Wait until you see how small the beds are!!!

Why would you spend the considerable amount of money it will cost you to travel in Europe and spent tense nights hiding a person in your room for the small fee charged to have a third person?

Be fair and honest and that alone will help you sleep better :)

Why are you going back to Paris if you thought the French were rude, the hotels inferior, and you received bad restaurant service because you didn't get refills of coffee or soft drinks during your other trip.

How are you going to put 3 people in 2 twin beds? Do you know how small a twin bed is? It's what you slept in as a child and the only way 2 adults can sleep in it is one right on top of the other.

Plus a twin room will have towels for only 2 people. And what makes you think the people in the hotel won;t notice?

If there are 3 of you book a triple room - and pay for what you're using - rather than stealing it.

Don't forget fire safety requirements for occupancy limits.

Hotel Henri IV Rive Gauche in the 5th has a very large triple room.

The Hotel de la Bourdonnais in the 7th arrond. in Paris offers rooms with two double beds...they can easily accommodate 3 people with no extra fuss, but you should still tell the hotel in advance.
If you are traveling with a young child, tell the hotel. Many hotels won't charge extra for a young child.

I am frankly surprised that people are so passionate about this subject. Usually, victimless crimes do not arouse so much indignation.

Since the OP claims to only need two twin beds, why are so many people horrified by the comfort factor? Clearly someone is planning on sleeping on the floor. It has been done in the past, and people have survived.

The innkeeper - who relies on rents to feed his family - isn't a victim? How very interesting.

3 people are using the equipment for 2 people. The sheets will not wear out any faster, nor the floor. The innkeeper is receiving payment for the room. Perhaps a little more water is being used.

For heavens sakes you have to tell the hotel if you have two or three people because they need to know who is staying in their hotel! You won't get away with it anyhow because housekeepers are very keen observers...Not to mention the calls you will make to the front desk asking for extra pillows, towels and blankets. Just be honest and don't try to sneak by anyone.

Ahhh.... The hotel room version of the restaurant "dine and dash, or Chew and screw".
Just tell the front desk how many guests will be on their property.

This would not be a problem out in the countryside or along the freeways, of course, since the automated motels like Formule 1, Etap, Première Classe, B&B, Fast, etc., have check-in machines and the personnel have no idea how many people are actually in the room. Eastern European tourists are famous for putting 6 or 7 people in a room that is meant of a maximum of 3. Of course, you can not book more breakfasts than the room is meant for.

The post made a lot more sense after I saw what jsimms wrote a year ago:

Author: jsims
Date: 06/17/2007, 12:57 pm
"I have noticed that the hotels in Europe are generally inferior to the hotels in the States. For example, what they advertise as 3 star hotels are two star properties here, four star properties in Europe are three star hotels in the States etc. Generally you always have to assume that you will be one star below in Europe. Obviously there are some exceptions and a Four Seasons or Mandarin Oriental will probably be equal to the cousins in the States but in general that is not the case with most properties.

Just wanted to get everyone's opinion on this.

Also, it seems like you get more bang for your buck in the States than in Europe. That applies to the food, room size, availability of pools, gyms etc."

So jsims just wants to get "more bang for the buck" by sneaking an extra person into the room.

I wish people with an attitude like this would stay home.

Get a large suitcase and stuff the smallest of your trio in it.

I am intrigued by the thread by "homersimp" asking the exact same thing about Hungary and Czechy, titled:

Underbooking people for hotels

Our room for 2 in Venice was neat, clean, and microscopic! We had reserved 4 rooms, two women traveling together in each room, and of course the single beds were pushed together upon arrival. No problem, we'd just separate them a little so we could have a bit of space. There was so little space between the beds and the walls that I had to scoot to the end of the bed to get out, since the only space for a suitcase was on the floor by the bed. We gave up on separating the beds. The space at the foot of the beds would not have been large enough for anyone but a small child to sleep in. The TV was the size of a large toaster. You could never get another adult in that room unless they slept in the tub! STILL, we had a wonderful time, the staff was wonderful, breakfast was great, and no matter what the rating or how it might compare to hotels in the US, I was in VENICE! If I wanted things to be exactly like home, I'd stay home. I wasn't looking for a resort, I was looking for a place to lay my weary head at night, after all the day's adventures. So, my advice would be, get a triple, don't compare, and unless the hotel is grossly misrepresented, dirty, or dangerous, accept that as part of traveling. Good luck.

Thank you to everyone who posted their comments. Please allow me to clarify. I'm talking about three adults, there will be no children. I'm talking about big hotels, not small inns. Think Hilton, Sheraton etc. I probably should have said two double beds not too twin beds.

Very ofter it's difficult to find a hotel room for 3 adults. Either they are not available (2 people max) or the prices are very high. I plan on paying 200-250 euros per night. I will not ask for any extra towels or anything exta from the hotel. Why then should I change my travel plans or pay an extra 50-75 euros per night for a cot or an extra bed that we don't need.

Like one of the posters said it is typically not a problem in the States nor was it a problem for us 3 years ago in Istanbul. College kids go to Cancun or Miami and stay 5-6 in one room and this is perfectly fine but mention putting an extra person at a Paris hotel and all hell breaks loose.

In response to adrienne I'm going back to Paris because I think it's a beautiful city. My opinion of the French waiters has not changed since 2007.

<i>Why then should I change my travel plans or pay an extra 50-75 euros per night for a cot or an extra bed that we don't need.</i>

Because if you do not tell the hotel how many people there will be in the room you are planning to deceive them with the intention of avoiding payment.

Because there may be legal implications for the hotel.

Because there may be safety implications.

<i>it is typically not a problem in the States</i>

So what? Because it isn't a problem in the US does not mean it's isn't a problem elsewhere. When you go to a foreign country as a visitor pay it the courtesy of abiding by its rules and customs. If you are not prepared to do that then stay at home where the rules and customs are to your liking.

jsims wrote: &quot;Why then should I ... pay an extra 50-75 euros per night for a cot or an extra bed that we don't need.&quot;

I'll offer you a strange reason: because it is the right thing to do.