We’ve been traveling as a family for 17 years, and the hotel bed situation used to be a recurring headache. I still remember driving across the country with a 2 and 5-year-old, trying to figure out how to sleep four people in a room with two beds without someone ending up on the floor every night.
It doesn’t get simpler as kids get older, either. My boys are teens now, and we still have to get creative — just for different reasons. Nobody wants to share a bed with a brother who’s almost six feet tall and snores like a grown man, especially when we are on our second cross-country move.
Why hotel beds are always a problem with more than one kid
Most standard hotel rooms come with two queen beds. That sounds like enough until you have two kids who refuse to share, or a toddler who kicks all night, or a tween who just wants his own space for once.
My youngest has always been a pillow hoarder (I have no idea where he gets it. OK, yes, I do. It’s from me.), and my oldest started demanding his own sleep space around age 8 (to be fair, he moves a lot in his sleeps and takes up a lot of space, even when he was little). By the time he hit 10, sharing was completely off the table.
Thankfully, I figured out early on that a standard hotel room has more sleeping options than it looks like. You just have to think about the space a little differently.
For younger kids: what actually works
Split one bed into two
This is the trick I used on every trip when my boys were small. If you have two queen or double beds, you can turn one of them into two separate sleeping spots with almost no effort.
Here’s how:
- Strip the top blanket and sheet off the bed.
- Looking at the bed from the side (not at the top of the headboard), build a low pillow wall down the middle, just high enough that the kids can’t see each other. This gives the kids more room, especially if they are still short enough to sleep down the narrow length of the bed. Once their feet start hanging off the side, switch to a vertical pillow wall down the middle.
- Give each side its own pillow and blanket. You can ask housekeeping for extras.
- Put the younger child closest to the headboard so they’re bordered on two sides and less likely to roll out.
The visual barrier is what makes it work. Out of sight, out of mind holds up pretty well at 2am. My husband and I kept one bed to ourselves, both boys were comfortable, and everyone slept. It sounds too simple to work, but it was one of the most-used tricks of our early travel years.
Ask housekeeping for an extra blanket when you check in so you don’t have to scramble at bedtime. If you skip daily housekeeping (which we almost always do), please leave a generous tip when you check out to help with the clean up.
Push two chairs together
If your room has two armchairs, push them seat-to-seat to make a small enclosed space for a toddler or younger child. Ask housekeeping for an extra sheet, tuck it in tightly to hold the chairs together, add a pillow and a blanket, and you have a cozy little sleeping spot.
Before you leave, put the furniture back and set the linens on one of the hotel beds so housekeeping isn’t guessing.
Sofa bed plus the cushions
Book a room with a sofa bed when you can. Many hotel sofa beds pull out to a full or queen, which solves a lot of problems right there.
If you have more kids than the sofa bed can handle, or they refuse to share it, pull off the seat cushions and set them up on the floor. A sheet underneath and a blanket on top, and you have a comfortable floor bed for a small child, or even a tween who doesn’t care about stretching out and would rather sleep on cushions on the floor than with his sibling.
Sectional sofas (rare, but worth Noting)
You won’t find them often, but when a hotel room has a sectional sofa, you’ve struck gold. Ask for a few extra blankets and pillows, and two kids can sleep there without having to share a surface. We did this in Vegas on a cross-country move, and it was heaven to not have a kid crawling into our bed at night.
Turn the travel crib mattress into a floor bed
If your toddler keeps climbing out of the crib, request one from the hotel anyway. Take the mattress out, set it on the floor, cover it with a sheet, add a pillow and a blanket, and you have a low-to-the-ground toddler bed that’s safer than the crib and more comfortable than the bare floor.
Triple check that the door is locked, and they can’t reach it, though. I’ve had a kid sleepwalk right out of a hotel room, even when it was locked, so I bring a door wedge with us, too.
Use the closet space — the right way
To be clear: never close your child inside a closet. It’s a fire hazard, and it can be genuinely terrifying for small kids.
When I tell you to utilize the closet, I mean open the closet doors to create a little alcove with extra floor space and some privacy. Pack a lightweight sleeping bag and a compact sleeping pad, and that corner becomes a spot a kid will actually want to sleep in.
We’ve traveled with an REI sleeping bag and a small camp pad for years. They take up almost no room in a suitcase. The kids can throw them in their backpack if needed.
The desk tent
Ask housekeeping for an extra sheet, drape it over the room desk, add a soft blanket and their favorite stuffed animals, and you have a fort. Kids who insist they can’t sleep somewhere new will often sleep great in a fort.
