When their little youngest kid slept with mom and dad (Velcro child who always wanted to sleep with us anyway). Older, two queens and a pullout, and fudge the numbers for online booking.

It depends. In Europe, you may be confronted about it. They are very strict on maximum number of people for accommodations. I wouldn't chance it. If you can't afford for 5 people to travel, maybe plan a cheaper trip.

Lots of hotels have rooms with 2 queens and a sofa bed. They usually aren’t fancy ones though. It’s also much harder out of the US. Where are you trying to go OP?

There are some hotels that have suites that accommodate this.
There are some blogs that have good links.

You get a Suite or 2 connecting rooms.

You get two rooms. 5 people in a room is hell.

We get two rooms. Sometimes the kids are across the all, sometimes they're next door. We ask for adjoining rooms but if we don't get that, it's fine.

You don’t. You get 2 rooms or an Airbnb. My kids are way past the age of sharing a room with us. We get 2

Your family has outgrown a single hotel room. You need a second room or a suite.

Anonymous wrote:You don't lie, that's what you do.

Don't be silly. I have never encountered this because we are a family of 4 but if listing 5 people meant I couldn't rent a double room where I was planning to bring the pack and play, then I would select 4.

Anonymous wrote:You need a family suite, with 2 queens and a fold-out sofa bed.

This! But I can’t imagine any hotel until it’s a small tiny one ever noticing or caring if you have an extra child.

Also, call the hotels you are interested in and ask.

You need a family suite, with 2 queens and a fold-out sofa bed.

You don't lie, that's what you do.

When I use online sites and apps to book rooms, my family of two adults +3 kids frequently prevents me from moving forward with a room rental.
- do you just list 2 kids when you book? Will I get ‘caught’ with a 5th human in the room, if I booked for 4?
- where do you put your 3rd kid? (We are past the age of pack n plays, etc)

When we stay in driving distance, we bring a foldable cot. This time I am looking at flying, and no cot is an option.