Basic Trope: Two characters — usually suffering from Unresolved Sexual Tension — are in a hotel room with only one bed.
- Straight: Alice and Bob have to spend the night in a hotel. When they get into their room, they find there's only one bed, meaning either of the two must sleep on the floor.
- Exaggerated:
- Both Bob and Alice customarily Sleeps in the Nude, and neither of them is willing to change that despite there being only one bed.
- There's just a kiddie-sized bed in the room, and taller-than-average adults Alice, Bob, Charlie, and Diane must share.
- Downplayed:
- There's one bed, but it's pretty big.
- There are several beds but only one room, and either Bob, Alice, or both are especially sensitive.
- Alice and Bob have different sleeping schedules, so one can use the bed while the other is out.
- Justified:
- They have to get the hotel in a hurry, so they have no idea in advance how many beds there are.
- Alice and Bob are in a country where because of religious laws a man and a woman may only share a room if they're either related or married.
- Inverted: Bob and Alice were secretly hoping to get a one-bed room, but they find their room has two beds.
- Subverted: There's only one bed, but the sofa pulls out into a bed, so Bob / Alice sleeps on that.
- Double Subverted: ...but upon trying the sofa bed, they find out that it is broken.
- Parodied: When Alice and Bob find that there is one bed, Bob decides to cut the bed in half with a saw.
- Zig-Zagged:
- There is only one bed, but neither Alice nor Bob minds. At least, Bob doesn't mind until he finds out Alice sleeps nude — then he gets awkward. There's a couch, so Bob sleeps on that — or at least he tries to. It's very scratchy and hard, and he can't sleep, and so in the middle of the night, Bob crawls into the bed. He falls asleep and starts cuddling toward Alice. This wakes up Alice, ultimately making her so uncomfortable that she goes and sleeps on the couch, all while still nude, so whatever discomfort Bob experienced is magnified for her.
- There's a two-person bed, but it has to be shared by Alice, Bob, Charlie, and Diane. Charlie and Diane are a romantic Beta Couple and have no trouble huddling up, but Alice and Bob are not a couple and are more reluctant to sleep close together.
- Averted:
- The room has two beds, or they get separate rooms.
- Both Alice and Bob are comfortable sleeping in the same bed.
- Enforced: ??
- Lampshaded:Alice: Oh, Crap! I didn't mean to get only one bed.
Bob: Never mind that. I'll sleep on the floor. Just toss me a blankie and a pillow, I can get comfy. - Invoked: Everyone Can See Alice and Bob's Unresolved Sexual Tension, including the woman working as the hotel's receptionist. She takes one looks at them and becomes a Shipper on Deck. She tells them the only room available and it has only one bed, even though this is Blatant Lies.
- Exploited: Bob knows Alice is reluctant about sleeping with him, so he makes sure they're in a hotel with one bed to coax her towards that decision.
- Defied:
- When paying at the front desk, Bob asks for a double.
- Upon seeing that there's only one bed, Alice heads back down to the lobby and books herself a separate room.
- They pack sleeping bags in case one of them's gotta get their beauty sleep on the floor.
- Discussed:
- Alice and Bob express their uncertainty as to whether they'll each get their own bed.
- Alice and Bob try to assure each other they'll always be Just Friends, or perhaps more, if it comes to them sharing a bed.
- Conversed: "It never fails. They admit their attraction to each other after they have to sleep together. I've seen this a million times before."
- Implied: The morning after they leave the hotel, Alice or Bob is well-rested while the other's stiff and sore.
- Deconstructed: This happens often enough that Bob's always cranky from an uncomfortable rest on the floor, as well as accusations that he and Alice might have been up to something in those one-bedroom rooms. This doesn't do their relationship any favors.
- Reconstructed: Alice is extra sweet to Bob, grateful for a good night's rest. Bob laughs it off at the time, but they become an Official Couple later, as a result of this and other cases of mutual care.
Oh, there's only one link back to There Is Only One Bed. Fine, I'll take the floor...
