I hope I’m not breaking some kind of forum etiquette by pointing out that MarianD is young enough to be not in college yet (he’s in the “Catholics in High School” group on CAF). I’m way older than that (past thirty), and I certainly wouldn’t stay overnight in a room with a man I wasn’t either married to or related to. Not just because I’d worry about tempting the man, but because I’d worry about being tempted myself! I’m sure MarianD is too young to remember the era of sitcoms where even married couples were portrayed in separate beds. I know people who actually lived this way as married, some even in separate rooms (usually because one or the other snored loudly) and since they had children and all, I’d assume the separate beds were not an immediate intimacy-killer.
Now, I personally wouldn’t go as far as to say “no overnight trips until your honeymoon”, though I do know a Catholic couple who believe this, and I respect that belief. Since I live alone, even inviting a man into my apartment would be a “near occasion of sin” if that was the case. And actually, for the past few years I haven’t invited any men into my apartment, but I have been in apartments with men who lived alone…actually, one man, who I really trusted. I guess some people might say this was a near occasion for sin, too, though it wasn’t for me. I actually haven’t been in a relationship long enough to where going away somewhere together, just the two of us (as opposed to a group), was even considered, and I think I’d personally want to be engaged, or close to it, before I felt comfortable doing that…and staying in separate rooms, of course.
This question is actually, I think, related to the question of whether it’s ok to live with someone of the opposite sex “as brother and sister”. It seems the same arguments apply, except that in this case the temptation and scandal would be greater, to actually live in the same house or apartment with someone. But I think the other reason is that of emotional intimacy. I recall a post from a man on the Family Life forum who wanted to get back together with a girlfriend who had cheated on him, and did not seem to be in a frame of mind to accept any advice to the contrary, though he mentioned at least a boatload of issues. He admitted to having cohabited with the girlfriend and been intimate to some degree, though not “all the way”. He even claimed he felt “practically married” to this girl. So even though there was no intercourse, it seemed by playing “married” emotionally he had bonded to this girl in a way only reserved for the married.
So, if it were me, I’d certainly NOT go for the same room, and I’d seriously consider whether even staying in separate rooms was a good idea. Maybe separate hotels…on the other sides of the town you’re going to?
ETA: Another reason NOT to do this that I haven’t seen mentioned yet is, it’s not only that someone might see you two go into the same room and assume you’ll be having sex. It’s that someone might finds out that you two are staying in the same room,and figure that means it’s ok for him and his girlfriend to do so without falling into temptation. While the OP and his girlfriend might be able to avoid temptation in this scenario, who’s to say his brother, or his friend, would be able to? Hmm…