Would you follow this rule?

[Knickerbockergrolia]

Staying at a holiday house, the rules mention 'no food or drink to be taken upstairs' - would you follow it?

YABU - I'm on holiday, I'm having a cup of tea in bed and I'm old enough not to make a mess

YANBU - rules are rules, I'll do as I'm told

I used to have a holiday home. It was our actual home before we moved. I wanted our guests to feel relaxed. All bedside units had coasters on them so they knew that drinking in bed was fine. If they wanted to eat in bed that would be fine too. No one ever made a mess or ruined things. Accidents happened for sure and a few things got broken but that is factored in to the cost of your stay.

Most holiday cottages are purchased for business purposes and aren’t homes. The owners of holiday cottages they use themselves rarely rent them out to strangers.

See I think that a rule from a home owner does have moral force, if im visiting them.

but once you rent out that house I think the moral justification begins to break down.

I wouldn’t take a full meal up there but I’d definitely take my water bottle to bed. I tend to sleep with my mouth open (TMI) and my mouth gets so dry, sore if anything. I don’t want to be trekking downstairs in the middle of the night for a drink when my bottle has got a lid on it anyway.

Yeah. In return for money what muddies the water. Both morally and practically.

in effect you’re paying for the reasonable cleaning of the property anyway, so why can’t you have a tea/wine/beer upstairs? Even if spilt it’s a reasonable clean what you’ve already paid to do

were no payment changing hands and you were staying in the house of your boss at work, say, then I accept it’s their house, their rules.

this is a business transaction. Same as in a restaurant where if my kid dropped his drink on their carpet I don’t feel morally compromised for it

Ok - and? It’s the same as rentals that don’t allow pets.

Don’t like it go somewhere else.

No because it’s clear at the point of booking that pets aren’t allowed. The holiday cottage we use regularly allows one well trained dog. When we got our second one we asked the owners if they’d allow two. If they’d said no we’d have made other arrangements. We’re not talking here about a rule that’s divulged before booking.

To me, this is probably a "rule" that the owner imagines has a bit of leeway. They don't want guests habitually eating spag bol and drinking red wine in the bedrooms because over time, the chances of staining would be much higher. They also don't want to get bogged down specifying what food and drink is OK. So better to keep it simple as "no food or drink upstairs", knowing that nobody cares if it's a coffee and biscuits and they would be none the wiser anyway.

Where are you reading OP had no idea of the rules before booking?

Surely nobody eats in their bedroom, wtf

I would still have my cup of tea in bed but not take any other food or drink up. I'd also clean/replace or pay for any spillage.

If I was made aware of stupid little rules before booking I would stay elsewhere. If not aware before arriving then I'll just ignore the stupid little petty rules.

We often have tea and toast in bed while staying in holiday cottages.

Personally I wouldn't but I can't think of anything worse than eating toast in bed (or any food) I can't abide crumbs in my bed. I'm like the princess & the pea, dispite wearing night clothes I can feel crumbs the eye can't see!