justineparis

Well op is not going over room occupancy ,, it says three adults and one child.. but in this case the "child" is one year over the limit. Its not a crib provided but a bed,, as I doubt they expect an 10 or 11 yr old to sleep in a crib.

However, they will know the chids age, as said they do look at passports.

So best to contact hotel and ask them what to do.. they may allow it but charge a small extra fee..

Personally I think if they refused to allow the child I would just find another hotel.. hotels are for sleeping and washing in. no need to make it a big deal if you have to go to another one .

Woinparis may not have to have his kids show passports because as a citizen of the EU he may only have to show his id.. hence easy to avoid the issue of hotel being aware of kids ages.

PalenQ

justineparis has the only sensible solution - be above board and Hoyle and see what they say - better than a surprise once there.

Nuff said. Period. Do it. Done.

Robert2016

As ribeirasacra says, you have to show your passports!

Odin

"Woinparis may not have to have his kids show passports because as a citizen of the EU he may only have to show his id.. hence easy to avoid the issue of hotel being aware of kids ages."

Citizens of the EU are required to show their passports or their national ID & that means per person, including children. National IDs have DOB on them. Whether the hotel will bother doing that is another matter.

tom_mn

I have definitely within the last 3 years not had childrens' passports checked for lodging in U.K., Dk, and Italy. I recall being suprised in Italy that only 1 adult passport was checked at all 3 check ins ("police only require we check one" was the universal reply because I asked). I don't think hotels in Germany or France checked, either, but not sure. I have had childrens' passports checked in Mexico for what that's worth.

The best course of action is cancel the uptight hotel and switch to an apartment. It's a better cultural experience anyway since you are living more like a local and not in a hotel bubble.

vincenzo32951

St: >>but in France it is ALL about fire and other regulations that the hotel MUST conform with, and the hotel would be in jeopardy having a guest who doesn't conform to the regulations.<<

So you're saying there are regulations that dictate the ages of people who occupy a room? That if you had a child in the room who was one year over the max age, it would be a violation of the law?

>> or get used to the idea of standing in the lobby of the hotel while you are berated for being a cheat. <<

Seriously? So I guess the idea of "customer relations" hasn't caught on in France? I mean, wouldn't a simple "I'm sorry, sir, but we'll have to charge you for your 12-year-old" suffice in place of the public berating?

tom_mn

Children's, too early.

hetismij2

tom_mn is the one who tried to smuggle a third child into a hotel room, so I wouldn't accept his advice.

Nothing wrong with staying in a hotel - staying in an apartment doesn't make it any more of a cultural experience, and you are no more "living abroad" in a holiday apartment than you are in a hotel. Indeed you can be even more isolated.

Ask the hotel is the only sensible answer.

vincenzo32951

Should I tell the hotel about our ferret?

sundriedtopepo

Wow, there are a lot of scrupulously honest people on Fodor's!

Given the research and stats around honesty and telling the truth, I'd say that is very commendable.

I just can't see that this OP is a determined thief or needs to be berated endlessly, she is just stuck in a difficult situation and is asking for some advice.

Hopefully she will check with the hotel and let us all know what the response is.

We once had the bell person at the Marriott advocate in our behalf because the front desk put our family of 5 in a room with one king bed!! Yes, having a large family can be very costly and more difficult for travelling.

Christina

the OP isn't in a difficult situation at all, just trying to cheat and lie in order to get something for less money.

Lots of hotels are family friendly, in fact, but that doesn't necessarily mean they let more people stay in a room than the size of the room calls for. Many hotels allow children for free up to a certain age, that's pretty family family. And I don't believe for a minute that this is all about fire etc regulations (although I'm sure there are some, also). Hotels have standards and it is perfectly reasonable for them to have a limit on the number of adults in a room, they don't want their hotels to turn into flophouses with 10 adults in a room, etc. You think that wouldn't happen? I bet it would in some areas and in some hotels. And I wouldn't want to stay in a hotel that allowed that. Hotels are allowed to set standards for their own property, if you don't like it, go somewhere else. But some people just don't have a lot of integrity or character, trying to cheat for money reasons. They have to have some objective standards for occupancy, and age is the most objective, not size or looks.

So I just think it's risky as they will know and it's possible they will refuse the room to the OP, and then what will they do at the last minute.

I don't understand what calling them and explaining the "problem" means. The problem is they don't want to follow the hotel regulations. But it certainly wouldn't hurt to ask, you never know, maybe they do bend the rules sometimes, if you really want to stay there, you have nothing to lose. I personally would do it ahead of time rather than it being a surprise that they find out they have a customer who is a liar.

justineparis

I think its funny that some folks think they are living like locals because they stay in a short term holiday rental apartment . You arent ! I do both hotels and apartments , and have lived with locals ( relatives ) , they are not the same experiences at all.

StCirq

Anyone who wants to enlighten himself about fire and occupancy regulations for hotels in France is welcome to read the Code du Travail. Hotels that are not in compliance face fines and worse. Maybe some hotels aren't so concerned about it, but most hotels will do what they can to be in compliance and that means, among other things, making sure the occupancy regulations are followed.

I don't know how tom_mn got through Italy without passports for every member of the family being checked. We've been in Italy for the last week, in 3 different hotels, and the first requirement at each was to produce our passports and have the information recorded on the computer. Same thing for every other trip I've made to Italy. Not so in France, IME.

Pegontheroad

For gosh sakes, answer the question or don't answer the question. Making comments on other people's morality is unnecessary.

spaarne

<i>Do hotels verify chidren ages?
Posted by: desirees on Dec 26, 16 at 9:07am
Have 2 boys - 12 and 15. Booked a room in Seville ( we got the highest category room, with a living room; bedroom and 2 bathrooms). However the limit is 3 adults and 1 child ( 11 yrs).</i>

The truth will out.

Robert2016

If you ask, they might overlook the age difference, which wouldn't be unusual as it is only one year, but it will depend on the property and the manager.

mjs

Its been awhile since my children were of that age but my recollection is that we always show our passports when we check into a hotel. It may however be my conditioned reflex and not always necessary. Would count on it if I were the Op.

janisj

tom_mm has his own priorities:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...on-website.cfm

He also once recommended one should always cancel the credit card after renting a car in Europe so they can't trace you for tickets.

Nuff said about who has the moral authority.

But for the OP - what I would do is <u>call the hotel</u> and ask very nicely if they would possibly allow a 12 yo. Then the hotel can give a blessing . . . or not. But then you will know for sure and there is no danger of getting a nasty surprise when you check in.

WoinParis

OP must think we are a bunch of crazy people.
2 weeks ago when in Paris we didn't show our children's IDs and since I had not anticipated everybody would come I asked for an extra bed.
As I say hotels are commercial institutions and are not going to hand their clients over to police because some people here find that you are a thief or a cheat if you just want to stay as a family.
But the ones who say to check with hotel are the ones giving a pertinent advice.
Not that OP would still be reading this thread which becomes a battlefield to assuage one's moral preeminence above others.
Like a lot of threads on fodors which is one reason I like it here.
Cheers.
Ps : I didn't become more (or less) intelligent and therefore remain calm it is just that I am in the car towards southern france under the sun and already 5C more than at home in the fog.
Hehe. Bourrides and bouillabaisses with excellent rose cote de Provence await us.

travelhorizons

My hunch is that while they may ask for your passports, it won't be for the purposes of checking ages, and the front desk agent will not even look at the date of birth for your 12 year old.