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Old Jul 2, 09, 4:10 pm   #1
 
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PL Hotel Minimum Age - Why, and Isn't it Illegal?

A friend of mine was about to book a PL room for her 18 yo adult daughter on PL, and saw there was a minimum age of 21.

Anyone know why they do this? Certainly in most, if not all, US states, 18 year olds are adults for all purposes except alcohol.

So, why the prohibition? Strikes me as illegal age discrimination in accommodation.
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Old Jul 2, 09, 8:40 pm   #2
 
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If it was illegal I would think some car rental company would be sued by now. I know Hertz has a minimum of 21, don't know about others.

It makes sense to me, teenagers are way more likely to tear the place up or end up running down the hall half naked screaming.
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Old Jul 2, 09, 8:57 pm   #3
 
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A large number of hotels have policy that requires guests to be 21. I would presume that PL has such a policy to allign itself with the properties which participate in the program.
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Old Jul 2, 09, 9:52 pm   #4
 
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i would guess since there is the possibility the room could have a minibar and thus require 21+
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Old Jul 3, 09, 12:41 am   #5
 
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At least in California, there is a rental car statute that allows that. There is no such statute for hotels.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Upstate View Post
If it was illegal I would think some car rental company would be sued by now. I know Hertz has a minimum of 21, don't know about others.

It makes sense to me, teenagers are way more likely to tear the place up or end up running down the hall half naked screaming.
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Old Jul 3, 09, 12:42 am   #6
 
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Hotels can and do lock the minibar when they have guests under 21.


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Originally Posted by gj83 View Post
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i would guess since there is the possibility the room could have a minibar and thus require 21+
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Old Jul 3, 09, 8:49 am   #7
 
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What "works" for me.

I too, have under 21's (but over 18) that I have to sometime make hotel reservations for.

I do a LOT of legwork and research beforehand. Lets say on PL there is a only one 4* in a catagory in Jacksonville. I see what it is, go to the official hotel web site, and low and behold, check in age is 18. Well, I bid on that. IF there are 3, 4, 5 hotels in a catagory that have varying ages, I go on to betterbidding.com and try to use the elimination game on Hotwire, and get one who I KNOW has a 18 year old check in age.

Last resort, other booking sites. Hotels.com very often lists on the info page the check in age so I can scroll through hotels pretty fast.

Its all different. I know one of my daughters favorite hotels is the Westin Atlanta Perimeter. Its check in age is 18. The Westins in Chicago are 21. I had to find one in Chicago recently for her upcoming trip.

I would have loved to bid on PL for one for her, but too many in the catagory for a "guarentee". The LAST thing I want is for her to be "denied" her ressie when she shows up.

Hope this helps.
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Old Jul 16, 09, 6:52 am   #8
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by stan1162 View Post
I too, have under 21's (but over 18) that I have to sometime make hotel reservations for.



I would have loved to bid on PL for one for her, but too many in the catagory for a "guarentee". The LAST thing I want is for her to be "denied" her ressie when she shows up.

Hope this helps.
I looked into this a while back and found out this interesting anomaly

PL.com T&C's state the guest must be 21
Quote:
Must be 21 Years of Age: The guest on the reservation must be 21 years or older to check into the hotel.
PL .CO.UK T&C's state the guest must be 18

Quote:
Priceline Hotel Rules

Before you make a hotel Request there are a few rules you need to agree to:

Hotel Requests must be guaranteed in advance with a major credit or debit card.
Priceline hotel reservations are non-refundable and non-changeable.
Once you submit your Request, it cannot be modified.
If your Request is accepted, Priceline will immediately book the room and charge your credit card.
When submitting a Request, you identify the geographic area(s) in which you agree to stay and the quality level of hotel you require. You do not select the hotel and you will not be presented with a list of available hotels or rates.
You must be 18 years of age or older to make a hotel Request.


As you can bid on exactly the same hotels from both sites then an 18 year old could win a hotel in the US that has a "no under 21 rule"

As I am way past the 18-21 year mark I haven't tested this and haven't heard of any one else having problems. Though most probably due to the fact that 18-20's don't usually book 4* hotels!

Last edited by blindman; Jul 16, 09 at 7:01 am.
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Old Jul 16, 09, 12:35 pm   #9
 
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Both versions: Need to be 21 or older to CHECK in at the hotel.

I just checked the www.priceline.co.uk and it states that anyone 18 yo & older can make the request but further down in the T&C, it states that one has to be 21 or older to check in at the hotel.
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Old Jul 16, 09, 1:41 pm   #10
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CathyJune View Post
I just checked the www.priceline.co.uk and it states that anyone 18 yo & older can make the request but further down in the T&C, it states that one has to be 21 or older to check in at the hotel.
Any chance of a link to that part of the T&C's 'cos I can't find it.

Seems a bit daft to have a lower age to actually bid and win a hotel than one that is allowed to check in!
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Old Jul 16, 09, 1:59 pm   #11
 
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Strangely, priceline.com.sg has the following rule:

Quote:
Minimum age requirements

North America/Mexico/Caribbean: You must be at least 21 years old to book a hotel room North American, Mexican & Caribbean hotels. *

Asia/Europe: You must be at least 18 years old to book hotel rooms in Asia/Pacific & European hotels.*
* Priceline will assume no responsibility for hotels denying check-in if minimum age requirements are not met.
This seems to imply you may still be at the mercy of the hotel's rules, even if Priceline allows you to book?
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Old Jul 16, 09, 6:55 pm   #12
 
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My case was at the Marriott in Singapore in 2003, the days of SARS. Got a room at the JW Marriott on Priceline.com.sg when it stated an age of 18, whereas the US site stated 21 (I was 20 at the time). Won the bid and when I checked in the front desk staff at the hotel said there was an age requirement to which I stated the above adding with a grin "not like I'll misbehave or anything."

Their smiling response was "don't worry sir, we're not going to take away or cancel your registration." One minute later, I got my room keys...
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Old Jul 18, 09, 6:48 am   #13
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Except at resort-type areas popular with partying students, I haven't seen many hotels actually enforce a minimum age requirement on bookings as long as the person had a credit card with sufficient funds available -- that's even where there is an age restriction.

With PCLN bookings, that the hotels often ask for photo ID (which most likely may include a date of birth) doesn't help however.
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Old Jul 18, 09, 6:52 am   #14
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In Florida there is no law regulating this. The hotels are free to set their own policies.
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Old Aug 10, 09, 3:20 pm   #15
 
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Get them an ID without a D.O.B. on it...
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