Minimum age to rent a hotel room
 

Years ago, I remember staying at a hotel and overhearing a conversation between the desk clerk and other guests. The desk clerk told them that they were too young to rent the room.

I wonder if there is a commonly accepted minimum age or if that location had had problems in the past.

My son and a friend want to go to Cedar Point on their own and I am concerned that they won't be able to get a hotel.

They are 17 and 18. (Yes, I am iffy on the idea too. They are responsible kids who will be going away to college in a year, but...)

When my daughter turned 18, she rented a hotel room in Palm Springs. We called specific hotels and asked. I recall even at the Beverly Hills Hotel, the minimum age was 18.

Most (if not all) of the hotels and condo complexes along the Alabama and Florida Gulf coast require that you be 21. During spring break, the age can go up to 25.

A friend of mine let his 23yr old son and daughter (twins) drive up on Friday evening and they were going to join them on Saturday morning to stay for a week at a condo in Destin. They were not allowed to check in because minimum age was 25. They still would not let them after talking with Dad on the phone. They had to travel almost to Pensacola before they found a small chain hotel that had a room available during high season.

I would definitely check ahead of time and find out the rules.

DS had to go to Minneapolis for an internship interview during college. The company arranged and paid for the room as well as his transportation to/from hotel. At the time he didn't have a credit card, just a debit card. Many college towns will have a higher minimum age due to partying.

Most places have a 21 rule - but others may be higher. Esp if it's more than one kid, they're afraid of parties and damages - and will often put a very large hold ($1000 or more) on the CC when they check in.

I traveled on business when I was 21 - quite a bit - and never had a problem - but I was using AmEx (not THAT common then) and was obviously on a business trip.

Thank you all for your replies. It's good to have a variety of recent experiences so that I can plan accordingly.

In many areas you can find a hotel willing to rent to 18 year old, but not always. But they mean everyone in the room is 18 - so this is not likely to work.

Be prepared for all the schemes and plans of the boys. "I will register and he will sneak in" "They won't check ID" etc.

It has a high enough certainty of not working that I would not recommend it. How do I know all the rationalization - heard it from my son and his friends senior year in HS when they wanted to rent hotel room on Long Island, NY to go see concert. End of story is that my husband rented 3 rooms, they had 2, he had the third.

Alot of times clerks won't ask about age (especially if it's a big hotel) - but two teenage boys? Oh yes, they might have an issue...... I'd just check with the hotels.....Actually, I'd make them do it....