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Family of 5...

TDub1313

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We are in the process of closing on a resale contract at the Bay Club - fingers crossed. The sellers were also kind enough to book a reservation in our name while the process is moving along. If everything settles up as he hope, we will be visiting the Bay Club in October. We are so excited and hope everything goes smoothly.

I have a general question, not just about the Bay Club, regarding occupancy. How strict are the properties about studio = 2, 1bd = 4, 2bd =6? With a family of 5, having to book a 2bd every time won’t t allow for much point stretching. I guess the direct question would be, is 5 in a 1bd a no go?
 

tombanjo

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The actual occupancy allowed should be stated for each type of room and that’s that. There are fire laws etc that prohibit more people than allowed to occupy a room. So a 1 bd might be two people in some places and more for other room layouts. I doubt a family of 5 can be allowed in any one bedroom.
 

TDub1313

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I figured that might be the case. We have stayed on property at WDW many times and the resorts that do allow 5 to a room(Caribbean Beach) are only marginally larger than a hotel room. A 1bd is obviously larger than those. Even most standard hotels will allow a 5th with a fee/roll away bed. Most fire code stuff is people/sq ft. I’d think those places that do allow 5 in much smaller spaces would be subject the same/similar codes. I’m not trying to say should allow me to have 5 or change the rules just for me. I was just wondering if anyone with a family of 5 had any experience with this.
 
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brp

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How strict they are depends upon how much they know. We have put 3 people in a Studio Premier at W. 57th, with occupancy =2. Why? Because this is a large room with a separate couch area and adequate space.

When I evaluate the fire safety aspect, it's all about egress. A larger room (say 1BD) has the same number and same size door as a studio, but allows more people. So, it is not specifically about the door itself. The Studio Premier has the space to allow the separate egress paths.

Rationalization to break the rules? Sure. But I follow rules that make sense and often ignore those that don't. Individual decision.

Cheers.
 

Talent312

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They don't have hall monitors counting heads, but you could be tossed out if...
-- one your kids (or spouse) blurts out the number;
-- all of you show up at the front desk; or
-- a neighbor complains about the noise you're making.
.
 

CalGalTraveler

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The Marriotts and Westins seem to hold more capacity. The studios tend to have a king and queen couch to accomodate 4. You often can add a rollaway. However they are becoming more restrictive at certain resorts. The 2 bdrms can hold 8.

HGVC studio premieres would be ideal for 4. Wish they would change the couches to pullouts. Strange policy that they limit the 2 bdrms to 6.
 

Passepartout

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As long as the kids are small and can double up, you can *probably* get away with 5 total humans in a 1 br. But when they can no longer bunk together, you are going to need more space.
 

PigsDad

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My question is where would 5 people sleep? The 1BR has a King bed in the bedroom and usually a queen sleeper sofa in the living room. It's not like there is another bed. But as others have said, there is no one that will check your room for occupancy violations. However, if you need and wristbands for pool usage, etc., it would be hard to explain why you needed 5.

Kurt
 

2disneydads

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We are in the process of closing on a resale contract at the Bay Club - fingers crossed. The sellers were also kind enough to book a reservation in our name while the process is moving along. If everything settles up as he hope, we will be visiting the Bay Club in October. We are so excited and hope everything goes smoothly.

I have a general question, not just about the Bay Club, regarding occupancy. How strict are the properties about studio = 2, 1bd = 4, 2bd =6? With a family of 5, having to book a 2bd every time won’t t allow for much point stretching. I guess the direct question would be, is 5 in a 1bd a no go?
I recently spoke to the desk at Kings' Land on this very question concerning a family with small children. The answer was quite emphatic that the started room occupancy is a fire code and certificate of occupancy issue. The position at Bay Club likely is no different. I would advise against trying to be cute or to get around the rules. You could have your vacation ruined and your reputation as an owner compromised. Your fellow guests and owners will not be happy if you start out your ownership breaking one of the basic house rules - honoring the legal occupancy limits. You also could be fined, because the occupancy limits are legal requirements that a fire officer can enforce.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
 

echino

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Familiar issue! We are a family of 5 too. We never had a problem, but we did not show up all five together at the front desk... In the US. I heard Mexico can be very strict about occupancy. So it depends.

