Is the rise of Air BnB forcing hotels to act smarter?
May 25, 2017, 8:10 pm
#16
Join Date: Jul 2001
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Many hotels have rooms that can accommodate 3 (and sometimes - though rarely 4) that are not visible to the online reservation system. In the UK e.g. family rooms are very common but often not available online.
Japan is more difficult because of often very small room sizes. Booking 2 rooms may give you a better deal.
If you find a property you like - always email or call to ask for options.
Japan is more difficult because of often very small room sizes. Booking 2 rooms may give you a better deal.
If you find a property you like - always email or call to ask for options.
eta: there were a few ryokan options that offered family rooms in Narita. So that's another possibility. Not sure if ryokans in general might be more accommodating of more people in the room, but I can see how that might be the case, since it's easy to lay out more futons as needed.
May 26, 2017, 3:48 am
#17
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It's so frustrating trying to find a hotel in Stockholm that can accommodate 4, and sometimes 3!
Fortunately, the Clarion Arlanda offers family rooms with a double bed and two roll aways. It's reasonably priced, and it's attached to the airport--which is helpful when you have early morning flights and two tired kids. We actually check-in with the airline at 6am, go back to the hotel to have breakfast, then check-out of the hotel and go directly to the gate.
For a very long time, the Radisson Sky City at Arlanda had family rooms, but you couldn't book online, and the rates were very high. Once the Clarion moved in, you could finally book family rooms online; and this is probably the second year their rates are actually competitive with Clarion (within a few percentage points as opposed to 20-30%).
Fortunately, the Clarion Arlanda offers family rooms with a double bed and two roll aways. It's reasonably priced, and it's attached to the airport--which is helpful when you have early morning flights and two tired kids. We actually check-in with the airline at 6am, go back to the hotel to have breakfast, then check-out of the hotel and go directly to the gate.
For a very long time, the Radisson Sky City at Arlanda had family rooms, but you couldn't book online, and the rates were very high. Once the Clarion moved in, you could finally book family rooms online; and this is probably the second year their rates are actually competitive with Clarion (within a few percentage points as opposed to 20-30%).
The Sheraton also has rooms that easily accomodate 2 adults + 2 children, even without the rollaway beds.
Stockholm is actually one of the easier cities for me to get a room for families of 3-4 persons. It's 5 persons in a group that really changes the rules of the game.
In Sweden, it's usually the hostels/campgrounds and Airbnb-type accomodations that are the way to go when having 4-5 people in the family group. And in Stockholm it can work out very well given how much time off Swedes can take from work when having little kids -- something that means that a lot of small children families have their homes available for borrowing/renting for short-stays while they are on vacation elsewhere.
From what I see, Airbnb use by families of 3-5 persons hasn't resulted in much if any change by the hotels that I use most frequently.