Originally, 1 room with 1 extra bet for 3-4 persons is booked, then change to 2 rooms later on-site? Can the price be absorbed as I no longer need that extra bed? [farparents tip]

This is a really specific and quite difficult issue to handle!

Sometimes you are traveling as a family and booked a standard room with an Extra bed.

Once you come to check in at the hotel. Have a look at your room and realize that the room is too small for a family.

Especially with an extra bet as it eats much space of your room. Like you can just sleep here in this room, not relax.

Now you have got a great idea to open another standard room. Now it would be 2 rooms.

Now the big question is how about the extra bed you paid for before?

Do I get my money back if I don‘t use it anymore?

The answer is yes but very complicated.

If you booked the original room with an extra bed via any booking platform or agency. Your money for extra is stuck in the booking platform or agency company, not in the hotel.

That means the hotel will bill you for another room on-site with the full amount only.

It cannot be absorbed on-site at the hotel. If the hotel gives you a refund for the booked extra bed, the hotel has to request a refund from the agency later, and no one guarantees that the agency will give that refund to the hotel.

That is why the hotel does not want to take this risk and if the hotel does, this process take time.

Hence the hotel will sell you the 2. rooms only for the full amount.

The process is via versa. When it comes to this case, the hotel will call the agency or online platform you have booked with and explain this case asking if it is possible and how.

So, what you can do now is, you have to pay for the second room with the full amount first and try to claim with your agency later once you come back home.

The problem is, that no one cannot promise that you will surely receive the refund back, it depends on the individual agency and its policy.

Or if your children are still too small and you want to stay together in a room then better to move to a bigger room which we call “a room upgrade”

The bigger room would be for example: Family Room which provides 4 beds automatically and should have much space for a family.

But the same story, the hotel cannot make a direct refund for the extra bet also.

The difference is:

The room upgrade is much cheaper than opening another room. For both choices, in case you will get more benefits (only if you have booked the hotel with the physical agency).

The local representative (the customer service person from your agency) can negotiate with the hotel to give you a higher discount.

But remark that this discount has nothing to do with the cancellation of the extra bed.

Just the discount as the hotel and agency have a good relationship with each other.