The missing £1

this is messed up, however. If you subtract 27 from 30, it gives you $3. that's the three dollars the three men got back. if you minus $2(pocketed) from $27, it gives you $25, which is the amount the manager received. Therefore, $25 + $3 + $2 = $30.

good answer but he didnt pocket 2 from the 27 as you said he pocketed 2 from the 5

Gouki is correct. You need to think about it differently. Yes, he did pocket the 2 from the 5, but then the problem gets fuzzy.

It says that the men paid 9 each, putting it at 27. Then, the two the porter took is added on again, to get it to 29.

Think about it as if they paid 25 to the manager, and 2 to the porter. Then, they got their three back. So the manager has 25, the porter has 2, and the men have three, totalling 30.

yes it adds up doing it your way but how come the 3 men paid £27 and the porter had £2 = £29

The room cost £30 since they gave back £5 the room only cost £25. Giving back £1 to each makes £25 + £3 = £28 and the porter keeps £2, £28 + £2 = £30

When the men paid 9 each, that became a total of 27. 25 of those went to the manager. 2 of those went to the porter. The question then throws you off. It wants to get you to have them pay the porter 4 instead of 2.

The question is misleading you. Look carefully, and you will see that your questions have been answered.

ya.. zex is right... the 3 men paid $27.. this 27 is the money paid for the stay(25) plus the money the porter took(2)... so u just took the change the 3 men take (3) plus the money they pay... 27+3=30.. and that add up to the total 30dollars...