You’ve all read about the private parlors in inns. Most inns catering to the gentry and aristocracy had at least one or more private parlors. The reason for private parlors is so that ladies were not in the common room where they could be exposed to swearing, bad manners, drunks, etc. And for gentlemen who did not wish to rub shoulders with the common man to have some privacy. Private parlors were quieter, cleaner, and warmer in winter.
So how did one rent a private parlor? One could reserve the parlor a head of time by writing the inn, or one could walk in and ask for a private parlor. If all the inn’s private parlors were occupied, a traveler could ask if they could share the room. The occupant did not have to allow it. The room was either reserved a head of time or it was first come first serve.
The pictures below give you an idea of the difference.
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ellaquinnauthor
Ella Quinn ~ Author 
I wonder if the coffee room at the Blue Boar Inn in Heyer’s Cotillion could be considered a private parlor. Freddy Standen took great pains there to keep the innkeeper from overhearing Kitty’s plan to Run Away.