Hotel rooms and maximum occupancy

[Elizabeth86]

I'm not asking if it is right or wrong, I'm asking if you cram your large family in a room meant for less people. As a family of 5 and our smallest member being less than 2 there is no way we are paying extra just for her. Usually we try to do what is righy, but not on this one. Our whole family of 5 has all ended up in the same queen sized bed many nights.

[Tap]

For a toddler... I wouldn't think twice about leaving them off the head count.

[lovinmyboys]

In America, we have taken our family of 6 (4 kids under 10) on many trips and have never gotten two rooms. Once we even had an extra kid with us. We have never snuck them in-nobody has ever said anything to us about needing a second room.

 

When we were in Europe, the hotels were much more strict about occupancy limits. We always stuck to the limits there.

[City Mouse]

I think I would prefer two beds at least, but 5 in a room with 2 beds when one is still a baby doesn't seem unreasonable.

 

Even Disney hotels allow a 5th who is under 2

[heartlikealion]

We have a family of four and I can't imagine a fifth in a queen but I would think the hotel room would have two beds. On more than one occasion I've actually walked into my room at night before and found dh and the two kids and cat in the Cal King and left and slept in ds' empty bed lol.

[Squiddles]

Yep we've slept six in one room several times, but those rooms have always had two queen beds, once we even paid $15 for a rollaway bed and had plenty of room!

 

 

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[Rachel]

We have three kids and usually get a roll away for the third kid.

[gardenmom5]

hotels will usually allow four people and an infant/toddler.  (in a double room with two queens)

 

we'd find a family room - which could usually sleep six - even motel six has them.  the one we stayed in even had a kitchenette.  (two queen sofa sleepers in the very large main room - and a bedroom with a queen)

 

eta: for more 'economical' motels - you might need to ask about a family room when you make a reservation.  it's cheaper than two rooms, and usually a lot more space than one room.

Edited June 8, 2017 by gardenmom5

[mommyoffive]

hotels will usually allow four people and an infant/toddler.  (in a double room with two queens)

 

we'd find a family room - which could usually sleep six - even motel six has them.  the one we stayed in even had a kitchenette.  (two queen sofa sleepers in the very large main room - and a bedroom with a queen)

 

eta: for more 'economical' motels - you might need to ask about a family room when you make a reservation.  it's cheaper than two rooms, and usually a lot more space than one room.

 

Great tip.  We stayed in one in Dana Point, CA that had a beach view and was 100 a night.  It had 2 kings, kitchen, 1 bath and a HUGE living room with a pull out bed.  

[Ali in OR]

My guilty conscience has had me make the reservation by phone before and ask specifically if it would be a problem to have 5 in a room for 4. The on-site people I've talked to have always said "no problem." Now I don't even ask.

[Arcadia]

It depends. I won't count a child under 5 who can actually fall asleep sitting on the plush armchair, or two armchairs push together.

 

When my mom was visiting and helping us, we have three adults and two kids. For a small hotel room with two double beds, we paid for an extra twin bed since it is three adults. It was very cramped. The Hilton and Hyatt hotel rooms we had stayed in which has two queen beds were too cramped to put an extra twin bed anywhere but someone can put the two armchairs already in the room together and curl up to sleep.

 

Most of the time we book bigger hotel rooms which has either two queen beds and a sofa bed or two queen beds and a three seater sofa. So an adult can comfortably sleep on the sofa. The last hotel room we stayed in had a L shaped 7 seater sofa in the living room area. Both my boys could have slept there.

[cjzimmer1]

Normally I will put one or two on the floor, especially if they are small. Last year due to an unexpected medical emergency with my caregiver, we ended up with all 6 kids when we went to a conference (we didn't even know until we were at the conference and some friends who came down later brought the kids we had left behind).  Due to the size of the conference everything was booked for miles around so we had 8 people in a suite that had 1 king bed and 1 pull out.  So we ended up with 3 on air mattress on the floor.  It was cramped but I didn't really have much of an alternative.  Even with a breakfast buffet that required your hotel key to eat, they never once commented on the extra people in the room.

[Alice]

We have a family of five. We haven't yet gone to more than one room. When the kids were little we'd sleep three kids to a bed and dh and I in one bed. Now the oldest kid either sleeps in a cot if they have one available or on the floor with extra pillows and blankets. He's a Scout and used to sleeping on the ground when camping so he's ok with it. He won't share with anyone so he prefers that. 

 

We don't ever lie or try to sneak in an extra person. I've never had a hotel have a problem with it, even with older kids. If they have a cot they usually charge a little extra (like $20-30) and I'm happy to pay that. 

 

[RootAnn]

Sixsuitcasetravel.com has lists of places that accommodate bigger families. (If the website name is not exact, it is close.)

 

We just had a place that had 1 king, two queens, and a pull out sofa in a two room suite. Other places have had three queens or two queens and a pull out sofa.

