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

We arrived at a hotel in Berlin not realising booking dot com had offered us a one bed room when we'd put in that there were two adults and a teenager. The hotel put in another put up bed and didn;t charge us anything thankfully, they were really helpful and nice about it.

We've also lied about our teenage ds's age at Premier Inns when he was considered an adult and so not allowed in the extra bed. Ridiculous policy by Premier Inn.

In this case though 6 people in a place for 4 for a whole week or more doesn't really sound like a lot of fun apart from anything else. It's not something I'd do but it's not something I'd consider worth falling out with someone over. If she wants to take the chance then it'll be on her if she gets caught.

Hotels have security staff who's job it is to keep a bit of an eye on comings and goings, it's likely to be a whole floor (or wing) of doubles +1 rooms so wouldn't take much to notice extras and if the kids are noisy a neighbouring room may complain. Just saying, they may get away with it, but any suspicion and it will become immediately obvious. And doing this in a foreign country with four children in tow seems a recipe for disaster if you are caught, risk versus reward seems a bit iffy to me. Hope they have plenty of spare cash with them.

I wouldn't openly criticise my friend's holiday choices, no, unless it was something life threatening. I would nod and smile. It would be different if she specifically asked if you for your opinion, but she didn't.

It wasn't 'concern' that brought you here. You criticised her, she fell out with you, and now you've turned to Mumsnet in a bid to justify sticking your nose in and feel better about yourself.

I could not enjoy my holiday doing this, I’d never relax for fear of being caught.

I did smuggle her a couple of pastries from the breakfast buffet and some fruit, but I don't eat much so I figured it would be similar with someone with a big appetite.

Never ceases to amaze me the lengths people will go to justify their grabbiness and scummy behaviour to themselves.

This is true. The staff in restaurant/ bars/ accommodation are very observant!

Might as well bring the food as well like the Dutch do.

It's very easy in a hotel to ask for an extra sheet or towel. I image given this is not a one nighter the chambermaid is going to spot there are too many of them and will report them to reception. Can you imagine cleaning up that room every day for a week.

I did this abroad last year. Our young adult DD joined us for a couple of days in the middle of our holiday, got a very cheap flight last minute. I went online to try and book her a room but they wanted 300 euros a night. We only paid about £500 each for flights, room and breakfast for a week.

Luckily we had a massive bed and she got in with us, with me in the middle. Had the audacity to moan about my snoring, after me saving her 600 euros!

I did smuggle her a couple of pastries from the breakfast buffet and some fruit, but I don't eat much so I figured it would be similar with someone with a big appetite.

She spent money round the pool on drinks and food.

Huge hotel, reception didn't have a clue who was there, same with cleaners, why would they? As someone else has said, single people must regularly pull on holiday and take people back to their rooms.

No chance of DD doing that though 😃

Yes this is the case now ! We had to send our details before travelling.

Not your circus - not your Monkeys.

Some hotel staff are really good at recognising people and remembering where they're staying,

This is true. I used to work in a 300 room family hotel. The restaurant manager has worked there 20+ years and has a phenomenal memory for previous guests, names, when they last came, which room number they're in this time. Some of the receptionists and the Hotel Manager were similarly great at noting and remembering.

I wouldn’t care in the slightest if my friend did this. If it’s a massive hotel, I can’t see why they’d notice. We’ve never done it as a family because we only have 2 kids. When I was travelling in vegas in my early 20s, me and my friend booked a double room (with 2 double beds) and snuck 2 friends in. Hotel didn’t notice because it was huge and it was super cheap for us. Riskier with kids because you don’t want them to be kicked out mid holiday. But that’s their risk to take and I wouldn’t go on at a friend until she got upset with me about it

Travelodge only has rooms for 4 (2 adults, 2 kids) and when my 3rd kid was in a travel cot we still used Travelodge.

We booked for the maximum 4 and then just told reception we had a baby too, they never cared and often offered a cot bed (we had our own though).

As a non pay per head place I don't think they cared at all but we never 'snuck' around. Its likely more of an issue with older people and maximum capacities, where are these kids sleeping?

Agreed.

It has been a while since i stayed in a spanish hotel, is it one of the countries you have to give the passport details of anyone staying|?

Loads of people do it in the uk too.

It is theft in a way. Just as much if I went to the supermarket and paid for four bananas when I had six, by weighing the four, getting the sticker, and having six when going to the checkout.

LOL sorry. It was just she mentioned Morocco.

People get confused with me being Irish, they think that means I'm English and Brexit so they think Ireland isn't in the EU anymore. What really makes me laugh is the way both Ireland and GB refer to Europe all the time, as though neither country is in the continent of Europe. And the confusion over the EU and Europe ........

The cleaners will notice there are 6 toothbrushes in a room with only a 4 person occupancy allowance and even if they put those away each day, they will notice other things that indicate over occupancy (the lilo beds for a start) unless they plan to deflate / take out with them or at least unmake them and leave them elsewhere like they have been using them in the pool and tidy all other evidence away. The cleaners may or not mind their own business but given that it would invalidate the hotel's insurance that the room was over occupied, they may feel obliged to mention it.

I really don't like people who think the rules don't apply to them and try to get round it. They could have booked interconnecting rooms or rooms next to each other. The 16 year old (unless ND, but no mention of that) and the next youngest child would be fine to share a room next to the others.

If it was okay to do this, then hotels would just charge by the room and let people pile on in. But they don't for safety reasons and the amount of revenue they must miss out on if the people who say "everyone does it, what's your problem, hahaha?!" are correct is not fair on those people who are honest and pay what they owe!

if its a large hotel and they're not eating in the hotel they probably wont notice at all

Presumably they can take a couple of sheets from home along with their blow up beds?

Really scummy behaviour on the part of your friend. Whether it's fraud or not I don't know but it will be breaking the terms and conditions of that particular hotel and if she's found out, they will be asked to leave. Booking a Premier Inn for 2 x adults and having a toddler sleep in the bed between you for a night is an entirely different matter to spending a week with two older extra children in a small room. Cheap and grabby. And it will be a shit holiday with 6 people crammed into a wee room, and having two kids sleeping on lilos?

And depending on the size of the hotel and many other factors yes the staff may well recognise people. We were in a large hotel two summers ago but most of the guests were not British, we stuck out and DS with his red hair especially so. Some hotel staff are really good at recognising people and remembering where they're staying, others not so much or don't care.