Hi OZB
We are going to US in Aug- sep this year for 3 weeks, mainly going to Hawaii, Newyork, Vegas and LA. Now the thing is that while searching for hotel deals I noticed that when I search for just 2 adults without mentioning my toddler hotels become much cheaper by like at least 100 bucks less a night. I do understand this may be because of hotel policies and insurance and other things like that but the question I am asking you experienced oz bargainers is what would happen when I rock up to my hotels with my toddler in tow after booking just for 2 adults? would i be able to get away with no extra charge or smaller extra charge or would i be worse off? has someone been in similar situation before?
P.S-My toddler co-sleeps with us so don't need any extra bed for her.
Should I declare my Toddler when booking a hotel?
Comments
Only looked at booking websites yet.
Is your toddler classified as a child?
Looking at booking website like expedia and booking.com it seems like yes as they start showing room with extra beds when I mention a 2 year child
yeah this happened to me recently - it seems to occur on some of the booking sites. I didn't declare a toddler on numerous hotels with no issues. In doing so I was able to get cheaper rooms (studio etc).
I agree with jobler. And when you check in, if they want to argue the toss, 'then' pay the surcharge.
Same thing happen for Australian hotels? I swear it didn't change anything when I booked recently in Canberra. They even brought us a cot at no charge. Maybe different in USA…
Nope. No drama at aussie hotels, at max 25 buck extra charge.
Really? Aussie hotels are stupid. Lots have a limit of 3 people per room … so if you have 2 toddlers, they expect you to get two rooms … kids can't sleep by themselves, so that means sleeping in separate room to wife.
I end up just booking at room for 2 and sleeping the 2 kids (bring my own travel cot) … never had an issue.
US hotels actually seem to have 2 people max rule for some rooms. They say room can accommodate 2 adults 1 child but when I enter 2 adults and 1 child they show me the rooms with 2 beds or 1 bed and 1 sofa bed which increases the cost quite a bit. They seem to count the child in the max 2 people rule and also they don't seem to have a concept of bringing in an extra mattress or cot like Aussie hotels do for kids
They are usually a very customer service focused country so you would think it would be okay??? I suppose it could be a risk not to "declare", but I don't see them refusing to let you stay, especially if you have a child, right? Not very good PR? Although the airline stuff recently contradicts that…
Hope someone can share a similar experience with you to give you an idea.
You don't need to worry in big hotels. They have so many staff + guests that they would never know how many people are suppose to be staying in a room.
It might be an issue in the smaller boutique hotels.
well we are looking at big hotels like outrigger at Hawaii and Bellagio at Vegas
outrigger at Hawaii and Bellagio at Vegas
Both properties are HUGE - must have 300+ rooms each. Use the express check-in option online. Everyone doesn't even need to go to the check-in desk - just get your husband/wife + child to wait in the foyer.
Personally, I'd stick to 3.5 or 4 star places in the US. The moment you go 5 star, you end up paying for things like internet, water, beach towels, breakfast, etc and the rooms aren't substantially better (the location might be marginally better). The 3.5/4 star places typically have deals that include the extras.
2yo co-sleeping?
Jees…!
Actually, she did not co-sleep till she was 18 months but now it getting very hard for her to get to sleep away from her mum
That's because you've made it a habit. Kids will take advantage of stuff like that, that's all she's doing
That the infant stage, toddlers are seriously strong. We actually get hit a fair bit in the night time from her, nothing tests your love as a parent like a karate chop to your neck or a knee to the balls from your cosleeping toddler. we are going to make her sleep her on her own after this trip for sure
2yo co-sleeping? Jees…!
You can judge someone else's parenting when your kid wins a nobel prize/becomes prime minister/other significant achievement … best to keep quite until then.
*quiet. And everyone is entitled to an opinion. Imo I couldn't think of anything worse, you make a rod for your back doing this kind of thing. And yes I have 3 kids under 6 before you imply I have no idea
2 kids under 5yo here
We've had to do various things to break them out of habits, and that's all this is.
Main thing is that co-sleeping isn't beneficial to mum n dads relationship. Though it also shows that your kid is in control, not the other way around.
Co-sleeping at 2yo shows me parents who don't know how to say no, don't know how to set boundaries.
And yes I have 3 kids under 6 before you imply I have no idea
2 kids under 5yo hereKids come in all shapes and sizes. Some kids want to co-sleep, some are obese, others want to hurt small animals … How could you possible think that there's one size fits all approach to parenting?
geez man if the kid wants to co sleep and the parents are happy to then what's the problem?
@jobler: The kid will turn into an entitled shithead by age 6 and the parents will just keep claiming it's fine because it's what little Timmy wants?
I was at a party filled with career couples the other day and this guys kid was walking around being an (profanity) - like a real (profanity), just walking up to other kids and calling them losers before actually hitting them in the face lol - and when this was pointed out to the Dad he just goes "that never happened, he wouldn't do that". Despite the fact that adults are pointing this out.
The kid will turn into an entitled shithead by age 6
Next you'll be telling me some kids are 'made' gay, by certain parenting techniques.
Can you fit the toddler into a suitcase? If yes, I think I don't need to spell out the rest..
Some toddlers also come with detachable limbs!
Fold like a ventriloquist's dummy ! hehe!