Even many standard hotel room allow 5. So a much larger 1br timeshare should not be an issue logically. But now when the kids are almost teenagers, we book 2br.
 

brp

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You could have your vacation ruined and your reputation as an owner compromised. Your fellow guests and owners will not be happy if you start out your ownership breaking one of the basic house rules - honoring the legal occupancy limits. You also could be fined, because the occupancy limits are legal requirements that a fire officer can enforce.

Yup. All possibilities and I choose to take my chances with this when the rules don't make sense. Each must do as they will.

Cheers.
 

2disneydads

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Yup. All possibilities and I choose to take my chances with this when the rules don't make sense. Each must do as they will.

Cheers.
Yes, and attitudes like this one are why they world is so messed up. Everyone out for himself or herself and the rest of the world be damned. There's no respect for anyone else. I hope that I don't have the unit next to yours with too many people crammed in against the house rules and the local law. Lord knows what other rules you've decided don't make sense to you.

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Luanne

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Yes, and attitudes like this one are why they world is so messed up. Everyone out for himself or herself and the rest of the world be damned. There's no respect for anyone else. I hope that I don't have the unit next to yours with too many people crammed in against the house rules and the local law. Lord knows what other rules you've decided don't make sense to you.

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Kind of off topic but made me think of a flight we just took. Dd and I board and the overhead bin above us is full. We did mange to find a spot for her backpack a couple of row up. Everything else went under our seat leaving us no leg room. When we were getting off I realized why. The family of four sitting in the middle four seat used not only their overhead bin, but ours as well. They didn't bother using the overhead designated for them at the other end of their row and they had nothing under their seats. Jerks.
 

TDub1313

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Maybe I asked this all wrong. I’m not looking to cheat and cram in extra people. So I can book at holiday inn and get two queens and a roll away for a small fee? But Hilton offers no roll aways? There no legal way of getting 5 in a 1bd? It either pay the extra points, or be an outlaw, right?
 

Luanne

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Maybe I asked this all wrong. I’m not looking to cheat and cram in extra people. So I can book at holiday inn and get two queens and a roll away for a small fee? But Hilton offers no roll aways? There no legal way of getting 5 in a 1bd? It either pay the extra points, or be an outlaw, right?
Should this question be asked of Hilton?
 

1Kflyerguy

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Maybe I asked this all wrong. I’m not looking to cheat and cram in extra people. So I can book at holiday inn and get two queens and a roll away for a small fee? But Hilton offers no roll aways? There no legal way of getting 5 in a 1bd? It either pay the extra points, or be an outlaw, right?

I believe the policy may vary by location, so you should probably check with the resort.

Sometimes hotel rooms have lots of free space for a roll away as they don't include much other furniture. With the T/S you you have the kitchen, tables and one or more side chairs.

We are a small family so i never checked on a roll away, but i have stayed at some places where i am sure one would fit just fine, and other rooms where i am sure one would never fit.
 
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HGVC Lover

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We are in the process of closing on a resale contract at the Bay Club - fingers crossed. The sellers were also kind enough to book a reservation in our name while the process is moving along. If everything settles up as he hope, we will be visiting the Bay Club in October. We are so excited and hope everything goes smoothly.

I have a general question, not just about the Bay Club, regarding occupancy. How strict are the properties about studio = 2, 1bd = 4, 2bd =6? With a family of 5, having to book a 2bd every time won’t t allow for much point stretching. I guess the direct question would be, is 5 in a 1bd a no go?

My question is why did you not bite the bullet and buy a unit size that would fit your family needs? It would make me anxious always feeling like I would be breaking the resort rules when I go on family vacation at a HGVC. They set the occupancy numbers for a reason.

Having stayed at the Bay Club many times I could see how having 5 in a one bedroom might not go unnoticed especially if the family is noisy.
 

TDub1313

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I feel like a criminal for even asking this question. I would say I “bit the bullet” and bought 7k points/2br. I said in my OP it would help “stretch points” if a 1br was a possibility. I apologize to all for the dumb question. Thanks for the tips and kind words on my pending resale purchase. Going forward I will call the specific property and just ask.
 

