'Sneaking' two extra children into hotel room booked for two adults and two children

@Differentstarts I'm loving your thread. The batshittery on here is endlessly entertaining. Please do continue to post on how each step of the holidays goes. With holidays snaps too if possible (with actual people blacked out of course, best too if you don't identify the hotel until they are safely back in the UK !)

I think it's none of your business tbh. Her life, her decision, thus her risk to absorb.

Has no bearing or implications for yours, so not sure why anyone would care.

It’s one of those “what if everyone did this” there would be chaos. So they can only do this because the majority abide by the rules. It is theft it’s like not paying in a restaurant.

@Polyp0
It's like Viz top tips page!

Such is Mumsnet 😂😂. I'm pretty sure the poster you were quoting was joking though. I guess you knew that.

We did this by pure accident- with only 1 child though. Trip booked pre-covid that had to be moved multiple times due to restrictions changing repeatedly. By the time we actually got to go, we had another baby. Totally didn’t even think to add her on and wasn’t til we actually got home we realised what we had done 😂 she was a baby though so I’m not even sure she would have “counted”.

Do you honestly think that’s how the fire service operate? Really? Can you not see why that would be an issue?

I also think she is a fool. It's risky, dishonest and displays a lack of a basic level of integrity to my mind. There are so many things that could go wrong. And yes housekeeping will know within 2 seconds of the first morning.

exactly this, if you ever tried booking 2 rooms you would have noticed that minors are not allowed to stay in separate room on their own without an adult (16+).

Hotels in Spain are legally bound to take the passport details of every person when they arrive to stay. I assume its for insurance and fire regulations.
If there is a fire, emergency services would only be looking for 4 people.
She's a fool.

I think your friend has a disgusting attitude as do the posters who think it is ok for her to do this.

I hope she does get caught. Will serve her right and teach her children that dishonesty does not pay

This is so strange, where have you stayed that does not ask for passports?
I was in Spain and Germany recently and both asked (as far as I remember they always have).

People travelling on UK passports are only allowed a limited time in the EU, so I imagine it is possible that it might be noticed if two members of a group "disappear".
I'd be way too stressed to do something like this, and certainly wouldn't put my teenagers is a position where they could be questioned for using a pool when they are not guests at the hotel.

I hope they do.

Yeah of course you do, you could have one adult and one child in each room or God forbid pay for a family room,

As well as fire regs this will void their insurance. Some hotels have wristbands so they don't have people walking off the street using the facilities.

While I wouldn't do this myself there are many huge hotels in Spanish holiday resorts, I stayed in one myself once and I don't think the staff generally had any idea who we were. So it may turn out ok for your friend.
If it were me I'd ask reception about room availability when checking in, or the next day. You might be able to score a cheaper rate. But that could also give the game away!

I'm guessing the majority of you have only one or two children.

It's an absolute ball ache to get two adjoining rooms next to each other (with connecting doors), or the only available room is a "family suite" which is geared towards a family with two children. In my experience hotels don't cater towards three or more kids.

I would do what your friend is doing, but I'd take my kids out for breakfast so we're not freeloading.

I hope they don't get caught out by housekeeping, but have a good time!

Unsurprised to see the number of Mumsnetters condoning this behaviour as standards have been on the floor for a while, particularly during the past week.

YANBU, OP. Your 'friend' is a thief. She is not a trustworthy person. This would colour the way I viewed this friendship from this point on and I'd act accordingly.

'Ruined her holiday' - what a crock of bull.

No way will a big hotel notice this. They could assume they have 2 rooms or they are kids from another family. I went away with extended family last year and there were multiple kids in different rooms when cleaner came or walking through reception , there are way too many situations so it won't automatically alert anyone

There are a number of reasons why it might not be a great idea but to suggest that it’s a risk should there by a fire is patently absurd.

no hotel is tracking the whereabouts of guests to the extent they can confidently state who is in/not in each room at any given moment. And even if they believed they could, there is zero chance fire services are going to take the word of the receptionist who says “oh Mrs J in room 41 is definitely out for the day” and not bother to do their own check.

FFS

One parent sleeps in with one child and the other with the other child. Either that or your happy to be thought of as a morally corrupt, CF and a thief by 84% of people on MN. May I ask why you think it's okay for YOU to break the rules, are you more special than all the people who don't do this in some way?

If you choose to have a large family then surely you factor in that things like this are going to cost you more money.

Sounds grim trying to squeeze that many in.

Yes !

Maybe they will end up on the Adventures of Black Bag page, as he houses a hidden child through reception.

I think the hotel have to register the passports with the authorities. Just googled this and it is called a ‘parte entrada’.

I don’t know if this is automically checked against passport control but, if it is, they could get in trouble. Two of the children will seem to have disappeared!

We do this. Otherwise we would have to pay for 2 rooms and there is no way I would allow my children to sleep in a room in their own, so the second room would be a waste of money.