A Hotel and half board one

[Susieandthewitches]

Hello!

Im travelling to the Middle East and have booked a lovely hotel - half board - for myself and two younger dds. Eldest dd already lives there.

Do you think I’d be eldest dd would be able to stay in our hotel room the odd night or would I have to pay?

Also we will be actually eating out 3 evenings, so in my mind there are at least 9 meals not eaten. Would eldest dd be able to join us when we do eat at the hotel and do you think I would be charged - as essentially they would ‘owe’ me the meals 😂😂

or am I being a cheeky bitch 😂

Last time we stayed we just said room number and it was added to our account - so how would they know as long as I didn’t exceed the amount of meals already paid for 😁

I have emailed and asked but I’m 24 hours later now and no response …

Usually anything extra you sign to be billed to your room, so she could eat with you, and you pay at the end of your stay.
I doubt she could stay over without you paying for a bed for her.
You won't get the missed meals back.

But it would be extra as I’d paid for a set amount of meals - us eating out a few times would mean that we didn’t have them all so dd1 joining us a couple of times would bump that back up but not exceeding what I’d paid for.

It doesn't work like that unfortunately 😂

It really doesn't work like that. Can you change your booking to breakfast only?

Yeah it really doesn’t work like that! Can you imagine how impossible it would be for hotels to monitor and refund everything you didn’t use! Just be upfront , ask how you can cover the costs etc and expect to pay or don’t do it.

Goodness I really doubt it ! Have you had similar in hotels prior ?
Have never come across such an arrangement.

You've booked for three evening meals a day, not x evenings meals to be taken in random numbers throughout your stay. If you want an additional person to join you for a couple of evenings they'll charge you.

I think they'd probably not notice if she stayed in your room. People take an extra person back to hotel rooms all the time.

Hotels don't work like that, meals can only be taken by guests on the day, they can't be saved up and used by someone else. Also someone else staying will likely breach their insurance so I imagine that will be a hard no unless you change the booking to include her.

I don’t want a refund - I just want dd 1 to be able to eat there a couple of nights and not have to pay as I’d not had all the meals I’d payed for 😂😂

Ok I’m being a cheeky bitch but how would they know 👀

You could ask, but be prepared for them to say no. A few years ago we stayed half board in Spain, so breakfast and dinner were included, they gave you a little card to hand over and have stamped at the door of the restaurant so they could keep track of it. One day we went out on a day trip and didn't get back until after dinner so the next day I went and showed them the unstamped card and asked if we could have lunch the next day to make up for not having the previous nights dinner, it was all buffet style so it's not like it would have involved any extra cooking for them. The manager was a bit taken aback, but he did actually let us.

They check you off as you go into the dining room so they would know there was an extra person dining.

Also we will be actually eating out 3 evenings, so in my mind there are at least 9 meals not eaten. Would eldest dd be able to join us when we do eat at the hotel and do you think I would be charged - as essentially they would ‘owe’ me the meals 😂😂

or am I being a cheeky bitch 😂

your last sentence nails it!

You need to pay.

I think you’ll get away with sneaking her in to your room to sleep assuming there’s a spare bed, but not the meal thing.

Never had similar in other hotels.

Last time I stayed I just told them the room number when we went in to restaurant so I thought they might just have a tally of how many meals I’d eaten 😁

Dd1 didn’t join us then

Many hotels I stay at have a printed list (or an electronic one) which shows room numbers + name of guests in them. Or at least the number of guests. So if 4 of you walk into the breakfast hall and say room 615, but only 3 people are written down next to that room, you’ll either be asked for the “extra” room number or they will note down 1 extra breakfast to be charged to the room. That’s how they’d know.

☹️

Is it a buffet or table service meal?

if it s a buffet you might get away with smuggling her in but if ordering off a menu you’ll definitely have to pay.

you’ll probably get away with her staying in your room if you want to. Since she already lives there I’m not sure what the gain is.

We will be sticking to the buffet restaurant as it’s pretty good.

She lives about 30 mins away and it would just be nice to have a couple of girl nights in together- not seen her since Christmas

@Susieandthewitches You misunderstood my comments. I didnt mean you were asking for a refund, but you are asking to have the equivalent of the money repurposed to suit your wishes. Which is equivalent to a refund. The hotel would still have to work out your entitlement how to recharge you etc. My point is can you imagine how difficult it would be ..and thats why they wont do it!

It sounds as though your experience of hotels is rather limited. They don't work like that and it would be an administrative nightmare for them to operate in that way. If you pay for 9 meals but only eat 5 for example, that's entirely your choice. The hotel owes you nothing. They've catered for the number of guests they assume will be dining so they've effectively bought ingredients and worked out the staff rota accordingly. As for your daughter staying over night, you surely must know that hotels don't allow unauthorised and non paying guests to stay the night! They're a business just like any other. I'm not saying you couldn't try it but why should the hotel give your daughter a freebie?

You also aren’t paying for X amount of meals to be eaten at your discretion throughout the stay.

You are paying for a certain number of meals at specific times of the day and on specific days.

What you suggest is the equivalent of someone booking half board for 2 weeks, not eating any dinners at all during the first week, and then demanding to eat both lunch and dinner for free during the second week.

It absolutely does not work this way.

Yes it would still be extra. It doesn't matter whether you eat out or not for a couple of days the food is available to you if you want it it is your choice whether or not you eat it.
An additional breakfast is something extra that you haven't paid for.

Maybe ask them to put the meals you don't eat in the fridge and then microwave them the evening you want extra.

It sounds like you'd be better off on a B&B rate and just paying for the dinners you do have. Is it possible to change your booking?
We stay in a hotel in Italy which is generally half board, but if you want to eat out they will change your booking to B&B for that day, so it's worth asking that question.

I'd be focusing more on that than what to do for the non-resident DD's meals - you'll need to pay for them either way.