Passepartout

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I feel like a criminal for even asking this question. I would say I “bit the bullet” and bought 7k points/2br. I said in my OP it would help “stretch points” if a 1br was a possibility. I apologize to all for the dumb question. Thanks for the tips and kind words on my pending resale purchase. Going forward I will call the specific property and just ask.
Perhaps, after you complete the purchase, you'd consider becoming a TUG member ($15/yr) so YOU could write reviews of resorts you visit. You would also be able to read reviews of resorts worldwide. I am fairly sure that the question of , "Can I put 5 people in a 1 bedroom unit?" Is not specifically asked, so you can start it. Claim the question as your own. Help make TUG a more useful tool for people.

YOU can DO this!I

Jim
 

tombanjo

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it's a reasonable question. There are places that can provide a roll away bed. However, the specs on the one bedrooms are 4. Asking experienced members a question about something that is not clear should be a function of a good site. The first 2 weeks of October look like they are gold season so a two bed room is 5000 points, or a 2 bedroom plus for 5800 points. For platinum season, 7000, which what you have, is a two bedroom. To stretch points, a stay in shoulder season would give you some left over points, and if you borrow from the next year, or find a 2000 point place for a stay you can stretch your points. You may want to consider the pool - asking for 5 wristbands or passes when there are supposed to be 4 staying might not work. If it were me, I'd take a two bedroom to start until I had the experience personally to see the lay of the land rather than worry or risk screwing up the first of hopefully many nice vacations.

points chart, room layouts and occupancy listing

https://club.hiltongrandvacations.c...island/the-bay-club-at-waikoloa-beach-resort/
 

HGVC Lover

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I feel like a criminal for even asking this question. I would say I “bit the bullet” and bought 7k points/2br. I said in my OP it would help “stretch points” if a 1br was a possibility. I apologize to all for the dumb question. Thanks for the tips and kind words on my pending resale purchase. Going forward I will call the specific property and just ask.

I apologize but there was no intention to make you feel in the wrong.....I see know that it was not clear to me what size unit you had bought.

Another piece of information about the Bay Club that might influence your decision on which units to book.....almost all 1 bedroom units face the parking lots and a if you get a one bedroom ground floor unit you might feel like the parking lot is part of your lanai....we do not like the one bedroom ground units for that reason....the two bedrooms all have much more enjoyable views and are really very spacious for 5....I like the suggestion if you can book on shoulder season and get a 2 bedroom for less points that that is the way to go.
 

PigsDad

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Maybe I asked this all wrong. I’m not looking to cheat and cram in extra people. So I can book at holiday inn and get two queens and a roll away for a small fee? But Hilton offers no roll aways? There no legal way of getting 5 in a 1bd? It either pay the extra points, or be an outlaw, right?
I think this is a perfectly fine question to ask. For people who are used to using hotels, HGVC timeshares have much more restrictive rules. They publish occupancy rules and expect people to abide by them. For a 1BR at almost every HGVC, that limit is 4 people. They do not have roll away beds available like hotels do. HGVC timeshares are not meant to be "rack 'em, stack 'em and pack 'em" type places, like we used to stay in when we were younger.

If you are looking to stretch points, first you could stay during lower seasons, such as Gold or Silver. Also, you could reduce your vacation by one weekend day, as weekend days cost twice the points as weekdays. Then of course, you could always buy an additional deed for more points.

Kurt
 

TDub1313

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Thank you. Our visit to the Bay Club will be without kids, so it won’t be an issue at all. It sounds like the occupancy rules are there for a reason and I have no intentions on breaking them. I also get it that “a family of 5” really means “your bringing 3 kids?!? while my family is trying enjoy our vacation?” Thanks for the helpful replies. As I start visiting different properties I’ll ask around for the other 5 person families and report back my experiences. Obviously it’s much easier to ask when I’m on the right side of the law and not being sneaky.
Thanks.
 

SteelerGal

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Life of a larger family:). We are in a similar situation but a family of 7. Kids being 7 and under. We do 2bdrms as well but researching how to get the maximize our points or to even get a 3bdrm for the price of a 2.
 

Talent312

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Another way to stretch points (save up to 1/2) is by staying weekdays only.
I understand that avoiding weekends may not be possible for working peep.
However, for those of us retired peep, everyday is a Saturday, so...
.
 
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