Family suite
2 connecting bedrooms (usually one on points and 1 we pay for)…

Overseas they are pretty strict with number of individuals and ages per room. And some of the rooms are small enough that there is no option for a rollaway bed. Granted we are a family of 4 so its a little easier. When our kids were younger, we'd get a room that allowed us to share beds. Once they became tweens that was not going to work. In the US rooms with two queens, kids get one bed, adults another. Now they are older its too rooms - doesn't need to be connecting. And as others have said you can find hotels that specialize in suites and rental apartments/homes are a really great option - easier to distribute bodies throughout a house or apartment with no one watching you.

I don't know why some people think they need to lie to the hotel.

Just as a random example I looked for a hotel in Chicago tonight for a family of five, 2 adults and 3 kids (age 3, 6, 9.)
I got multiple options just on the Marriott website alone. I bet there's also multiple options on Hilton and other brands.

Overseas is different, of course.

Another reason not to have more than two kids.

Two rooms or, more often, an air BnB type of apartment rental.

I book through hotel sites. I noticed also that some aggregate sites just cap at 2-4 persons. Booking online directly with hotel gives more option in terms of number of people - if their rooms actually accommodate more than 4.

Airbnb

I always said we were 4 people & got one room. Older DD and I would sleep in one bed, DH and son would sleep in the other bed, and younger DD would sleep on the pullout sofa.

We did that until they were grown, and it was never a problem. We rarely spent much time in the hotel room.

Family of five. We’ve never had trouble finding a room that accommodates all of us.

And I have seen hotels turn people away when their group was more than booked - NYC and southern Utah are the two places that I recall at the moment. OTOH, I had a hotel in Vegas allow all five of us to stay in a room for two when they screwed up our reservation. We had to use sleeping bags on the floor (which we had because it was a kick off spot for a camping trip).

Whether you book for four when you have five depends on whether you would be good with being turned away without another reservation. I was good with that sort of thing pre kids. But I’m not up for sleeping on the side of the road in a rental car with three kids.

Be careful in some countries in Europe. They will want passports for everyone including the kids and they will literally look at your party and make sure the number matches the reservation.

It's takes some time, but I always managed to find something - usually a suite hotel when the kids were little and adjoining rooms when they were older. In areas with chain hotels try looking at the suite hotels like embassy suites, some hampton inns, homewood suites, etc....

They may not be fancy, but they were always clean and comfortable and these are the hotels that often offer coffee and a quick breakfast in the morning.

Connecting rooms, adjacent rooms, or a large suite.

This will of course limit your options in certain highly touristy spots, but it's doable, if you plan far enough in advance.

If you want 5 in one double queen room, call and ask the hotel if they can provide a “rollaway bed” and what is the charge. That’s how you find out if it’s ok.

It does depend on location and in Europe they are stricter about occupancy.

Do you need rollaway or sofa bed from the hotel? Until you need a cot and if the kids are all under 10 and you want to share a room, I would just book 1 room and have one sleep in a sleeping bag on the floor.

But, if one kid is 9-10 yrs old or older, I would get two rooms, just list 1 adult and one kid per room. Or 1 adult and 1 kid for 1 room and 1 adult and 2 kids for another room.

You can sleep any way you want. Past mid elementary school, we now get two rooms (doesn’t have to be connecting, that’s harder to find)

A Hotel company employee.

I only book for myself. The family joins. That said, we usually use hotels with 1 bed and a living area or extended suite. Never an issue.