Does anyone have any experience with the following...I'm going on vacation with 2 friends. The 3 of us are sharing a hotel room... the hotel charges $25 extra per night for the "extra" person.. Should I just book the hotel for 2 Adults and not worry about reporting the 3rd person?
Will they really notice?

having worked the front desk of several hotels ...

some will let it slide by ... the employees themselves feeling $25 a bit too much for what? a few extra soaps, towels, or face clothes.

But others will call you up, or quietly place the extra charge on the bill, and insist that should you not pay up you are "defrauding an innkeeper".

Overall - if you're a quiet group, and do NOT use every piece of linen, and do not make big demands on housekeeping, you'll probably go unnoticed.

What about sharing a room with our 3 kids? Most of the places we contacted required us to get a second room- our oldest child is only 10! Will they kick us out if we try to share a room?

Never heard of a hotel asking you to get two rooms for kids. Get a double-double and ask for roll away. Are the hotels you contacted match boxes?

Nope, they just have "fire codes" which allow a max of 4 people per room. (as if having an extra kid wasn't expensive enough! haha)

ttt

Are you people telling Rita that it is OK to sneak in the extra person?
Are you the same people who told someone it is not ethical to use own headphones to watch a film on a plane?

As long as they don't sneak him some food from the breakfast buffet, cuz that would be stealing.

I think that you should be honest and tell the front desk that there are 3 people sharing the room. My sister and I had planned a trip and at the last moment, my aunt came. I was honest and told the front desk that we had 3 instead of 2 people in the room and they did not charge us for the extra person.
Paula

I'm a travel agent and I've had clients with the same question as a couple of you are asking. Although it's always best to be honest, accept the consequences if you are caught. You are taking a gamble; you know the rules but you've chosen to break them! If you book two to a room and really have three, pay for the third if they charge you. If not, hey! throw a couple bucks in the slot machine; it's your lucky day.

For the family of 5, your situation is tougher because you could pay for second room. It might be worthwhile to call an agent (or even do the work yourself) and find a hotel that allows 5. And for those of you who think that sounds strange, think again, it is VERY VERY COMMON. Being in travel, I am well aware of it and because I like to travel, that particular rule was part of my thought process when we considered a third child! That 3rd child is VERY expensive if you travel alot. Don't give up hope, though. If you don't mind less choices, there is probably a hotel that will allow it. If you don't mind posting where you're going to, I will tell you if I know any!

I've put three in a room that was booked for two (1 adult, 2 kids) often. If I need anything extra, housekeeping gets a nice tip. And, I always leave a healthy tip upon departure. No guilt.

I'm wondering when you find it important to be honest? With yourself? Your children? A spouse? ANYONE?

While Paul@here questions the honesty of the traveler, you've also got to question the honesty of hotel operators too. I once worked for a Holiday Inn that directed clerks to LIE to customers who wanted two rollaways in a room, telling them that "local fire ordinance prohibits more than 1 rollaway in a room", in order to sell additional rooms. No one ever questions something stated as "the law".

I'd ask that hotel for a copy of such law, or call the city clerks office and/or tourism bureau. If it's a chain hotel, report the bastards. I've worked at several hotels, and NEVER saw a time when parents and three children could not share a room.

Rita, if your conscious won't be tormented by this heinous act as some of these holier than thou types are implying, then go for it and claim ignorance.

They probably won't notice, especially if the 3rd person "waits" in the car. Why should you pay $25 more per night if you aren't using an extra bed, extra towels or an extra room? Oh, I forgot, it's against the "rules".

Thank you for all your replies!!
I will not feel "guilty" doing this...
they are charging enough $$ for the room. If we get caught, we'll take our chances!

I typically like to think that I have paid for "the room", regardless of how many people are staying there. Note that I haven't had to deal with this issue, but if I had extra people I'd just slide them in.

Now, if you need to get a cot, I recommend paying the rental fee for the cot. If you simply put a few kids in the other bed I wouldn't worry about it!

I realize that if you try hard enough, you can rationalize improper behavior, but these posts that question the "ethics" of others can get tedious.

For instance, if I go 61 mph on the NJ Turnpike, am I in violation of some sort of ethical conduct. Rules are rules, right? Wrong.

No one can judge another's ethics based on an arbitrary -- and often ignored -- "rule." And, no, you can't assume that someone who "cheats" a hotel will also cheat on a spouse. Gimme a break..

Rita,
I'm glad to hear you're going to book the room for 2 with no guilt. Forget all of these "you'll burn in hell for a lie" people. You shouldn't have to pay whatever a hotel wants when you aren't using anything extra. My sister once stayed at a hotel with an infant. She didn't even need a crib and the hotel wanted to charge $25.00 for the extra person in the room. They said it was regardless of age. Hotels can make their policy on a whim. There are no set rules. If you're not using extra linens or in need of a rollaway, why should you pay more than anyone else? It's price-gouging. How honest is that?

As for the people with 3 kids, I know lots of hotels do not allow a rollaway with 2 beds. I would find one with a convertible sofa maybe, or if the kids are small enough, put them all in one bed. A double would be hard to do that with, but a queen size wouldn't be too bad. Unfortunately when they get older you'll probably end up getting two rooms.

Have fun Rita...

Thanks, I too am going to take my chances. I agree with the Boss, I'm paying for the room, not the head count! I also appreciate r-travels insight into the "rules". Thanks everyone!