"5 large and 4 small rooms were rejected for staying in two standard rooms" sparked heated discussions How many people can live in one room?

Recently, a tourist posted a video saying that his group of 5 adults and 4 children booked two standard rooms at a homestay in Xinjiang, but they were refused to stay due to the number of people after arriving at the hotel, which caused heated discussions. With the arrival of the summer tourism peak, many tourists with families also have the same question: how many people are allowed in a room? Does the refusal to receive guests at the hotel due to the number of occupants infringe on the legitimate rights and interests of consumers?

>> event recap

"5 large and 4 small" accommodation in two standard rooms was refused

Recently, a tourist in Xinjiang posted a video saying that their two families and an elderly man traveled together, a total of 5 adults and 4 children, and booked two standard rooms in a homestay. After arriving at the B&B late at night, the boss said that only two people could live in a room, and refused to stay in it.

After the incident fermented, the owner of the B&B responded online that he did not know about the number of occupants at first, and it was not until he received the customer that he found that there were 9 people in his group, and the two rooms were really not able to live. "Refusal to overcrowd is the only right of the platform to give our merchants." The owner of the B&B also said that so many people are staying in two rooms, and they are worried that it will affect the experience of other guests.

>> reporter investigation

B&B platforms usually set a maximum occupancy limit

If the upper limit is exceeded, it is recommended to communicate in advance

The reporter inquired about the major online travel platforms and found that the homestay booking page will generally clearly indicate the number of people who can stay. "When a user makes a reservation for a hotel, the actual number of occupants will be displayed on the platform's detail page and booking page." Tuniu travel network staff told reporters.

So, how is the number of guests at a homestay determined? What if the number of people exceeds the requirement?

According to the person in charge of a B&B platform, the platform will calculate the upper limit of the number of people that can be received according to the number of beds and bed type system, and the landlord on the merchant side can set it by himself, the default value is the upper limit, and the landlord can only reduce but not add the number of people who can live in it. Therefore, it is recommended that consumers choose a matching listing according to the number of occupants when choosing a homestay. If there is an overcrowding, you can communicate with the landlord in advance.

"The number of guests is usually determined by the host according to the room type and facilities of the homestay, and the platform will pay attention to the number of guests and whether the homestay service is suitable when reviewing the listing, and if there is an unreasonable situation, it will communicate with the host to confirm." According to the person in charge of the operation of a B&B booking platform, the general platform will require the landlord to display the recommended number of occupants and the number of beds on the listing details page, and will also clearly indicate whether there can be an extra bed, add an extra person, if so, a maximum of how many beds or people, and the charging rules for exceeding the number of occupants.

>> industry insiders

An extra bed can be negotiated for stay-in at the homestay

This is provided that the room is large enough

Zhang Xiaojun, president of the B&B Inn and Boutique Hotel Branch of the China Tourism Association, said that there is currently no unified national industry standard for how many people can live in a double-standard room, or how many people can live in a room of a homestay. The accommodation of two adults in a double standard room is based on the following considerations: first, the experience and comfort of the guests; the second is the service capacity of toilets and other equipment; The third is safety.

"The B&B will make flexible adjustments according to the actual situation and under the above premise, for example, parents with one or two minors can stay in a double standard room if the guest is willing and the room facilities allow. Generally speaking, if three or more adults are staying in a twin room, the property may offer an extra bed at the guest's request, but only if the room size is large enough. Zhang Xiaojun said.

In today's homestay consumer market, family travel accounts for an increasing proportion. Zhang Xiaojun pointed out that the travel of multiple families and the travel of families with many children have put forward new requirements for the room arrangement of homestays, and the industry should make adjustments to meet the needs of the market. Industry associations should also conduct investigation and research on the issue of "how many people live in a homestay", formulate industry norms on this basis, serve members and relevant enterprises for reference and implementation, and serve consumers to choose the right homestay to stay.

