Travelling as a family of five can make finding hotel rooms surprisingly difficult. You find the perfect hotel, the location is ideal, the price looks good… and then you discover that every room apparently only sleeps four people. HOWEVER, before you rule the hotel out completely, there’s a simple Booking.com trick that is always worth trying.

Search for two adults and two children first

If you are travelling as a family of five, try searching Booking.com for two adults and two children rather than entering all five guests straight away. This will give you more rooms that don’t appear when you search for your full family size. Once you have found a hotel and room you like, check whether the property allows an additional child to stay using an extra bed or cot.

How to check the extra bed policy on Booking.com

On the Booking.com property page:

1. Open the details for the hotel you are interested in.
2. Find the “House Rules” section.

3. Look for the “Extra bed policy”.
4. Check whether extra beds or cots can be requested for children.

• Book on free cancellation and check with the hotel they can accommodate the additional person.

Some hotels allow an additional bed to be added to a room, even though that room does not appear in the search results when you initially search for five people. For families of five, this can mean the difference between booking one family room instead of two separate hotel rooms.

This can work for families of four too

The same trick is worth trying if you are a family of four and struggling to find rooms. For example, if you keep seeing rooms that only accommodate three guests, try searching for 2 adults and 1 child, then check the hotel’s extra bed or cot policy. Depending on the ages of your children, you might find that the hotel allows an additional child in the room.

Affiliate link: If you book through our Booking.com link, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Why Booking.com searches don’t always show these rooms

Hotel room occupancy rules can be quite rigid within booking systems. A room may officially be listed as accommodating four guests, while the hotel separately allows an additional cot or extra bed on request. This means it may disappear from the results as soon as you enter five guests, even though the hotel may actually be able to accommodate your family.

This is why it is worth checking the individual hotel’s policies rather than assuming that no suitable room is available.

Always confirm before you book

This isn’t a way of getting around a hotel’s maximum occupancy rules, and you should never book a room for fewer guests without checking that the hotel will accept your full family.

Before booking, check:

• The maximum age allowed for a child using an extra bed
• Whether an extra bed or cot is actually available
• Whether there is an additional nightly charge
• Whether the room has enough space for the extra bed
• Whether you need to contact the hotel in advance to request it

If anything is unclear, contact the hotel and explain exactly how many adults and children will be staying, including the children’s ages.

Is it cheaper than booking two rooms?

Sometimes, significantly. For families of five, one of the biggest frustrations with hotel searches is being pushed towards booking two rooms simply because the standard room occupancy is four. If the hotel allows a fifth guest on an additional bed, booking one larger room plus an extra-bed charge can potentially be much cheaper than paying for two rooms. It also means the whole family can stay together, which is particularly helpful when travelling with younger children and so one adult can stay with all the kids.

Happy searching!

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