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It is likely that you made an unexpected friend that you clicked with on your trip, and ended up inviting them to your hotel.

Or maybe you were on a business trip, and given how boring it can get spending time alone in a hotel, the idea of inviting some friend or family over to your hotel room sounded enticing to you

The only thing is, you do not know the answer to the very obvious question that comes right next, “Can you have visitors in hotels?”

In this article, we will discuss all your questions in regards to having visitors in your hotel rooms/hotels.

Can you have visitors in hotels?

If we give you a short answer, the most coherent version would be that hotels may or may not allow visitors in a hotel room, depending on their internal policies. So, at the end of the day, it depends on the establishment and whether they are open to welcoming a visitor to your hotel room.

Even if a hotel does not allow a visitor in the guest’s room, it can still allow visitors to wait in the lobby/meeting room where the guests can meet the visitors.

Most hotels have a visitor policy that allows visitors to meet the resident guests in their reserved rooms between 0900 hrs. to 2200 hrs. This period is not a stipulated one amongst all hotels and varies based on the established or the hotel chain you have reserved for. Ideally, most hotels allow the visitors to meet the guests of the hotel at any given point of time in the meeting room/lobby area of the hotel.

A visitor will require to present a government-approved photo identity proof that can be vetted by the hotel’s front desk. However, a hotel also has the right to disapprove admission of a visitor in the hotel’s premises, even after they have provided an identity proof.

All in all, the rights to the admission of a visitor to the premises of the hotel is solely vested in the hotel management, which can choose to modify or make changes to the policy as per the feasibility and security of the guests.

On a general note, most hotels allow visitors in the hotel room or other immediate parts of the hotel, either for free or for an additional cost, especially if you booked per person and not per room.

A significant number of hotels will do a headcount for reasons of security, feasibility, safety, and emergency situations. If they do a headcount, they may charge you for bringing over someone they did not count as a part of their premises, or they may not, depending on how their visitor’s policy operates.

It is always ideal to ask the hotels for their visitor’s policy before booking with them if you are considering having visitors in your hotel room on your trip.

How to ensure a smooth experience having visitors in a hotel?

The best practice is to ensure that the visitor is carrying an ID, which they can leave with the hotel’s desk as long as they stay in the guest’s room. Hotels usually ask for an ID to ensure that the visitor is not a minor.

Instead of having the staff find out that a visitor ‘sneaked’ into your hotel room and then possibly facing some dispute over the same, it is advisable that you inform the hotel beforehand that you will have a visitor on their premises.

It is only sporadically that you will be charged an extra cost for having a visitor in the hotel room, more so if you reserved as per person and not per room. However, it should be noted that if the visitor uses any of the amenities or facilities of the hotel, you may incur extra charges. To avoid this, make sure that you do not trouble the hotel staff with trivial things, especially those concerned with the visitor.

If you are simply thinking of sneaking in a visitor, hoping that the establishment will not find out – my friend, they will, sooner or later. If they do, you would probably be asked to upgrade to a bigger room, even when there is no need for one (only because you did something under their noses).

Why are visitors not allowed in some cases?

Visitors may not be allowed in the hotel rooms/premises of the hotel for the following reasons:

Limited resources, including bedding, towels, water supply, etc.
Hotels avoiding lawsuits against breaking the fire codes.
To keep an actual count of people in the hotel in case of emergencies.
Crammed rooms, especially pods, are designed for travelers that have no space to accommodate another person.
If the hotel is exclusive to males/females, and you are bringing a visitor of the opposite sex.
Security reasons, including when the hotel management is paranoid about the visitor.
To avoid illegal activities, discomfort to other guests, and rowdy behavior in the establishment.

Are visitors allowed in OYO Rooms?

Yes, OYO Rooms allow visitors on the premises, but here’s the catch: although OYO has a flexible visitor’s policy, it all boils down to the hotel you are booking with OYO Rooms. If the hotel you booked through OYO Rooms does not allow visitors in the establishment, let alone the guest’s room, you sadly can’t bring your people over.

In fact, it is specifically mentioned in the Hotel Specific Policies section in the Guest Policies of OYO Rooms that the entry of visitors to the rooms of the visitors is subjective to the hotel and completely at the hotel’s discretion.

Thus, it is best to check with the hotel before inviting visitors and ending up in embarrassing situations if the hotel nods a ‘no’ to the admissibility of the visitor.