>> lawyer's point of view

If the operator reminds or publicizes the number of people

It is not an infringement of consumer rights

Regarding the issue of guest room occupancy in B&Bs and hotels, Li Zerui, a lawyer at Beijing Jingjing Law Firm, said that at present, laws and regulations such as the Measures for the Administration of Public Security in the Hotel Industry, the Hygiene Standards for the Lodging Industry, and the Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests do not impose specific restrictions on the number of occupants in the B&B, hotel and other accommodation industries.

Li Zerui believes that according to the above regulations, B&Bs and hotels must consider factors such as safety and hygiene when specifying room types, and register and check each room to ensure the availability and safety of each room. The size of the bed is specified, which means that there is a limit to the extra bed in the room. For example, if a room is designed to accommodate two people, but if there are more than two people, it is obviously beyond the room design, and the operator will be more responsible for potential risks such as ensuring the safety of customers. Failure to comply with these regulations may result in fines or other greater penalties. Therefore, it is not unreasonable to limit the number of people from the perspective of business safety requirements and ensuring safety.

Does the refusal to receive guests at the hotel due to the number of occupants infringe on the legitimate rights and interests of consumers? In this regard, Li Zerui said that as long as the operator prompts or publicizes the number of occupants, it does not infringe on the rights and interests of consumers.

The hotel and the guests staying in the hotel form a hotel service contract relationship, and the hotel, as the operator, has the obligation to ensure the safety of the passengers' personal and property safety, the hotel can agree on the number of people staying in the room due to the maximum load of the building, the quality standards of the service and other factors. If the hotel has clearly agreed (including the announcement on the app) the limit on the number of people staying in the room before the contract is concluded or the consumer makes a reservation, the consumer has the right to choose to continue the reservation or change the hotel. Then, this situation does not belong to "setting unfair and unreasonable trading conditions" and cannot be determined to infringe on the rights and interests of consumers.

Li Zerui suggested that consumers should try their best to understand the relevant situation of the room before booking homestays and hotels, such as the size of the room, the number of guests, whether children and extra beds are allowed, free cancellation and reservation time, etc., and communicate in advance. At the same time, it is necessary to pay attention to whether the B&B, hotel, etc. have fulfilled sufficient reminders and publicity obligations, and if the booking commitment is different from the actual situation, you can contact the relevant departments and platforms for complaint resolution.

>> think

Behind the occupancy controversy

The problem of extended family travel needs to be solved

What seems to be a video about a controversy about occupancy numbers is a real problem behind it. Different from the "two large and one small" travel of single-child families in the past, there are indeed certain difficulties in the process of booking room types in hotels and homestays when multi-generational families, families with many children, families with the elderly, and families with nannies travel.

At present, most of the existing hotels and B&Bs are double and twin rooms that can accommodate two people, which is not conducive to parent-child travel with a large number of families, and there is a mismatch between consumer demand and actual supply. For example, in a two-child family, two adults with two children, one standard room cannot be accommodated, and the two standard rooms feel wasteful, and it is inconvenient to take care of the children, and the atmosphere of family living together is lost.

In this context, in the face of the continuous increase in the flow of family tourists and the increasingly diversified family travel portfolio, it is necessary for the hotel and B&B industry to make certain adjustments to adapt to the new market demand based on the premise of safety and service capabilities. This adjustment is not only to refine the standard of "how many people can live in a room", but also to improve the layout of the room by adjusting and optimizing the relevant room type products.

In this process of adjustment, traditional hotels are more limited due to factors such as building structure, while B&Bs have a much larger space for adjustment, and the room design can also be more diversified to meet the needs of more family combinations. On a conditional basis, such adjustments can also be extended from room types to other public facilities and services in hotels and B&Bs. Tourism-related enterprises also need to enrich related tourism products and refine corresponding travel services for increasingly diversified family travel portfolios. According to CCTV, Workers Daily

Netizen's point of view

@消费者花钱订了房间, businesses should not limit the number of occupants.

@多间房就多笔费用, ordinary people can save a little is a little.

@酒店预订页面大多写明了标间只能住2成人和1名6岁以下儿童, there is nothing wrong with the merchant's approach.

@5个大人确实过分了, but most hotels don't care.

@多一个人可能没啥, there are safety hazards for a few more people, and in case of an accident, who is responsible?