When booking i've found that sometimes it would consider a child in a cot as a third person and block out max 2 occupancy rooms. So I put 2 adults on the expedia booking but tell the hotel direct that we need a cot.
However as your child is using pre existing bedding you will need to declare it from the beginning. I wouldn't risk not declaring, if you owned an establishment you would want guests to be as honest as possible.
Hehe we never declare our 5 & 7 year olds.
One of us just checks in and the other parent brings the kids to the room later on.
They sleep on cushions or sofa or whatever, it's just too expensive to travel otherwise and they don't increase the cost to the hotel by any more than a bit of extra hot water.I am a bit confused on why you would look at the Bellagio and then be concerned with paying extra for your toddler.
I would be looking at cheaper accommodation in the first place.
We stayed in one of the very few resorts in Vegas that was fully self contained as buying meals out 3 times a day works out very expensive. We also bought breakfast cereal, milk and a cheap poly styrene esky most places had ice machines. Was way easier to sort out out next days travels over breakfast and get going then wasting hours over breakfasts.
We had a ball, hope you do tooI am a bit confused on why you would look at the Bellagio and then be concerned with paying extra for your toddler.
I wondered this too.
3 times a day works out very expensive
You really need to eat and drink in excess in Vegas to enjoy Vegas. All the casinos have free drinks if your gambling (hint: $1 in the penny slots buys a lot of drinks), just make sure you tip the waitress's well.
On the food side, there's a buffet on every corner on the strip. Look at some of the US bargain sites (slickdeals, fatwallet, etc). Plenty of $5 all you can eat options and 2 for 1 coupons available. Make sure you hide some takeaway from buffet for snacking on later. This way, you can get away with 2 meals per day.
I guess on thinking about it, is Vegas really a great option when you have a toddler in tow?
I can not think of one thing that we did that would be toddler friendly.
All casinos/hotels allow smoking.
Drinking in excess is a high priority
The awesome variety of shows that people don't want someone's toddler making noise through because they have paid good money for tickets
The semi nudity on the streets
I loved it all but definitely not appropriate for a child
I don't think there is anything even geared to a young childAll casinos/hotels allow smoking.
In the gaming areas, yes, but kids aren't allowed there. Definitely not in the foyer/restaurants/pool/gym/other areas.
The semi nudity on the streets
What's wrong with you?
1. Nothing a toddler hasn't seen before
2. It's no worse than anything you would see on a beach
3. There's a naked cowboy/cowgirl in time square in New York. Are you going to tell me that Time Square is inappropriate for a toddler?
4. What's a pre-pubescent kid going to do with a mental image of a naked person?I don't think there is anything even geared to a young child
You can say the same about most site-seeing holidays. There isn't much for a toddler in NewYork/LA and the kids will probably be jetlagged in Hawaii. Little kids are happy just paying with their toys at home. Should parents give up their own interests because of it? hell no.
Sorry to be so blunt here. However consider this scenario, if a hotel does not know there a toddler in your room. Then there is an emergency situation (eg fire, earthquake, bomb whatever) then their records will only show 2 adults in that room. No one will go looking for your child.
Do you want to take that risk? It's not as if it is totally unbelievable that it could happen.
My son used to work in travel. Now he checks out the various sites and then the direct booking price for the best deal at his chosen place. Mostly, direct in the best. So choose a few knowing their prices roughly and contact them directly and ask. Just be sure to say they would sleep in your bed.
I agree that self-contained is so much cheaper too. Save money by considering this. It does not necessarily mean cooking every day and hence no holiday. We will often buy say steak and prepared salad. No effort but much cheaper. Eat out sometimes.
Then there is an emergency situation (eg fire, earthquake, bomb whatever) then their records will only show 2 adults in that room
What if you have an emergency at home? Emergency responders have no idea how many people (inc children) are living at your house.
Pretty sure they wouldn't leave their toddler behind. If they did, they would most certainly tell every fire-fighter/official within a 1 km square block.
You assume they made it out if there. If they have shielded the child (say earthquake/bomb) and have died or been injured, then they cannot raise the alarm until found. Young children unprotected can move a long way away - as a projectile. FACT.
At home, they ascertain from occupants who have fled, otherwise neighbours how many live there. If there are no close Neighbours, you are in an area of volunteer firefighters and someone will know.
These people gather information on the way too, so many things can be found out back at base.
As a former person working in hospitals and aged care, it was us risking our life searching for people who had gone home or on leave without the appropriate change in the fire record. We had to have a list on hand to give to the fire brigade when they arrived: all public facilities have the same legal requirements, in advanced countries anyway.
Point taken, but I don't see how a list in a giant hotel makes big difference…there are so many variables. Eg there is no guarantee the people are even in their hotel room at the time of an incident for example.
I understand that hotels may have legal/liability obligations to provide these guest lists in these rare circumstances though.
I would contact them and explain this to them. They should be able to book you into a max 2 person room, but add your child, rather than booking sites defaulting to a 3 person room.
You don't have to give them any info about who you are until you actually want to book (that is, if they give you a room at a price you are happy with).
Most American hotel rooms will be a king bed or two queens, so physically there should be room.
I just check prices for both and add the child if it doesn't affect the price (and bedding in the room will be sufficient).
Can also vary if you are booking direct, as well as through different travel sites.
Most American hotel rooms will be a king bed or two queens
Not in New York City
What did the hotels you were looking at say when you asked them?