I think the thing that bothers me about this kind of crowdfunding campaign (and crowdfunding in general, I suppose) is that it is so plainly selfish. Even if it’s funny, or charming, the premise seems to boil down to “I don’t want to miss out on this.” Meanwhile, it sounds like other friends in the group are maybe in similar situations? In which case, why not a) work out some plan with friends to split costs by sharing hotel rooms, renting a car and driving out together, coming up with a schedule for who covers what and when, etc, or b) if you must crowd fund, do so in a way that is on behalf of more than just yourself. I suppose I’d be less annoyed if I saw someone say that they were putting $300 towards a shared room where other similarly strapped friends can also lay their heads so they don’t miss out either.