If I roll my bike through the lobby, I've found about a 30% rejection rate by the hotel; if I bring my bike in the side door, even if hotel employees are standing there, I've never been told my bike can't come in.

In the end, the way I look at it, it is about respect. I treat the hotel like I would my house. If there is a side door, I use it, just like I use the side door of my house, not the entrance through the living room. I'll carry the bike over wood flooring and light colored carpeting.

On our last bike trip, as we brought our bikes in the back door, we rolled them right past the desk clerk who was getting some ice. Just a nod and smile. That same clerk told others they couldn't bring their bikes into the hotel--the people who rolled through the front lobby.