Charissa
Charissa
Explains It All
Explains It All
Points and Miles · Traveling with Four Kids · Across the US & around the world

One of my favorite travel hacks is finding hotels that sleep my whole crew, all six of us, in a standard room.
If you’re past the stage where two adults and two little kids can squeeze into a standard hotel room, you’ve probably already discovered the painful truth: most hotels either want you to book two rooms or spend a small fortune upgrading to a suite. As a family of six myself, I’ve spent years figuring out which hotel brands consistently offer rooms that sleep 6 without requiring an upgraded redemption. That means more points saved for future adventures!
There’s definitely a time and a place for splurging on two rooms or a suite, but most of the time, if we can fit our family of six into one room at the standard redemption rate, that’s exactly what we’re doing. It saves points and keeps everyone together. Nobody wanders down the hallway for their toothpaste, and I don’t lie awake wondering what kind of WWE match is happening next door.
What is a Standard Room Redemption?
A standard room is a hotel’s most basic room category. It’s usually the cheapest available and the one that requires the fewest points.

When I’m searching for family-friendly hotel rooms that sleep 6, Hilton is almost always my first stop. Hilton properties are everywhere, they have several brands with large standard rooms, and their website is genuinely easy to use — it clearly displays whether a hotel has rooms that sleep 5 or 6 people, along with the points price, right in the search results. That alone saves a ton of time.
My top Hilton picks for large families:
These brands frequently offer standard rooms that sleep five or six guests, and many locations include perks that make family travel easier: free breakfast, kitchenettes, and separate living spaces.
Many properties run around 50,000 Hilton Honors points per night — which sounds like a lot until you factor in Hilton’s transfer partnership with Amex (1:2 ratio) and occasional transfer bonuses. Since I earn a large portion of my points through Amex, Hilton often ends up being excellent value for our family.
Hyatt consistently offers some of the best point values in the hotel world, and two brands in particular are worth knowing:

Both can be fantastic for families who want to sleep five or six without booking two rooms or upgrading to a suite. And typically these hotels are “dirt cheap” in the points and miles world (as low as 5,000 points per night!) There are fewer locations than Hilton, but they’re always worth checking — especially if you’re chasing value per point.

You can sometimes find rooms that sleep 5 or 6 at these Marriott properties:
BUT. My hot take is that navigating Marriott’s website is super frustrating. Hilton tells you immediately whether a hotel can accommodate a family of six. Marriott requires clicking into each individual property to find out. If you’re willing to dig, there are great options — but in my experience the overall value doesn’t usually match Hyatt or Hilton.
When I’m starting a hotel search for our family, here’s how I prioritize:
| Hotel | Sleeps 6 | Free Breakfast | Kitchenette |
| Embassy Suites (Hilton) | Often | Yes | Sometimes |
| Home 2 Suites (Hilton) | Usually | Yes | Yes |
| Homewood Suites (Hilton) | Usually | Yes | Yes |
| Hyatt House | Often | Usually | Yes |
| Hyatt Place | Sometimes | Usually | No |
| Residence Inn (Marriott) | Usually | Yes | Yes |
| Spring Hill Suites | Sometimes | Usually | No |
When we’re taking our kids on fantastic road trips or trips to see family and friends, and we’re NOT optimizing for getting luxury travel at a deep discount. We’re prioritizing quantity + quality of memories made over the quality of hotel, or even how “cheap” we’re getting the hotel. So sometimes the best redemption is the one that keeps your entire family in one room, skips the suite upgrade, and still gets you free breakfast on your way out the door.

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