Make sure nothing is sitting on top of the sheet before they go in. No phone, no lamp — nothing that could fall if the sheet shifts.
Making More Beds For tweens and teens
At this age, the issue isn’t keeping kids contained. It’s that they want their own space and have enough opinions about sleep to quietly ruin yours.
Split the adults up
With two queen beds and two parents, sometimes the easiest call is to pair off for the night. I’ve slept next to my youngest more times than I can count, so my oldest could have a bed to himself. Not glamorous, but it works for a few nights. Sometimes I have to build a pillow fort around me, though, as my youngest likes to be the big spoon.
A sleeping bag on the floor is a real option, not a consolation prize
I used to think of the sleeping bag as the bad option. My boys no longer see it that way. A good lightweight sleeping pad on the hotel floor with a sleeping bag is actually comfortable, and for a kid who’s into camping and hates to share a bed with his brother, it can genuinely be a good night.
For tweens and teens, you want something compact. The Sleepingo Sleeping Pad packs down small enough to fit in carry-on luggage and works well on hotel floors.
Ask for a rollaway bed — but ask early
A lot of families forget this is an option. Many hotels have rollaway beds, and even if they’re not automatically offered for a standard room, it’s worth asking when you book, not when you arrive. Availability is limited, and some hotels won’t add one to a room that’s already at fire code capacity for its square footage.
Remember, rollaway beds often come with a fee. Depending on the hotel, you could be looking at anywhere from $15 to $75 per night. Some properties waive it, some don’t, but it’s worth confirming when you call. If a younger child ends up on the rollaway, put a couple of extra pillows on the floor beside it in case they roll out.
The bathtub
I have never put either of my kids in a hotel bathtub to sleep, but have you seen some of these new hotel tubs? Certain properties have soaking tubs that are genuinely the size of a small bed.
In a true last-resort situation, you could line a deep tub with towels and a packable comforter. At least you know they can’t roll out. And if there’s a nighttime accident, you’re already in the easiest room to clean.
Keep in mind that if your kid is sleeping in the bathroom, you may not be able to use it at night or as a hiding place while you wait for the kids to fall asleep. Seriously, use this option last.
The best portable beds to bring from home
The options have gotten much better since we started traveling. Here’s what’s worth buying, by age, but if you need more options, check out my full guide to toddler beds.
For toddlers:
The Hiccapop Inflatable Toddler Travel Bed is one of the most consistently top-rated options on the market. It has four-sided safety bumpers so active sleepers stay put, a separate inner mattress that fits standard crib sheets, and vinyl that’s thick enough to withstand real travel.
The Regalo My Cot Deluxe is lighter and folds up like a camping cot. Good for kids who are past the rolling-out-of-bed stage and just need a dedicated spot. Although, since it fold up like a camp chair, you will probably have to check it or use it as one of your carry-on bags when you are flying.
For older kids and tweens:
Skip the toddler beds and go straight to a lightweight sleeping pad. The Sleepingo Sleeping Pad packs down small, works well on hotel floors, and has become the thing my boys actually request. Pair it with a sleeping bag or just the hotel blankets, and they’re comfortable.
These are also useful when grandparents visit, and the boys get relocated to the office floor, which happens a lot.
A few things to check before you book
Most of this gets easier when you set things up right from the start.
When I’m booking hotels for family trips, I filter specifically for family rooms, suites, or connecting rooms on Expedia. A lot of properties offer layouts with a dedicated kids’ sleeping area that don’t cost much more than a standard room. You just have to look for them.
Read the reviews before you book. Other parents will tell you exactly what the sofa bed situation is, whether the room is actually big enough, and if the two-queen setup delivers what it promises.
Call ahead if you need a rollaway or a travel crib. Don’t assume availability when you show up at 10pm with tired kids.
If you’re still in the planning stages, my free Weekend Trip Planner and Vacation Planner Checklist both walk through the booking process for families. And if this is a road trip, my Road Trip Planning Guide covers lodging, packing, and keeping everyone sane in the car.
More of my family travel gear recommendations can be found in the Twist Travel Shop.
Seventeen years of travel with kids, and none of this is a scramble anymore. We’ve done it all — the pillow wall, the desk fort, the floor setup my boys now like. You’ll land on your own version of this, too. Just don’t book the expensive suite or connecting rooms before you try a few of these first. Your travel budget will thank you, and you’ll have a little more to spend on the next trip.
