Do you have any underage kids who needed to check-in to a hotel, but the minimum check-in age was 21 (and no one else in their party was 21 either)? How did they handle it?
For the record, she has successfully checked into one hotel without incident, and another hotel where the desk agent questioned her age due to their policy, but allowed her to check-in anyway.
One of my kids needed to do this when flying back from overseas from study abroad, and there was no connecting flight back to their college town that night. We picked a hotel that is part of a chain where I have been a member of their frequent stay program for years, and I called the hotel directly. I explained the situation, and also told them I would call the day of the stay to give them my credit card info. They agreed, and it worked out fine.
Thanks! She does have her own major CC and AAA by the way, but I will have to look into the hotel frequent stay connection.
We did this at several independent hotels during campus visits and sport try-outs. The hotel will provide an authorisation form that needs to be signed by parent at time of booking.
@to2020 , thanks so much for that information. I didn’t know about that.
Some chains will allow it and some won’t. Kimpton Hotels will allow underage check in with parent authorization form. We did this as I did not want to risk daughter arriving and not being able to check in. Hilton told me they will not allow under 21 check in at all and she would have been turned away, that was 3 years ago so may have changed.
When they say underage, they mean 21? Don’t we consider people to be adults when they are 18? They vote, go to wars, but they are not responsible enough to check into a hotel by themselves at 18. Unbelievable.
D2 had to check into a hotel by herself when she was 17 because her flight was cancelled. I called the hotel and they were fine with it. Never would have occurred to me to do that if she was 18+.
In just the last few months I made reservations at 2 separate Hiltons for my D who is over 18, so it never occurred to me to ask about underage check in. Whew, I’m glad she didn’t have any issues!
This thread made me curious so I googled it and the top result came from hotwire.com:
I just Googled Hilton Check In Age and the following came up:
Hilton Chicago - Pet Friendly Michigan Ave Hotel Policies
Minimum Age to Register, 18. Check-Out Time, 11:00 am. Early Departure Fee, $0.00 One night room + tax unless otherwise contracted. Late Check-Out Fee …
Hotel Policies - Hilton Garden Inn
Check-In Time, 3:00 pm. Minimum Age to Register, 18. Check-Out Time, 12:00 pm. Late Check-Out Fee, $50.00 Based on availability …
Palmer House a Hilton Hotel | Hotel Policies
Check-In Time, 3:00 pm. Minimum Age to Register, 18. Check-Out Time, 11:00 am. Early Departure Fee, $0.00 Contact hotel. Late Check-Out Fee, $0.00 Contact …
San Francisco Union Square Hilton Hotel Policies
Minimum Age to Register, 14. Check-Out Time, 12:00 pm. Early Departure Fee, $100.00 Applies to departure date changes made after check-in. Late Check-Out …
Hilton Chicago/Oak Brook Suites | Hotel Policies
Minimum Age to Register, 18. Check-Out Time, 12:00 pm. Early Departure Fee, $50.00 Any change to departure date after check-in is subject to an EDF.
It is obviously NOT a Hilton-wide policy that check in age is 21; it appears to be a hotel by hotel policy decision. I have seen Hilton properties with a 21 check-in age, but it is definitely not universal. I was a little surprised to see a 14 check in age in San Francisco… that might be a typo.
I worked in hotels in Louisiana years ago and was told that state law set the age at 18. Last year I was looking into possibly getting room for my son and the hotels I checked in NO said 18 on their websites. So I suspect there is a law here. Possibly in other areas too.
My daughter and a friend tried to book a hotel room when they went to visit a friend in California when they were 19. They tried two or three places and weren’t able to do so, so they ended up crashing on their friend’s dorm floor. By contrast, when my son’s Spirit (World’s Worst Airline) flight was cancelled at 11 p.m. one night, they put him up in a hotel with no problem. He was only 18.
My 17 yrs daughter checked in by herself for admission day in Philly.
It is easier if the hotel is associated with a college.
Not related to age of guests but to checking in to hotels generally: There was an incident in my community recently in which some Amish people attempted to check into a hotel late at night (following an emergency room visit) and were denied, because the hotel’s policy was to require photo ID, even with cash. The customers did not have photo IDs because it is against their religion. They ended up hiring a cab to take them home, at least 50 miles away.
My kids have never had trouble with hotel rooms but have had trouble with car rentals even though they had their licenses for years (3 or more years) before they needed to rent a car. In Michigan, you must be 18 but one of my kids encountered a state where the age was 25 and another kid encountered a state where it was 21…craziness…at 25 my kids would have been driving for 10 years.
My D had problems with a hotel when she was 20. She went with a group of students to NYC during Thanksgiving break - they booked a hotel in advance and paid for it. No one was 21 yet and they weren’t allowed to check-in. When they reserved the hotel there was nothing mentioned about a minimum age. Their money was refunded. Since it was just for one night, they decided worst case, they’d stay up all night in the “city that never sleeps.” They eventually found a friend from college who lived in NYC and his parents allowed them to come and sleep on their living room floor.
Are these authorization forms hotel (or chain) specific or is there a generic one that a travelling 18 year old could carry in case of emergency?
Some tips on hotels from a junior manager at an independent hotel.
Have a credit card not a debit card when you check in. Hotels will need to hold an additional amount beyond the room bill against your card. With a debit card, that will impact your funds availablity and it takes a few days to get released. That additional amount (usually termed 'for incidentals") is really a security deposit against room damage and theft. You would absolutely amazed at the amount of room damages a hotel can experience. It’s much much higher in rooms registered to younger guests.
(And when you have damaged the room – perhaps you spilled red wine on the bed – don’t claim when checking out that there were horrible red wine stains on the sheets when you checked in and try to get a free night. They’ll know you are lying.)
Do NOT have a party in the room. Do NOT rent a hotel room for a 21st birthday party. And if you absolutely must have a party, keep it small and quiet. And if you absolutely must use illegal drugs, don’t leave them out where housekeeping can view them.
Do not steal the towels, the robes, the drapes, the pillows, the iron, the coffee machine – or anything else.
Have your ID available when checking in – some sort of ID. The front desk staff is pretty much bound by the hotel policy – and think about it. They know who you are – but they also know who the loud obnoxious guy in the next room is – for your protection.
Be nice – or at least polite – to the front desk staff and hotel management. They can do a lot for you and make your visit very pleasant. And if they are good – put a review on TripAdvisor and name names. I cannot tell you how much that is appreciated.
If you need an exception to a minimum age check in policy – call the hotel directly during normal business hours. You are most likely to be able to speak to the general manager or someone authorized to make any exceptions needed.
Confused totally. I posted a comment on this. It appears on replies by me but is not on this thread.
What gives?
Me, too. Me previous post doesn’t appear either.