"A Sixth Grader Is Not at Co-Sleeping Age": Can a Family of 4 Share a Hotel Room in Japan? Japanese Hotel Staff Answer

What Japanese people said — picked from the top 200 of 2,555 comments

• I feel so sorry for the kids. Watching your parents do something embarrassing does a lot of damage.

  子供がかわいそうすぎる。 親が恥ずかしいことやってるのって、結構ダメージでかいよ。

  — @hibinekkoMost liked6,610 likes

• I really feel for the kids... Getting told off by a police officer and then paying, doesn't that embarrass you? If you don't want to spend money, you're better off staying home.

  子供が本当可哀想… 警察官に怒られてお金払うとか恥ずかしいとは思わないのか？ お金かけたくないなら家にいた方がいいよ

  — @sakuranbo2525526 likes

• I used to work at a ryokan so I know, this happens a lot lol We bill the kids' admission fee, meals and bedding at check-in.

  旅館で働いてたことあるからわかるけど、これ結構あるあるだよw 子供の入館料、食事代、寝具代をチェックインの時に請求しますね。

  — @六男-s8r84 likes

• The shop decides the services and the rules. It's not for you, a mere customer, to decide. And if you're not paying the proper price, you're not even a customer anymore.

  サービスやルールは店が決めんねん。 ただの客のお前が決めることちゃうねん。 しかも適正料金払ってないんだったらそれはもう客ですらねぇんだよ。

  — @BBSFT734 likes

• If you're going to insist "they're co-sleeping!", then book a two-person room lol

  添い寝だろ！って言い張るなら2人部屋で予約しろよw

  — @パーフェクトアザラシたけぽん64 likes

• You still couldn't get in lol, it's a two-person room so it's two people max

  それでも入れないだろw2人部屋なので2人までですって話

  — @charmeaznable1 likes

• I worked at a hotel, and a parent once kicked up a fuss wanting the 700-yen breakfast buffet free because "this child (third grader) is a small eater!"

  ホテルで働いてたけど、｢この子(小学3年生)は少食なんです！｣って700円の朝食バイキング代を無料にして欲しいとごねられたことある。

  — @YTアカ名隠せ37 likes

• I'm on the complaints team in the industry. This is dead center. It happens SO much. Please give us a break. We're not asking for anything hard, we just want you to follow the rules, that's all, please

  業界でクレーム処理班してます。まさにど真ん中。これ、めちゃあるんですよ。本当に勘弁して欲しい。難しいこと言ってないんだ、ルールをまもってほしい、それだけなんだ、頼むよ

  — @alicein_wonderland158998 likes

• They should just clearly write that kids are charged too.

  子供も料金かかりますってはっきり書けばいいのにね

  — @k.k.88239 likes

• Parents like this are common. I used to work the ticket desk at a tourist spot where kids are charged from elementary school, and a parent said smugly "this child is preschool age!" and the kid said "but I started first grade😢", and the parent put a hand over the kid's mouth. Going that far to save money? It's only 300 yen, I thought. Poor kid.

  こうゆう親よく居る。観光地の受付してたけど小学生から料金かかるシステムで親が偉そうに「この子未就学児です！」って言ったら「僕1年生になったのに😢」って子供が言ってて親がその子の発言手で遮っててそこまでして値段浮かす？たかが300円だぞって思った。子どもが可哀想。

  — @bhis67392 likes

• I work at a hotel too and this kind of thing happens quite a lot. The other day someone made a baffling demand: the child wasn't being charged for the stay so no meal was included, but they asked why no meal had been prepared and said we should at least do that as a service. If you want a meal prepared, please tell us when you book or at check-in, and please don't get the wrong idea that we'll do everything for free. If only so you don't embarrass your kids lol

  私もホテルで働いてるけどこういう事結構ありますよ。 この前は宿泊代頂かないお子様なので食事は付いてないのに何で食事が用意されてないんだ、サービスでそのくらいしろとよく分からない主張された方がいました。 食事を用意して欲しいなら予約の段階かチェックイン時に言ってもらいたいし無料で何でもしてくれると勘違いしないでもらいたいです。 お子様に恥をかかせない為にもw

  — @かっぱ-m8y14 likes

• Parents who don't check when they book, ignore their own failure to check, and then demand it free are something else. It's their own fault, and they push their situation onto the hotel. Embarrassing!

  予約する時に確認を怠り、確認不足を棚に上げ、タダにせろという親はヤバい。 自業自得なのに、自分達の状況をホテル側に押し付けるなんて。恥ずかしい！

  — @ちゃさる-g4d46 likes

Can a family of 4 stay in a hotel room booked for 2 in Japan?

No, not by calling the kids co-sleepers. A Japanese reply with 64 likes jokes that if you insist they are co-sleeping you should book a two-person room, and the next reply points out that a two-person room still means two people. In the case behind the thread, commenters say the police were called before the parents paid the extra charge.

Up to what age can a child co-sleep for free at a Japanese hotel?

Japanese commenters treat it as a toddler thing. The reply with 95 likes says co-sleeping still passes for a 2- or 3-year-old but not for a sixth grader, and that bringing elementary school kids on a booking for two adults will make the inn angry. A former tourist-site ticket clerk describes the same line at admission desks, where fees start at elementary school.

Do free children get meals at a Japanese hotel?

No. A Japanese hotel worker (14 likes) says a child who is not paying for the room has no meals included, and that if you want food for them you should say so when you book or at check-in. Another former hotel worker (37 likes) remembers a parent arguing that a third grader eats little and should get the 700-yen breakfast buffet free.

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• Do Japanese people mind crying babies in restaurants?

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