How old does a person have to be to rent a hotel room?

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Clarification of Question by solidender-ga on 20 Sep 2004 21:26 PDT

Ok, well I'm in the USA.  Colorado specifically if that might help. 
Sorry for not saying that before.

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Clarification of Question by solidender-ga on 22 Sep 2004 15:35 PDT

Ok, I'm 16.  Forgot to put that in last time.

solidender --

Google researchers are not authorized to give legal advice, and this
answer should not be considered to be such advice.

There is a Colorado statute that allows (but does not require) an
"innkeeper" (e.g., a hotel) to refuse to rent a hotel room to a minor
unless a parent or other "responsible adult" agrees to provide a cash
deposit or valid credit card or otherwise agrees in writing to pay the
bill and pay for any damages to the accommodations.

Here is the text of that statute:

"12-44-302. Innkeepers' right to refuse accommodations - exceptions.

(1) An innkeeper has the right to refuse or deny accommodations,
facilities, and the privileges of a lodging establishment to any
person who is not willing or able to pay for such accommodations,
facilities, and services. The innkeeper shall have the right to
require a prospective guest to demonstrate his or her ability to pay
by cash, valid credit card, or a validated check, and if the
prospective guest is a minor, the innkeeper may require a parent or
legal guardian of such minor or other responsible adult:

(a) To provide a valid credit card number or agree, in writing, to pay
for the cost of:

(I) The guest room, including applicable taxes;

(II) All charges made by the minor; and

(III) Any damages caused by the minor or the minor's guests to the
guest room or its furnishings; or

(b) To provide an advance cash payment to cover the cost of the guest
room for all nights reserved, including applicable taxes, plus a cash
deposit to be held toward the payment of any charges made by the minor
and any damages to the guest room or its furnishings. The cash deposit
shall be refunded, unless applied to charges or damages, following a
joint inspection of the room. It is the obligation of the guest to
join the innkeeper during the inspection. Should the guest fail to
join the innkeeper, the guest thereby waives his or her right to the
joint inspection. Such refund, if any, shall immediately be made to
the extent it is not used to cover the described charges or damages.

History
Source: L. 95: Entire part added, p. 241, § 1, effective July 1."

Lexis-Nexis: Colorado Statutes: Title 12, Article 44, Section 302
http://198.187.128.12/colorado/lpext.dll?f=templates&fn=fs-main.htm&2.0


Search strategy:

I performed a search of the Colorado Statues using the terms
"innkeeper" and "minor."


I am confident that this is the information you are seeking.  If
anything is unclear, please ask for clarification before rating the
answer.


markj-ga

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Clarification of Answer by markj-ga on 22 Sep 2004 16:49 PDT

solidender --

I neglected to include an important piece of information in my answer 
For the pusposes of the statute cited above, a "minor" is anyone under
18 years of age:
Lexis-Nexis: Colorado Statutes: Title 12, Article 44, Section 301
http://198.187.128.12/colorado/lpext.dll?f=templates&fn=fs-main.htm&2.0

markj-ga

The answer was pretty much what I was was lookin' for.  So thank you very much.

This likely varies by jurisdiction.  Could be 18, 21, something else, or no limit.

Why would the hotel care?

In my experience, most hotels require a Credit Card, so if a guest has
a Credit Card, then age is not a factor.

I have never been asked to give my age (which is a State Secret),
although in some countries they do ask to see your passport, which of
course does show one's doB (unless it has been Tippexed out because
it's a State Secret).

As has been noted, it will vary with jurisdiction. In Scotland, the
relevant legislation is the Age of Legal Capacity (Scotland) Act.
Under Scots Law (in contrast to the law in E&W), young people have
full (or ?active?) legal capacity at 16 years, but the court may
ratify or set aside transactions by those under 18 if it is considered
?prejudicial? (defined in the Act as one that an adult acting with
?reasonable prudence? in the same set of circumstances would not have
entered into). The court can set aside such a transaction until the
young person reaches 21 years of age. There are 4 main exceptions to
the general rule: a child under 16 may enter into a transaction
?commonly? entered into by persons of that age (e.g. buying sweets or
railway tickets) but not unusual contracts (such as the purchase of a
bike or computer); a child aged 12 or over can make a will; the
consent of a child aged 12 or over is required for an adoption order
to be made in his/her respect; a transaction includes giving any
consent giving legal effect (such as consent to medical treatment). A
child of any age has ?passive? capacity, for example, the right to own
heritable and moveable property.

It is probable that renting a hotel room would be regarded as an
'unusual' transaction for someone under the age of 16.

Owain

I should clarify: it is not illegal for a child to rent a hotel room;
however the child does not have the legal capacity to engage in such a
contract.

Owain

Hi, Solidender

Well, I have stayed in a hotel in Colorado, a little place called
Denver that you may have heard of and I'm pretty sure that I was only
asked for my Credit Card. That's mandatory.

I remember once checking into a hotel in NY and being asked 'Do you
have some identification, like a major Credit Card?' I offered my
passport but that was not acceptable. They wanted to swipe my card to
make sure that I could my bill.

It would be useful if you could specify the age of the person you have
in mind because what might work for a 15-year-old may not work for a
3-year-old.

All the Best!

I worked for a hotel in Texas.  One thing to keep in mind that a
hotel/front desk agent has a right to refuse anyone for any reason.

We did have an over 21 requirement, and, in Texas, it was illegal to
rent a room to a minor.  As far as a hotel's age requirements above
18...it was solely up to the discretion of management.