 

Six is usually the max occupancy listed, but there will sometimes be a note that you can put one more in on a roll-away.

 

My kids are older now, so we have done two cheap rooms vs one (more expensive) suite.

Edited June 8, 2017 by RootAnn

[SKL]

It may have happened at times.  :P  My kids and I have often shared a bed.  Usually nobody cares, or they will tack on a little extra for the extra person, but occasionally we have had to get 2 rooms for 5 people even though we'd fit in 1 room.  :/

[lmrich]

We always put 5 in a room when the kids were growing up. 

[Lanny]

Fire code violation?    More than 2 people in one bed doesn't sound very comfortable. I think you should try for a room with a King & Queen or at least 2 Double size beds. Hopefully with your youngest being under 24 months, you will be OK? if she is under 2 years of age?

 

The Timeshare we stayed in had 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. We were 4 people. The Maximum Occupancy was 6 people,  if 2 of them slept on the Sofa Bed in the Living room area. 

[J-rap]

It seems like most hotels these days accommodate a family of 5 in a standard room pretty easily, especially if one of them is a baby/toddler.  Typically you have a choice of a room with one bigger bed or two doubles, or even two queens in a standard room.  Then add a crib or rollaway, or one of them could sleep in a sleeping bag. 

 

In your situation, I'd simply reserve a room.  I don't think it's a big deal to bring in two young children plus a toddler into one room.

 

With our family it was trickier because we are seven.  Even then, we knew of some hotel chains that had big rooms (such as two queens with a sofa bed) that typically sleep 6, and then someone would sleep on the floor in a sleeping bag (on top of the sofa cushions).  Generally we didn't even need to tell them how many kids we had.  If we did we might just say we were a family of 6, but we'd only do that if it was a hotel that probably wouldn't even care.  Now and then we stayed at nicer hotels (generally not chains) that were very particular, and then we'd have to get two rooms, but that rarely happened.

 

We had the opposite experience traveling in Europe than the previous poster.  When we've traveled there, they didn't seem as picky about how how many people were in a room.  If we told them we had 7 people, they'd somehow make up 7 beds in the room.  Once they literally turned a table upside down and put some kind of mattress on it.  Another time they pulled cushions out of the closet and put them together to make up a mattress on the floor.  But then again, we stayed at pensions and hostels and places like that.

 

[My4arrows]

We've always been able to find rooms for our family of 6, we do two queens and then have the extra kids sleep on chairs or a little travel cot or a pack n play for our youngest. Lately we've been doing suites though which have two queens and a pull out couch. We've always found these to be less getting two rooms, especially since there are less and less hotels it seems that have connecting rooms or will guarantee we will have rooms next to each other. We've found that typically most hotels have not counted infants/toddlers under 2 or 3. As a pp mentioned this was the case at Disney when we stayed in a 4 person room as a family of 5. Honestly that room would have comfortably fit us now as a family of 6. To answer your question, I wouldn't want to pay and would request staying in the four person room and providing your own sleeping arrangement for the toddler. Most places are ok with this.

[OH_Homeschooler]

We've always been able to find rooms for our family of 6, we do two queens and then have the extra kids sleep on chairs or a little travel cot or a pack n play for our youngest. Lately we've been doing suites though which have two queens and a pull out couch. We've always found these to be less getting two rooms, especially since there are less and less hotels it seems that have connecting rooms or will guarantee we will have rooms next to each other. We've found that typically most hotels have not counted infants/toddlers under 2 or 3. As a pp mentioned this was the case at Disney when we stayed in a 4 person room as a family of 5. Honestly that room would have comfortably fit us now as a family of 6. To answer your question, I wouldn't want to pay and would request staying in the four person room and providing your own sleeping arrangement for the toddler. Most places are ok with this.

 

Yes, suites are the answer. Whenever possible, that's what our family of 6 gets.

[Cindy in FL.]

We did six in one room until ours got too big/old and then we went to two rooms. We kept it at one as long as possible, and never had a problem with the hotel.

[Guinevere]

I figure two to three little kids equal the mass of one adult, which is also my same theory for allowing the kids to share a refillable drink.  If I only allow them one to one and half refills, they've not consumed in total more than one adult would, so why does it matter?  We've always done the hotel thing, even as a family of 8 (but all the kids under 10).  Now that the bigger kids are getting, well, bigger, we don't do it anymore without asking.  Usually, we get a suite now.  If I am traveling alone, I call around and explain that I'm 1 adult traveling with 6 minors, and have no ability to split them up.  I've had to call many hotels before I found one that was okay with 7 people in one room, but I can always find one.  It doesn't seem to be that big of a deal.

 

ETA because apparently I don't know how to punctuate a sentence this morning.

