid and refundable amounts during the trip.
Checked 2026-10-22. The worksheet and arithmetic are original planning tools; actual prices and payment acceptance require confirmation. See the China travel budget overview for broader cost categories.
Editorial archive date: 2026-01-01. This guide was compiled later; use the source-check dates stated in the text.
