'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?

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!

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!

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.

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

I hope they do.

Definitely not me! I'm sure I'll get some updates over the next ten days about how their holiday's going.

My main AIBU was if it was a risky choice in terms of being found out, and if i was BU in mentioning that to her. Judging by the majority of posts it is. Morally, I'm totally against it and practically too. I wouldn't want to spend a holiday like that at all.

I didnt share my moral stance with her, just concerns over practical problems that might arise.

they go on quite a few holidays and have never, to my knowledge, done this before. I imagine the oldest son in particular won't be enjoying the set up and as a previous poster commented, it may push him to never want to go on holiday with his family again. Don't think that was part of my friend's plan, though.

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 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

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.

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+).

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.

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

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”.

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.

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.

@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 !)

So you think they would keep rummaging in a smoke filled room on the off chance there was 6 and not just the 4 that were legally registered to be in there>
Can YOU not see why that would be an issue??

A couple of posters clearly do this and think there is nothing wrong, one of which clutches their pearls claiming they couldnt possibly leave their kids in the room next door. Well as others say each of the adults is in a room. Its not the hotels fault you have a number of kids.

I also think with so many in one room they are not going to be quiet - I have complained before about noise coming from the room next door with kids screaming at 0500 and banging on the walls along with banging on our room door as they went out. The hotel actually ended up moving us and some poor bugger got the noisy room when they checked in.

Can’t believe anyone would do this willingly. We did it once when we had organised to go away with a group of friends for an event/festival that was very child friendly (think child face painting, balloon artists, kids puppetry and story telling). On going to book a few rooms - DH would stay with some in one and myself with others, we found there was only one room left in the entire town and it was a double bed and single bed. We would have happily paid but that was all there was, so we booked and smuggled in the others so the kids didn’t miss out. Fuck it was a miserable existence in that room, stepping over blow up mattresses and sleeping bags everywhere (and having the bathroom cluttered with the huge suitcases we used to ‘smuggle said air mattresses/sleeping bags in), would never do it willingly.

i expect the Spanish are used to cheeky entitled British behaviour like this.

It’s so embarrassing!

I expect they’ll have noise complaints and so the hotel will find out eventually anyway 😂

I’ll add- we are a family of 7 now. Booking hotel rooms is a pain- we often need two rooms. I’m always too scared to chance it plus it just wouldn’t be comfortable. If she is planning on using the onsite restaurant, if breakfast is included for example, surely they will notice the extra children then? As much as it’s the cheaper option, I feel like it would be more stressful. We have just paid for 2 rooms, onsite, at Disneyland Paris so I completely get that it’s a lot more expensive to have more than 2 kids. But then that’s sort of the fallout from being blessed with a large family.

The blow up beds will be a giveaway along with the mess in the room. There is no way they will be putting the mattresses away every night.

I couldn't relax on a holiday doing this! Surely a 2-bed apt with a sofa bed in the living area is the answer with more than 2 children? It's dishonest and sneaky and gives the children the wrong message.

In London most of the Hilton hotels don't offer a 4 person family room. They offer 3 person room. But there is a sofa bed and a regular bed. I have always snuck in the 2nd child without any issues