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

I worked in two hotels all through my undergraduate degree. We were told to evacuate in a fire like anyone else. We knew which rooms had people in that may not be able to hear a fire alarm as this was a routine question on the booking form (only in one of the hotels but think it was a great idea). Fire brigade would come and would search the whole building (thankfully we only ever had a couple of small fires so never necessary).

Anyone who works in a hotel should know that people have guests in their rooms, and you NEVER search according to a list.

@AtomicBlondeRose 💯. I mean how would that even work ? Let’s ask the receptionist to go on the computer (in the middle of a massive fire in which the whole place needs evacuating ) and access all the guest information and room numbers . Also how would the firemen proceed with this information, get a printout of names and room numbers to carry around while also battling flames 😂😂

In vast hotels and complexes there is no way the pool staff are going to know a family of 6 is in a room for 4. They will assume they are in a room for 6 or have two rooms. Most of the Costa's are full of massive high rise hotels with hundreds of people coming and going constantly.

I'm in the group that would definitely squeeze one small child into my bed in a travelodge for one night kind of thing. But a hotel with a pool for ten days and a 16 year old - no way! I don't think they'll be left to burn to death in a fire but I do think they could be approached and told the pool is for guests only. the older boys could be removed from the facilities as they can't say they are guests without admitting they're not supposed to be. I don't know how they could relax on holiday knowing this (the parents i mean). But if a friend did it and it didn't involve me that would be their choice and i wouldn't get involved (but no sympathy either if they do get caught).

I am astonished at the number of people who think this is OK. If you can't afford the appropriate number of rooms for you and your 4 kids either 1) don't go on holiday 2) buy a big tent and holiday at home or 3) don't have 4 kids, FFS! The "cost of living crisis" is not an excuse, because if you're on your financial uppers, you don't jet off to Spain!

wow that was fast got to be a record on one of these threads. You are not the one looking fir people the fire brigade are and then don't search according to a list.

@AlbertCamel why do you care? You’re very worried about insurance implications and the hotel are you ?😂
I think hotels are now extortionate even taking into account running costs, im in Ireland and our local , run-of-the-mill hotel is around 400 per night at the weekend for a normal double and you know what I’m not sure it even includes breakfast!!!
Also on the flip side we go by ferry a lot to France and Spain and we always put in 2 adults , 3 kids and so we are charged for 5 passengers and they always give us a cabin with just four beds 😂 I’m assuming, maybe apart from suites, they can only do a 4 bed but then no problem charging for 5 people though even though we are only getting 4 beds 🤷‍♀️and all the facilities on-board you have to pay for . We always bring a small blow up bed and it’s perfect .
I wouldn’t do what your friends are doing but interesting how in some cases the business have no problem charging extra and not delivering.

There is NO WAY any fire service anywhere in the world would just straight up stop looking for people in a hotel of all places based on a list of who’s meant to be in there. No way. No chance whatsoever.

I know a family who have done this a few times. They have never been caught and plan to keep doing it. Sounds stupid and stressful to me.

Trust me I was very young and did not look professional, just sneaked in past reception to the lifts. Once it was the Burlington in Dublin, when we got to the bar I realised the 'professional women' were on the game. Real eye opened to younger broke me in relation to business trips. I'd no idea women were doing that in such places, naive you see. Not as bad as Vegas, my husband went to the bar while my mother played card at the tables, and I slept with the children, he told me one of the pro's had no issue with going with him to our bedroom ! Vegas I shall never return to, really seedy side to it, but well worth a look see, and the hotels are amazing.

I would have thought there won’t be many families with 4 children staying at the hotel so they will stick out for that reason (at the Pool etc). Observant hotel staff will know if a family of 6 has checked in or not.

Sounds like theft. Why not just book an Air BnB if you’ve got lots of children?

Not spain , but i had a friend last year on holiday in northern Italy with her kids ( eldest son is an adult and was staying in a second room with a sibling) very tired at check in - flight was delayed and hours from airport -she sent kids up with her son to first room when they got key, she did not supply passport info for her youngest as they had it with them in their bag, said i'll provide it tomorrow, and forgot about it as you do..2 nights on , 3am heavy banging on door local ( armed!) police asked her to come to desk immediately , as she had failed to supply the details for all guests as is required under local law. It was easily sorted but did give everyone a big fright.

It's a bit silly to think that hotel staff won't notice two boys on their own coming in and out of the hotel for ten days. Hoteliers aren't idiots and will know when people are being smuggled in and out of rooms.

I think if the boys are using the facilities (eg pool area) then they might run into difficulties. A city break where you're out all day is less of an issue probably. Either way it's a shit holiday where you've got to be looking over your shoulder all the time. And mortifying if you get caught.

Finally children can get very embarrassed by this sort of thing if they've been taught to follow rules. It's not fair to expect them to go along with dishonesty to save a few quid.

Yes exactly.

@AlbertCamel

Your friend seems to be lacking in intelligence, basic common sense, and decency. She is an idiot. An entitled, stupid idiot. As has been said, if there is a fire, the hotel employees (and fire service,) will only be looking for people who are written down as being booked into that room, and lives could be lost. Who will then end up having the finger pointed at them for the deaths? (Deaths that could very likely be children!)

Yes, it will be the hotel staff. She will be crying and wailing and demanding answers, and will probably try to sue the hotel. Tell this friend that she is highly irresponsible, and stupid and entitled and arrogant, and a bloody idiot!

I wouldn't give it another thought. Maybe just check that they have a credit card (or plenty of money available) in case they need to book another room or alternative accommodation. If they get caught/kicked out they will deal with it won't they?

The cleaners are more likely to notice because they are on the floor a lot and will see too many going in and out, also little things like bedding in odd places and too many toothbrushes. Whether they care or not will depend on if they draw attention to themselves and leave the room in a state every day. It's all very well to do this for a night, but a whole holiday is something else.

Well, it's theft, isn't it? And of course there are health & safety/insurance issues. This person is a fool.

If you got to the point of asking about wristbands, the conversation clearly went beyond a simple "gosh are you not worried you'll get caught?".

‘Back when I was young my husband travelled a lot for work he had to book as a single and I'd sneak in, hotels don't have single rooms so he mostly had a double.’

I expect the staff knew, they just thought you were a professional ( since that’s the norm).

I can't imagine the hotel cleaners get paid enough to care, to be honest. How would they notice, other than a couple of extra suitcases lying around?

The 0.01% of the time where it’s relevant it’s critically important however.

99.999% of the time your smoke alarm sits there being irrelevant, even annoying. The 0.001% of the time it saves your backside.

Fire safety is crucial.

They are! By day three in our hotel last week the breakfast service people had already memorised our drinks order and as soon as they saw us walk in, they'd give us a nod and bring it over. It's their job. Some staff might not care but others may and raise it with a manager.

I do agree OP that it's nothing you can influence, your friend has clearly stated this is what she is going to be doing. If it all goes wrong she only has her own grabby tendencies to blame.

Its not a risk I would take, especially abroad with kids. But I'm quite risk averse. As long as they have a plan b and thr funds for it, its up to them!