5 people in hotel room
 

any experience with putting 2 adults + 3 kids in a hotel room? i hear the 'fire code' limits occupancy to 4 total, but wondering if that is overlooked/ not enforced, especially when dealing with 3 young kids (2,4,5). thanks in advance.

My experience is that it is not overlooked, even with young kids. Once, when our kids were super small, we asked the hotel if it would be okay to have all three (in cribs) in our suite and they were fine with it. However, we had a suite and not a standard room so maybe that is the difference.

We tend to do two connecting rooms with our kids (or a condo...condos are the best). However, some hotels do allow 5 in a room. The Embassy Suites in a chain that often allows 5 in a room.

Have a nice trip.

Just concentrate on a suites hotel... Embassy, Homewood, etc and you should'nt have a problem...

I've stayed with five in a room before. However, the hotel knew about it and provided a rollaway cot for the fifth person. It's not just an issue of money, but the hotel needs to know how many people are on the premises in case of a fire or other emergency. I imagine specifics would depend on the particular hotel's willingness to accommodate you and maybe state-specific fire codes. In your case, I might look for a suite just because of space: even if the hotel would allow all of you in one standard room, three kids plus all their stuff would make for very cramped quarters!

just ask the hotel. better to know before you get there.

Very often hotels that won't take 5 online will say fine on the phone, esp. if the youngest is 2. Pick a hotel you like and call them.

I would not want to be staying in the room next to you listening to all of that noise!

We did 6 all the time for hockey tournaments, some hotels even gave us free rollaways. Of course, we were just guys. However my daughter tells me that 9 (2 moms and 7 girls) shared a regular room at their last ballet program for 4 days and they survived

9 people sharing a regular room! That is absolutely ridiculous! Like I said before, if I were staying in the room next to you I would demand to be moved!

With two beds and a roll-away, I think 5 is the max most places would go.

Janie,
lol
You would really be out of luck if you moved from being next to the 9 ballerinas and ended up next to our 6 hockey players

Frank =D>

When you attempt to reserve a room at a hotel with five people and are denied because of fire code, do some investigating! This may be an elaborate scheme to sucker you into buying a more expensive suite.

I recently attempted to book a room a a hotel with an indoor waterpark. The first hotel I tried allows five people in a room, but unfortunately, they were booked. The clerk at the second hotel absolutely refused to let me do this, informed me that my only option was a suite, and stated that five people in a room was a "violation of fire code."

If fire code was their real reason, I wondered how the first hotel got away with this. I've also noticed that more and more hotels, which used to allow rollaways, are getting away from that and telling you to purchase a suite.

You probably think I need to get a life (and I deserve that comment), but I did some investigating. I submitted an e-mail posing the five people in a room question, plus the name and address of the hotel, to the fire department of the town in question. The division fire chief marshall replied that fire codes generally "do not regulate individual sleeping rooms relative to occupant loading other than requirement for more than one exit where an occupant load exceeds ten people. The statement 'violates fire code', in this case, is incorrect." The marshall then took it upon himself to telephone the hotel and set them straight. After this episode, the hotel manager contacted me and told me she'd done some investigation and learned this was a corporate policy, not a government regulation. She informed me that corporate policy allowed for two people per bed, plus one on the floor. I got my reservation.

So, next time you're denied a room for five people, ask for the reason behind this. If it's corporate policy, ask to speak with a manager. If they tell you it's fire code, and you want the room badly enough, call them on it. It's so simple to contact the non-emergency number or find the e-mail address for the fire dept.

I intend to use this tactic more in the future. Does fire code vary from place to place? Probably. There's only one way to find out.

There are many hotels that have 2 queen/double beds and a sofa bed and will easily accommodate a family of 5. I have done this many times and it works out well. Often a hotel with this type of room has a mini fridge and microwave which is great with little ones.

Fire laws differ in different places. For 5 people in a room you need to check with the hotels - but I would concentrate on suite hotels - with 2 beds in the BR and a pull-out sofa in the LR - unless one is an infant and you are bringing a crib.

Good for you, Jenny. While this has never been an issue for our family of 4, I applaud your effort and tenacity.

Fire codes usually stipulate minimum number of square feet per person.

A room with two queens and a sofa bed or room for a rollaway is different than a much smaller room with only one bed and no room for three rollaways...

And, it's best to disclose the number of people when booking, as you could be refused check-in.

I completely agree that you should disclose the number of people. I'm just saying that the fire code statement may or may not be true. My last sentence said, "Does fire code vary from place to place? Probably." In my case, the fire code statement was invalid. I'll take the work of the head fire dept. person in a city of 150,000 people over a college student running the front desk.

Do we believe everything we're told by corporate America? Some of us do and some of us don't.

What I'm saying is, if you want a room badly enough, call the proper people and investigate the claim given by the hotel. I'm sure there are cases where fire code applies. I'm sure that most people, however, think this is an extreme thing to do. For those of you willing to try, go for it.

If you were house hunting in a neighborhood and wanted to know if the neighborhood was safe, would you take the word of a realtor over the word of the police chief if they gave conflicting answers?