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

[AlbertCamel]

AIBU in thinking this may have implications regarding insurance etc?

Friend is off on holiday later today to a large hotel abroad with her DH and four DC aged between 4 and 16. Not a package, no meals included and flights were booked separately.

The room has a small bedroom, bathroom and living area with a sofa bed. It sleeps 4. They've booked it for two adults and two children. That's the maximum number of people allowed.

She wants to check in with DH, their two youngest boys and all their luggage, and have the two oldest boys wait outside until they're 'sneaked' in a little while later.

I think that whilst this is logistically possible, it will have implications but not sure what these implications might be. Friend thinks there's no problem with this and nobody will bat an eyelid.

AIBU in saying it's not a good idea?

The fire thing makes no sense. Do you think a single person who hooks up on holiday can’t take a guy back to her room? We used to have apartments in Greece and would make friends at the beach and often they’d come back and play uno in the shade etc. yes they wouldn’t be on the fire register but they wouldn’t assume only residents were in rooms. Hotels aren’t prisons.

i wouldn’t do it as I’m not a rule breaker and I’d be really stressed about it but my sensible brain thinks it’s fine.

Sounds like the holiday will be shit with them all crammed into a space too small for them. Should be punishment enough for underpaying.

Yes, it's called having a moral compass.

"I've never had to give my passport details to a hotel 🫤"

Not travelled anywhere then? 🤣

I would not only feel guilty but stressed the whole time that we would be caught. Which we would be as whenever I do the slightest thing wrong I always get caught and the full weight of authority comes down on me!

That's what I'd be terrified about being kicked out with nowhere to stay with little ones.

This gets my Mumsnet post of the month. Fantasmagorically the winner by a wide margin.

She probably doesn't.

@AlbertCamel To me the thing most likely to catch them out will be what the cleaners do - or don't. They will have at a minimum, a strong impression that there are more than 4 people in the room. All the paraphernalia is bound to give it away, I would have thought. There won't be enough room to store 6 people's belongings when the room is designed for 4. There will be issues over bedlinen and towels for starters. Plus room to move when in it!!! People in rooms beside or even near them will clock that there are 2 adults and 4 kids in the room. If there's a lot of noise, they may complain and it may come out that way

I'm not sure that your friend has thought this through properly! She is also committing fraud and theft. However, you are not implicated and if the holiday is crap because of lack of space, or they get caught and thrown out of the hotel - or both that will be entirely her problem.

You did the right thing to point out some of the pitfalls, but you can't do more

I really hope that you come back and update this thread, after your friend returns from holiday and tell us whether it worked out for her or what happened!!

"What if the 2 people legally in room 227 went out for dinner? You can never tell how many people are in a hotel at any given time."

Well of course @Macandcheeese would burn alive painstakingly searching for the legit people in room 27. That is her job because she works in a hotel 🤣

This is not a good idea from a fire safety point of view

What are their reasons for doing this, is it no more rooms available, can't afford another room, think it's hilarious to beat the system or are they just selfish entitled that's who are happy to bring their kids up to believe theft is OK.

Its like Viz top tips page!

Just because others are doing far worse, doesn't make this okay though does it? If someone burglars your house and nicks everything, that would be excusable because they didn't murder you whilst they were at it?

So if you go on holiday and there are no sunbeds by the pool and you hear the family next to you laughing about how they are cheating the system by only paying for 4 when there are 6 of them you wouldn't be cross? You'd go over and "Well done guys, I'll go back to my room whilst you use the sunbeds that we could have used!" Or is it because it's not happening to you that makes it okay?

It isn't a race to the bottom of how bad it is, it's theft irrespective of how big or small it is and morally wrong.

I recently stayed at a hotel in Spain, it wasn't an all inclusive hotel but everyone had to have wristbands anyway to prove they were staying there. Staff checked them upon entering hotel/pool area.

I haven't rtft yet so apologies if it's already been said.
I think it's a bad idea , it's deceitful and risky what happens if one of the dcs becomes ill and needs the hotels help.

But more so i think it's setting a bad example to the kids, what happens when try to sneek their gf /bf into there bed rooms
" well you did it on holiday"

Why is that?

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.

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!

Yes !

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

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.

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?

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

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

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.