'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’ve just come back from Spain. We could easily have done this and nobody would have known. Even at breakfast etc nobody checked room numbers (it was AI so had wristbands but nobody ever looked at them!). The rooms opened on to the outside and there was a back entrance to the hotel so not through the lobby - and even when you did walk through reception paid you not a blind bit of notice. I took not notice of who was in room around me - they were all full of kids and plenty of general noise so that wouldn’t have drawn any attention.

I’m thinking of DelBoy and Rodney and the holiday prize now 😁

We have a five bed house, used to have a three bed and I have stayed in a hotel that is as comfy as my entire house.

I'd however not want to try to get two teens to sleep on the floor. I wish her luck with that

Fairly sure hotels have to take copies of passports and register with the police within 24 hours, and depending on where they’re going tourist tax. Also fairly certain there are hefty fines for not doing so. Insurance, fire risk. So much wrong with this. But your friends problem not yours.

Tell her to get each smaller child to sit on a larger child's shoulders and then wear two long trench coats.

Because it's usually the British who cause so much trouble in foreign places. I say this as an English woman who has been embarrassed by my fellow travellers. Shouting very loudly at the French hotelier in English demanding an extra bed be put in the bedroom - well at least she was prepared to pay for it but how difficult is it to look this up in a French English dictionary

In my experience working in hotels, it’s usually the wealthier families who try to get away with this sort of thing 🤷‍♀️

I wonder why many people see this as an okay thing to do, although you are cheating the hotel out of extra income, but wouldn’t dream of shoplifting or similar

I've done similar in the past, although not for a whole holiday just a night or two at a travelodge or similar when the children were little and couldn't be left. Otherwise both parents are trapped in different rooms with children who needed to sleep early. At least with all in one room an adult was still able to go out for snacks etc or explore.

I hope they get caught. I hate this sort of devious 'the rules don't apply to me' behaviour.

How are they going to get clean towels for everyone? Will they hide the extra cases, shoes, pairs of swimming shorts drying on the balcony so the cleaners don’t cotton on to extra people in the room? What if one of the ‘smuggled’ boys has an accident in the pool and requires treatment - surely one of the first questions will be who are your parents and which room are you staying in? And then it all unravels.

I couldn’t relax and enjoy a holiday like that.

They're not particularly short of money. It was a last minute booking. When they tried to book for 4 children, the site defaulted to two separate rooms, but she changed the settings to two children to get just the one room.

Hotels take passport details and register with the police. It’s that typical situation where they may well get away with it but if they are caught it may well cost them quite a bit and cause trouble. They are being idiots. Sleeping on pool toys for 10 days will be miserable. Also - it is theft.

So instead of just asking whether they were worried that they might get kicked out you kept on at your friend to the point that she got pissed off with you? That's odd behaviour from a friend who is just "worried" about them. But good for you if you are genuinely just concerned.

It wouldn't be for me because I'd be worried we'd be kicked out, but I don't think it's the biggest deal either. Certainly not worth rowing with a friend over. Your interest seems disproportionate tbh.

So they will never all walk through reception together or sit around the pool together?

Why didn't they just book a three bedroom Airbnb? There were plenty of Spanish apartments in complexes that have swimming pools, near the beach, etc.

I couldn't be bothered with the stress, but then there's a reason we've limited our family to only two kids.

Do you think reception will remember the size and members of each family? They might be caught by housekeeping, but I don't think they'll attract much attention just walking around.

Can you talk us through this a little more? Which jobs at hotels require you to look for people in a burning building? Is it all of you? I hope you have lots of copies of the list to hand out to all the chambermaids beating the flames back to remove the guests on their list. Presumably they ignore anyone else on fire. Shame for anyone who pulled that night.

I hit the wrong vote button.
I think it’s very risky to do what your friend is planning.Apart from being very cramped in the accommodation,housekeeping will have equipped it for 4 people ie, 4 towels,4 sets of bedding etc.
Very bad idea

We met a family on holiday one year who had this down to a fine art! They had 3 teenage kids - 2 boys and 1 girl. At Check In they dressed the boys identically and made a display of running back and forward to their car getting bags etc. Hotel staff never twigged it was 2 different boys as they were not seen together. They reckoned they’d saved a fortune over the years!

That was my immediate thought, although I'm a right worry wart about these things.

I didn't 'keep on' at my friend at all. Where have I implied that? I just said there must be implications surrounding this sort of thing regarding fire regulations, insurance etc. She immediately got annoyed and said I was trying to ruin what could be the last holiday they spend together as a family of six before the eldest son may want to go away with his friends.
She was really excited for her holiday and I was excited for her but as I've never done this or know of anyone else who has, I just expressed concern.

DH and I have just literally watched that episode 😆 (we're working our way through them all)

Personally this sounds like my idea of hell, 2 adults and 4 children squashed in one room. I book self catering for a reason.

Not much of a holiday, too flippin stressful! Not enough beds, space, or towels, what about extra bedding, how is breakfast going to work? The minute the hotel works it out they will be told to pay up for another room or leave. Not a great message to give the kids either - parents will have no moral high ground to take over bad behaviour if this is how they themselves behave.