I was wondering, how old does one have to be to check into a hotel room for the night? I live in the Northeastern Ohio/Western Pennsylvania of the country.
[WAG]I would suppose that it is the age at which a person can make a valid contract. In most states these days that’s probably 18.[/WAG]
I think that most hotels require a deposit if you’re under the age of 21. Other than that I haven’t really heard of anyone 18 or above having a problem renting a room.
I’ve heard of some hotels not allowing people under 21 renting rooms because of the parties some kids tend to throw. For the most part, though, if you look decent you won’t have a problem, I don’t think. You may need a deposit, but hey you’ll get it back if you don’t trash the place.
I just booked hotel rooms for our upcoming vacation. Because we will be traveling with our dog, we stay at Motel 6, where they have a standard “pets-welcome” policy. Anyway, at Motel 6, you must be at least 18 to book a room. Also, anyone under 18 is classified as a “child” and, if sharing a room with their parents, stays for free.
I don’t know anything about your age, Mudshark, so forfive me if I sound patronizing here.
If you’re a minor and need a room, just have a parent book a room for you. I’m sure that if they explain the situation to the manager, you’ll probably be OK.
Conversely, if you’re a parent and you’re asking because you have a minor child who’s going to need a room, just book the room for your child and explain the situation to the manager.
When I ran away to San Antonio about 6 years ago, when I was about 15, I got a room at Aaron Motel with no problems. If you need a room but don’t have a parent available or willing to book a room for you, I would suggest going to the ghetto area to find a cheap room.
That’s just wonderfull advice, GODSKA. It’s a wonder that you survived 6 more years with that motel search solution.:eek:
Best bet is to check online for the policies of specific hotels. I’ve seen both 18 and 21. If you look respectable and especially if you pay with a credit card, though, they may not make an issue of it.
I did it when I was 16 with a credit card in my mom’s name. The guy asked to talk to my mom before he would do it though.
Not always. At the hotel in which I worked, we would never allow a minor to stay in a room without an adult. It’s an enormous liability issue.
We’d see it a lot around Prom night. Parents would come in wanting to rent a room for their kids, offering all sorts of deposits and promises. My manager always refused, and if we happened to find that kids were staying alone in the room, we would call the police to have them removed.
The only times I’ve checked the age of someone checking into my hotel is if they meet one or both of the following. Paying cash, I rarely would check someone payng by credit card for age, and second local address. Someone who can just walk home is more likely to cause trouble. Dress nicely if you look like you belong no one will notice.
Oddly enough, we had exactly the opposite experience, to the point where we stopped renting to locals without a large deposit. (We actually had to check the rooms before refunding it.) Local people seemed to treat our hotel as Party Central, or as a place to do things that they would never dream of doing in their own home.
When I was under 21 just west of Pittsburgh, the hotel clerk at 11pm told me it was illegal to rent to someone under 21. But… because I had a military ID he’d let me do it (and I’m glad I didn’t have to sleep at the airport all night).
In Michigan, when even younger, the local Motel 6 was difficult. I never had to leave a deposit, but I did have to leave my license, which meant driving around without a license. The really nice place I rented for prom night, though, was no problem whatsoever, and I was a local, cash customer, and it wasn’t for partying purposes. I was a good kid, though, other than renting hotel rooms a few times. 
Husband used to work at a hotel (not a chain) and one day I was there to pick him up. I started talking to a lady in the lobby who was checking in her very young, very pregnant daughter (she was probably 16, he was probably 17) and her new husband. They’d just gotten married, yet they still had to get an adult to check them in.