Family Vacation Ideas

Two is company, three is a crowd! This is certainly true when it comes to hotel rooms and kids. Most hotels define a typical family as “two adults sharing one hotel room with two children under the age of twelve”. Hotels then use this definition to structure their prices and create occupancy rules. When you take the time to read the very small print in hotel brochures or on their websites you'll see a line that reads - “BASED ON DOUBLE ADULT OCCUPANCY”. This means the basic hotel room price is based on at least two adult people sharing one hotel room. Hotels also base their maximum occupancy rules on this definition meaning that each hotel room will only be allowed to hold a maximum of two large and two smaller bodies. Remember these two important points...maximum occupancy and pricing because their are very important as I explain later on....

So what happens if you're NOT a "typical" family?
What if you are the parents of three kids or more?

When your third little bundle of joy enters this world, your family suddenly become a family of five. This means your family consists of two adult parents and three children. All is wonderful with the World until you all try to go on vacation together. Now your family of five suddenly doesn't fit the typical hotel's definition of what constitutes a family. When it comes to maximum room occupancy, your family doesn't fit into a standard room any more because now you have one extra kid. It doesn't matter whether you can all sleep in one king bed, bring sleeping bags for the floor or if your youngest can still fit in the dresser drawer. According to hotel occupancy rules, you are simply NOT allowed to all stay in one room....Sorry but this just ain't happening.

But wait - it gets worse...
Remember that fine print that reads “prices based on double adult occupancy” Again, this means each hotel room priced is based on TWO adults sleeping in one room. According to occupancy rules if 2 adults and 2 kids can fit into one hotel room, you're family is left with one extra kid. According to the hotel pricing rules, your one extra child must now pay DOUBLE the adult rate for the additional room your family will need to "fit" the hotel definition...remember the hotel room is based on double adult occupancy even if only one person is sleeping in it. Just to confuse matters more this is called a Single supplement fee...an extra fee for only one single person using a hotel room that is priced according to double adult occupancy. Got that?...you're one extra kid now ends up paying double the adult rate for the extra hotel room your family now needs according to the hotel. Often this makes the cost of a vacation prohibitive for many families of five. Perhaps you're the devious type and figure you'll be sneaky and save a buck and just sneak your third child into your room. Most legitimate travel agencies won't ruin their reputations or risk the penalties. If you make false reservations yourself and are found out, your reservations may be cancelled or you will be forced to pay heavy fines, penalties or face eviction. Remember many all-inclusive resorts require guests to wear wrist bands so you'll be found out soon enough.

For the sake of argument, let's say your family is well-to-do and money is no object. Rules are rules and you don't mind paying the extra fees for more space and two hotel rooms...as long as your family can have adjoining rooms. Here's another rub...with most hotels, adjoining or connecting rooms are on a REQUEST ONLY basis. They can ask for adjoining rooms but that doesn't mean your family will get adjoining rooms. Travel agents or online travel companies CANNOT guarantee that your family will get to stay together. It totally depends on hotel occupancy on the day of your arrival and if you happen to catch the check in clerk in an especially happy mood that day. Instead of spending quality family bonding time, you find yourselves further apart from one another than you are every day at home. Not fun! Besides not being together, parents now have the additional worry of safety and security issues.

We've put together a list of Family of Five Resorts and Hotels that will allow a family of five to share a standard room or jr suite together. Usually this means one room with two double or queen beds and a sofa, cot or crib for your third child. Every family of five hotel has their own unique set of requirements regarding their pricing and rules. Generally speaking most family of five resorts will allow 3 kids under the age of 12 to share one room with their parents. There are a few exceptions where older teens can qualify. In some cases, kids stay for free, but of course they still have to pay for their plane tickets. In other cases, two of the kids stay for free and the third child simply pays regular kids rates at the hotel....still a bargain compared to the alternative of paying double adult rate for an additional room. The only catch is that some of these resorts DO NOT offer this 3 kid policy during peak holiday travel times when their resorts are in high demand and crowded. If they do, then you can be certain these resorts and hotels will the be first ones to sell out.

Many of our family of five resorts are all inclusives. This means all meals, drinks, hotel activities, non motorized water sports, Kids camps, tips, taxes and gratuities are included. We usually offer our clients quotes which include airfare and airport/hotel transportation. Some families want to use their frequent flyers miles for their airfare...that's fine, just let us know when you send your requests to us that you want a LAND ONLY quote. Some family hotels and resorts will be listed as EP. This means you'll just be paying for your hotel room. Meals, drinks, activities, tip etc are all paid separately. There are even a few properties that offer guests a choice of either an all inclusive plan or an EP stay.

Vacationkids wanted to create a hotel and resort resource list for larger families. Again our Family of Five Hotels and Resorts will allow 3 kids to share a standard room or Jr suite with their parents. But what happens if you have 4 kids? What if Mom and Dad have three kids but would like their own separate bedroom for more privacy and perhaps a bit of romance? Maybe Grandma and Grandpa would like to come along on vacation too...then what? We've also includes a list of one, two and three bedroom suites on our Family of Five Page. Remember when upgrading to multiple bedroom suites, the whole family will pay an upgraded rate but often these are more economical than multiple rooms AND everyone stays together. Often availability for these special suites are NOT listed in regular reservation systems. It may take our staff a bit longer to check availability and secure reservations for your family but usually patience pays off.