My family is going to Spain. We booked 2 rooms for 2 adults per room for our family of five. My kids are 15, 12 and 10.
A friend has just told of strict rules in Europe. Their reservations were cancelled and they were left without a hotel in Paris.
My question is, are they as strict in Spain if the room is big? If yes, can we ask for an extra bed and be done with it? Some of our reservations are non-refundable.
Thanks!
Contact your hotel for a definitive answer.
Contact the hotel(s) and expect to pay extra for another bed (if they have any available). An extra charge to add a bed is common and I would imagine the hotel(s) will not be pleased if you check in with more people than you booked for. If the hotel has "family" or "triple rooms, they may require you to switch to the bigger and more expensive room. Also, if your bookings include breakfast, make sure it covers the extra persons.
Did you already looked for "family" rooms? Some of them have 5 or more beds and it might be cheaper than renting 2 rooms. I have never done Airbnb but you can also check there. I also think that RS has some suggestions in his book.
In Europe it is far more common for pricing to be per person (including children) than per room as in the US. Also Europe has very strict occupancy regulations per room. So DO NOT reserve two rooms for four and show up with five. You MUST specify at the time of reservation the number of people including children. And, yes, Spain is just as strict.
As others have noted, indeed the hotel is almost for sure to be very strict about the number of guests. Since you already have booked and the reservation is non-refundable, I suggest you contact the hotel right away and explain that you "now" have an extra guest coming and need to accommodate a total of 5 people. They may be able to do so within the 2 rooms you have booked, or may need to provide you with a different room size. Hopefully that is all that is needed but sometimes rooms are limited in how many guests they can legally occupy due to codes. If they cannot accommodate you easily, you may have to eat the cost of those reservations as non-refundable is strictly enforced too (usually it comes with a hefty advanced reservation discount).
And for sure you cannot just show up or try to sneak someone in. That won't work and will make matters worse.
Thank you very much for your responses, everyone. We come from Asia where existing bedding is allowed to be used and the rules not strictly enforced as in Europe.
We are contacting the hotels right away. Hopefully we can sort this out.