Edited June 8, 2017 by Guinevere

[AMJ]

I'm not asking if it is right or wrong, I'm asking if you cram your large family in a room meant for less people. As a family of 5 and our smallest member being less than 2 there is no way we are paying extra just for her. Usually we try to do what is righy, but not on this one. Our whole family of 5 has all ended up in the same queen sized bed many nights.

 

 

When I was a kid our family of 5 usually shared one room.  This went on until my brother and I were both double-digits (age 10 or older) and the family finances eased, but even then Mom & Dad would have one room and us kids would have another, usually adjoining.  Hotels still have roll-away cots that can be reserved, and they often have cribs, too.  They know parents need to keep young kids in the same room.

 

DH and I have 2 kids, and sometimes will have a niece or nephew along with us.  We typically reserve double-queen rooms (rooms with two queen beds), and if needed will either put down a sleeping pad and bag or ask for a roll-away if we have someone extra.  The roll-away might have a nominal extra charge, but even in hotels with breakfast included I haven't seen the price of the room itself change due to the number of kids we added.  Many hotel rooms include a sleeper sofa, which increases the sleeping accommodation.

 

My BIL & SIL have 6 kids, for a grand total of 8 in the family.  Due to budgetary concerns and the need to keep a close eye on many of the kids they (to date) stay in one room or suite.  They have found that some hotels actually have rooms that will sleep that many people, even without the roll-away.

 

 

The main concern with overloading a room is fire and emergency safety -- can the occupants get out quickly without trampling anyone?  As the kids grow fewer of you will fit in one queen bed, so plan accordingly when deciding who is sleeping where.

 

 

ETA:  You mention a family of 5, which I assume means 2 adults and 3 kids.  As the kids grow you could try getting a King suite with sofa bed.  Put all 3 kids in the King bed, and you two parents take the sofa bed.

Edited June 8, 2017 by AMJ

[lynn]

We find hotels with 2 DBL plus fold out?

[Janeway]

I'm not asking if it is right or wrong, I'm asking if you cram your large family in a room meant for less people. As a family of 5 and our smallest member being less than 2 there is no way we are paying extra just for her. Usually we try to do what is righy, but not on this one. Our whole family of 5 has all ended up in the same queen sized bed many nights.

I don't concern myself if it means going one or two over when the one or two are children.

[Bambam]

We only have two kids, but we usually take an inflatable twin bed with us. One child doesn't want to sleep with anyone else, so we can bring the inflatable up if there aren't three beds available in the room. It may be silly, but it keeps the peace.

[magnificent_baby]

When I book, it's rare that they ask how many will be staying and I don't even ask if this is okay since we are used to sharing beds in hotel rooms.

 

The last time I did get a family suite with an extra bedroom for about $30 more. It was heaven. We all had our own space and it eliminated most of the bickering. My kids are nearly the size of adults and I will splurge on the extra bedroom from now on when it's available. 

Edited June 8, 2017 by magnificent_baby

[Butter]

The very few times my family stayed in a hotel when I was a kid, I did not exist.  I am person #5.

 

We have six in our family and stay at Residence Inns.  They have rooms with 2 queens and a pull out couch that sleep 6 just fine (and are, in fact, designed for 6 people.

[Artichoke]

We find hotels with 2 DBL plus fold out?

 

 

Hyatt Place has this in all of their rooms.  You can get either a king or two queens  and a fold out queen sofa.    I really like the set up of the rooms because they have a partial wall between the fold out and the other beds.  The free breakfast is usually good and well-stocked.  The only thing I miss having their is a microwave in the room  They do have a mini-fridge though. 

[Loowit]

We don't stay in hotels often, but when we have we always book rooms that are made for at least 5 people.  The price isn't that much more and the little extra room really makes it more comfortable.

 

[Wheres Toto]

We stayed in a Marriott Courtyard the last night of our camping trip before the long drive home.  We had three kids with us - 2 11 year olds and a 9 year old.  We got a room with two Queen beds and a pull-out sofa, which didn't cost any more than a 2 Queen bed room (which is what we probably would have gone with if the third child was young enough to co-sleep).   We never had a problem when we would go with our three kids either.

[rose]

Another option to consider is renting two joining rooms at a Motel 6. Some of them are only $40/night. It's definitely not a nice option but it works.

 

For another suggestion, you could rent an RV and stay in an RV park. It might be tight but you have the benefit of having the outside space when you're camped out. You can also cram in as many as you like.

[Heather in OK]

If we have to use a hotel, I only book places that have suites with two rooms and a kitchenette.  Our favorites are Homewood Suites and Wyndam Garden (by far the best space for the money!!).  I've never considered sneaking more bodies into a maximum four room.  It's just never occurred to me to try but even more so, we don't like to be crammed in a room.  We like our space.  lol

These days, with actual grown up big people, we look on VRBO first before considering a hotel.  We can get a house for less than what a hotel would be.