What To Do If You Have Visitors?

If you have visitors showing up to your OYO Room, and you know this from before making a reservation for the hotel, you should call the specific hotel directly and ask if they allow visitors. Although OYO Rooms allow visitors to linger in the guest’s vicinity for a while, internal policies of different hotels registered with OYO may not allow the same. Thus, it is best to ask the hotel if they are okay with visitor arrivals.
If your visitor showed up unexpectedly, or you never asked the hotel reception about the entry of visitors, at the time of booking, you can politely ask the head of the hotel staff to allow them. Be persistent, and tweak the situation into an emotional one, depicting how much the visitor means to you (even though you just met in a random cafe yesterday over coffee).
Most OYO Rooms do not give two ‘shillings’ about the visitor unless they notice something skeptical about the visitor. If the hotel staff is hesitant about allowing a visitor to the room, you can always ask the visitor to provide them with an ID card as long as they talk with you.
If the hotel administration does not allow meetings in the guests’ room, you can always meet them in the lobby/ meeting room. Almost every hotel has a lobby, and since the entry of the visitor into the lobby is not considered invasive (by the hotel), you can meet them in the lobby.

Do Hotels Charge More for Extra Guests?

Practically speaking, there is no general answer to this question. Different hotels at different places have their own policies for the services that they offer. There are some hotels where once you slip in, it doesn’t matter whether you have more people in your room instead of six; they won’t bother you or add extra charges on your hotel bill.

There are hotels that have additional guest charges, and many of them don’t even mention this on their website. Some hotels will inform you upfront about the headcount policy of their hotel, and some just add an extra bill and surprise you at the end of your stay. There are hotels that don’t count kids under 18 as headcount, but again it depends on the hotel itself. So, this is why the answer to this question depends on the rules and regulations of the hotel.

In general, most hotels do not charge for an additional person charge; so it would be good for you to ask them upfront and be at peace throughout your stay, or else you will end up feeling worried about the extra dollars (or whatever currency is used where you are staying) that will be added to the bottom of your receipt.

Are Guests Allowed to Sleep in Your Hotel Room?

Okay, so you had your fair share of fun with that friendly reunion or that game you watched with your favorite cousin. Now, what? Do they get to sleep in your hotel room as a visitor, and more so, since you made the booking per room and not per person?

We are sorry to burst the bubble, but no, that’s not possible. Visitors are not allowed to sleep in your hotel room or spend the night in the hotel in the first place. You need to follow the number of guests you initially booked the hotel room for, and any more than that shall not be allowed in the hotel room for a stayover.

If you wish to spend some more time with the visitor, you can call up the reception, possibly pay some extra charges, get an extra bed, maybe even an extra room, and then spend your quality time with them.

FAQs

Can Three People Stay in One Hotel Room?

Yes, in most of the hotels, three people are allowed if you book a double room. But if you book a single room, there is very little space and a single bed, so you can hardly adjust there, for example, the capsule hotel in Japan.

These capsules are designed solely keeping in mind the solo travelers, and their tight budget, making it nearly impossible to accommodate three people in one room.

Some hotels only allow two people in a double room, so whether you can have three people in one room also depends on the hotel’s policies.

Can Hotel Staff Enter the Room?

No, guests have their own rights to privacy, and no hotel staff can just walk in; they can search your room only under certain circumstances. They can enter your room if they find something illegal going on inside, or you are disturbing the other guests in the hotel. Other than that, you can only expect the hotel staff to enter your room only for cleaning and maintenance purposes.

Do they do a headcount for every person you’re with?

Generally, the hotels don’t do a headcount for every person you’re with. Most of the hotels allow a fixed number of people in a room, and if there are any extra guests, they will add additional person charges to your bill. Also, there are hotels with different policies that charge additional costs for every person you are with.

Can the hotel kick You out once they’ve Confirmed you have an extra guest?

Absolutely not; no hotel can kick you out just because you have an extra guest, even if you sneak them in (as long as they are not involved in illegal activities). You might get charged or pay extra charges incurred by your guests, according to the hotel policy.

You can only get kicked out of a hotel if you or your guests do illegal activities, make excessive noise, damage the hotel’s property or pose any kind of threat to the hotel, or misbehave with hotel staff.

Can You Have Visitors in Hotels?