Can Three People Stay In A Twin Room? Yes And No

When you are looking for affordable accommodation for three people, you may wonder why most hotels won’t allow you to stay in a twin room. They usually have some additional couches or armchairs and the third person can even sleep on the floor to save up some money. So the question is: Is it at all possible to stay in a twin room if you have a company of three people?

And the answer is not that simple, unfortunately. Yes, three people can stay in a twin room, but you will need to check in every person and to make sure that it doesn’t break the rules of the hotel. Today we are going to tell you some important things about bringing more people than you initially booked the hotel room for.

Here are some questions we’ll answer:

Do hotels allow three people to live in a twin room?
What should you do to legally add another person?
What can go wrong?
Does it depend on the country or state?
When can a hotel refuse to accommodate an additional person?
Should you pay for the third person in a twin room?

Let’s get started!

Is it at all legal for three people to stay in a twin room?

It’s not legal until every single person staying in the hotel checks in. The check-in registration is absolutely inevitable if you want to stay in a hotel legally. Of course, many hotels will still allow three people to live in a twin room without any additional fees, but it’s only about the US. Hotels in Europe and Asia are likely to charge you with some more money if you want to let the third person stay in a twin room that you booked.

So, for a legal accommodation you will need to do the next:

during your booking process inform the hotel that three people are going to stay;
also, include any information about additional furniture you’d like to have;
ask about any additional fees they will charge you because in many cases they will try to do it;
write the names and surnames of all people who are going to stay in the room;
don’t forget that all people should have their ID cards with them (although not all hotels will even look at them);
then every person should register at the check-in desk before going to the room;
make sure that the third person has a decent place for relaxation and sleep.

Hotels all over the world have to work according to some rules and laws. In most countries, laws forbid giving people access to the rooms until they are properly registered. We can find many reasons for this, starting with commercial ones and finishing with security issues. You will probably need to be fair with your hotel in order to avoid any possible problems that may occur in this situation.

Why are hotels so strict about the number of people living in a room?

Now we’ll try to show you why most hotels care so much about the number of people living in a certain room. By the way, if you use a kind of online service for booking a room, you will not have a chance to include the third person in an application for your twin room. Such online applications will only have two fields for the names of guests. And this is another proof that hotels don’t want three people in a twin room.

Here’s why:

They will charge you more money for every person and if you are ready to pay, they will allow you to bring as many people as you like. But everyone should be paid for and registered.
Additional service. For example, many hotels offer breakfast included in the price of accommodation. In this case, the hotel will want to know the exact number of guests they should prepare breakfast for.
Hotels usually want to know for sure who stays in their rooms. If something happens, they can just call the police and tell them the names and other data of people living in that room.
Extra expenses. Hotels need to buy new towels, new bedsheets, new pillowcases, and other things quite often. And this depends directly on how many people stay in a hotel. Also, three people are going to use up more water, hot water, and electricity than two people.
A person who will sleep on the floor or in an armchair isn’t likely to write a good review. And, as you probably know, the rating is the most important factor that can make a hotel popular or kill it very fast.
Rooms for three people. Most hotels will not allow you to live in a twin room in this case just because they have triple rooms and they need to sell them somehow. That’s why they will only offer you a triple room.

We could find more factors, but these are the most obvious. Of course, if you just ask whether you can or can’t stay in a twin room having two friends with you, a receptionist or a hotel manager will tell you that it’s impossible and will offer you a triple room or an additional single room. But you can try a different strategy.

How to convince your hotel for an additional guest?

If you still want to get the third person to your twin room, you will need to remember some tips. First of all, remember that in Europe and Asia this is close to impossible to accommodate an additional person without paying for this. In America it’s possible, but if you know some tricks.

Here are some of them:

say that you don’t care much about the comfort, you will sleep at any place appropriate for this;
say that you only want a small twin room and aren’t going to pay for any extras;
say that you will choose another hotel unless the receptionist agrees with your needs;
say that you will write a positive review and recommend this hotel to your friends;
say that you will become a regular guest in this hotel.

It may seem even a little childish, but these tricks really work, especially with small and young hotels. Well, this trick won’t work with a huge chain hotel with strict rules and professional management, but with most other hotels it will work just well.

Can you sneak another person into your room?

After reading all the above-given tips, you may think: Wow, I don’t want to use all those strategies, I will just sneak a person into my room somehow. But be careful with this. Many people do this, but sometimes hotels get to know that their clients cheat them and they may call the police or just use their fine system to take more money from you.

We don’t recommend sneaking people into the hotel rooms without telling the front desc. This is a really bad idea. You may be in trouble after that.

When can a hotel refuse?

The accommodation of the third person is usually a paid option in most hotels in Europe and Asia. In America, it works differently. In the US only top hotels will pay a lot of attention to how many people actually live in the room. Unless you ask for additional furniture, sheets, blankets, and pillows, those hotels in the US won’t care much.

But here are the reasons why they can refuse:

The third person doesn’t have an ID card or other identity document.
It’s strictly forbidden according to the hotel’s policy.
The twin room is not appropriate for the accommodation of three people.
Triple rooms are available for your booking date.
You didn’t specify the number of guests when booking the room.
You tried to sneak a person into your room secretly.

Remember that in most cases, you will have to pay some more money for an additional person in your twin room. If it’s about the US, the rules are the same, but many hotel owners allow three people in a twin room because they just want to compete with those huge chains of hotels. And they want to make money here and now, so they will do anything to make you book the room.

Final words

As you see, there is no certain answer to this question. It all depends on the hotel and its rules whether they allow more people to stay in a twin room or not. It will also depend on the way you will speak to the hotel manager. If you are sure you want exactly the twin room, just insist on it and say you will choose another hotel that will offer you this service. But this will probably work in the US, not in Europe or Asia.

If all hotels refuse, you may try to go with rented flats. Sometimes they will be better options than hotels because owners usually don’t care much of how many people you will bring. Just make sure you don’t break any important rules!