ILUVCITIBANK:

I'm going to attempt to phrase this as nicely as possible, so wish me luck...

Quite frankly, the great hotels of the world (or, in this case, of Europe) are not going to change their occupancies solely to cater to the US Market. As William indicated, there are occupancy restrictions in place, and these are uniformly enforced.

Moreover, many hotel managers aren't concerned about catering to American expectations on occupancy because, quite frankly, they're not looking to attract the type clientele that wants to cram 4 and 5 people into a room.

Have you ever stayed at the Goldener Hirsch? There's simply no room for three people in most cases, and certainly not room for four. You'd be miserable. The hotel is ensuring this doesn't happen.

Finally, staying at the Goldener Hirsch (and quite a few other Starwood hotels in Austria and Germany) is like staying at your VERY rich grandmother's house. Many of them were built in the 1300 and 1400s. If I'm being honest, these aren't hotels where I'd want children running around, and perhaps hotel management is of this same ilk.

Just some thoughts...