'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?

😂 Fraud for sneaking a couple of kids into a hotel room to sleep. It’s not even all inclusive is it?

Yes, fraud. Do you not understand the word?

hilarious

I watched that the other day. I loved that programme. Some of the topics and the language is a bit dated, but the comic timing from the main actors and their facial expressions etc. are brilliant and make it worth watching again.

No thats not what it means.
Look it up.

Does this mean Spain is outside Europe?
🤦🏼‍♀️

It feels to me like sitting in the pub and not buying a drink. You’re using the hotel facilities- water, toilets, pool - but not paying for them. Meanwhile the hotel owners are trying to run a business. It may not feel like a big deal on a one-family scale but if everyone did it the hotel would quickly struggle.

I worked in hotels for many years, and still work with hotels now. The hotel's liability insurances will all be tied into occupancy.

In terms of fire, if there are 4 people on the rooming list and the fire brigade go drag out 4 unconscious individuals in a smoke filled room they won't go back looking under the beds for the small ones that hid in fright. In answer to above posts I've never encountered a hotel that allows guests to rock up with a one night stand or other additional guest. Some night staff might look the other way, but it's no more allowed than what the OP's friend is proposing.

Lastly, hotel staff aren't stupid. If nothing else your friend is unreasonable for thinking they are.

Oh I let behaviour like your friend’s wind me up far too much, and I’ll be the first to admit it. I’d be livid that they’re being disorganised and cheap, furious that they’re probably stealing food - if the hotel thinks it’s got 100 guests and a few families bring “bonus” kids, the food might be in meagre supply (There - see how my blood boils irrationally? 😂). I’d also be anxious that the hotel would ask for passports and they’d get found out, and that the children would be anxious all holiday.

However, firstly it’s none of my business, and secondly we all know what will happen - the friend will come home all happy and nothing bad will have happened. People who behave like this seem to bounce through life unaffected, and they tend to have children with similarly thick skin. So all my ire will only have hurt me. 😡

I still think it’s skanky behaviour though.

I've done this with travel lodges when my kids were small. I mean it was only for 1 night but honestly we would have all squidged in together anyway. I wasn't going to pay twice the price for no reason. Smallest in bed bed with us and my other 2 in the singles.

I really couldn't get bothered by this.

We have just been abroad and booked a 2 bed room but one of my kids still had to sleep on the bloody sofa even though they could have easily fitted another bed in the 2nd room.

Your friend is an idiot, not for sneaking them in, for putting her family in what is going to be a hell of a holiday in a tiny room. Spanish accommodation is very tight. It will be mental in that room. If we book as a family in places like Spain or France, we look at the accommodation sizes and book a larger then beds for our family group as we know how small they can be. So if it says a 10 bed, and we are say 5 or 6 we ignore the 3 beds in the living room hell, and book it so everyone has a proper bed in an actual bedroom. Not everyone can afford that of course, but no way would I go on holiday for a week otherwise. Some bedrooms in France are in 'cabines' basically it's a wardrobe size with bunk beds !! Fine for little kids, not fine for teenagers the size of adults.

I have a friend who is a hotel manager in Spain. They kick out people sneaking extra adults/kids into rooms regularly. They are offered to pay for another room or they have to leave immediately.

How is your friend planning on supplying the sheets etc to go on the lilos? This is nuts.

At the time I said I wasn't sure if there would be any implications. I said to her that I hoped there wouldn't be but mentioned insurance as a possible implication without really knowing how it could be. That's why I've posted here to see if I was being unreasonable or if there are in fact any actual implications related to doing this.

Basically she's going on a holiday she can't afford? Sounds fun for the children. Or not.

I would possibly take the risk if it was 1 night in this country and I was able to get alternative accommodation but no way would I risk it for a 10 day abroad holiday.

Why risk your entire holiday or get a big fine.
Its just not worth the risk.

The entire holiday will revolve around sneaking them in and out.

She could have phoned them up and asked for a 2 bedroom or had the 2 separate rooms.

Well done for trying to make her see sense but I wouldn’t argue about it with her.
She’s an adult and can take her own risks.

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.

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

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

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!

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 ........

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.

Loads of people do it in the uk too.

They won't be eating at the hotel but they'll use the pool. I did ask about wristbands, would they be needed to access the pool area but as they're not all inclusive she said no.