Age to check-in to hotel in the States?

In most places in Canada, you have to be 18.
And I'm pretty sure in most hotels in the States, you have to be 21? Can anyone confirm this?

A couple of my girl friends (ages 19-20) want to do a shopping trip to Buffalo and stay a night. Are we going to have trouble finding a place to check-in if none of us are over the age of 21?

Bonus to whoever can point me in the direction of hotels in Buffalo where you DON'T have to be 21 Thanks!

Different hotels have different guidelines around this from my experience. They should be fine at 18 though if i'm not mistaken. Have you checked the hotels websites for wherever they were looking to stay? You could also give the reservations line a call as they would certainly be able to confirm.

It varies on the hotel you guys will stay at, as Chrispy said it really depends on the hotel as some will make a big deal out of it and others will not. I would avoid hotels that have a mini-bar as those tend to have the 21+ restrictions, same goes for any hotel connected to a Casino (not that there are any in Buffalo that I know of, just saying though )!

Also, what area of Buffalo are you guys staying at, it's kind of big to just give a few recommendations. :p I assume near the Falls?

Originally Posted by lookingforstufffff

It varies on the hotel you guys will stay at, as Chrispy said it really depends on the hotel as some will make a big deal out of it and others will not. I would avoid hotels that have a mini-bar as those tend to have the 21+ restrictions, same goes for any hotel connected to a Casino (not that there are any in Buffalo that I know of, just saying though )!

Also, what area of Buffalo are you guys staying at, it's kind of big to just give a few recommendations. :p I assume near the Falls?

Near Walden Galleria, preferably. We were thinking "Millenium Hotel" but they're 21+.

I don't mean to be a party pooper, but every hotel in the Walden Galleria area (even the ones near the airport) are 21+... You're going to have a very hard time getting a hotel, your best bet may be to call the hotel and see if exceptions can be made but I'm letting you know right now, the majority of the hotels in the Cheektowaga and Buffalo+Niagra Intl airport are 21+.

Sorry!

(P.S -- You might want to try this, it's further away from Walden but I'm pretty sure it's 18+)

Originally Posted by Chrispy

Different hotels have different guidelines around this from my experience. They should be fine at 18 though if i'm not mistaken. Have you checked the hotels websites for wherever they were looking to stay? You could also give the reservations line a call as they would certainly be able to confirm.

Usually it's 21. I went for a vacation in NYC last year and called up a bunch of hotels (incl. the nicer ones because I was getting desperate) and only found two hotels out of the 25+ I called that had a check-in age of 18.

A friend of mine works for a hotel in the USA.

He said that you need, first of all, a letter from your parents addressed to "Hotel Staff" stating that they give you permission to stay at their hotel, and they are liable for any and all damage that you cause to the hotel room. A phone call to your parents might be in order too.

It needs to be addressed openly so you can take the letter from hotel to hotel if one doesn't allow you to stay.

As for what hotel to stay at, stay at a family-owned motel. Stay away from big-name establishments. Use tripadvisor.com to search for a Bed and Breakfast, or a motel.

Lastly, try youth hostels in Buffalo. They're cheap, and they usually don't mind bending the law a bit for other youths that need a bed for the night.

Check the hotels near the airport, it's only a quick drive away from the galleria.

Originally Posted by CorSter

Check the hotels near the airport, it's only a quick drive away from the galleria.

Do you know of any that don't require 21+ ID? She would be wasting her time, unless that letter thing mentioned works.

Originally Posted by mr_toast

A friend of mine works for a hotel in the USA.

He said that you need, first of all, a letter from your parents addressed to "Hotel Staff" stating that they give you permission to stay at their hotel, and they are liable for any and all damage that you cause to the hotel room. A phone call to your parents might be in order too.

It needs to be addressed openly so you can take the letter from hotel to hotel if one doesn't allow you to stay.

As for what hotel to stay at, stay at a family-owned motel. Stay away from big-name establishments. Use tripadvisor.com to search for a Bed and Breakfast, or a motel.

Lastly, try youth hostels in Buffalo. They're cheap, and they usually don't mind bending the law a bit for other youths that need a bed for the night.

Thanks, I'll be sure to call a couple hotels up and ask about the letter and see if it would be sufficient. Do you know if ONE letter is enough? or do we ALL need letters from our parents? It just seems so ridiculous.

I've never stayed in a youth hostel. I may check it out but it seems kinda sketchy.

They can't refuse lodging to a minor who can pay for a hotel room in Canada, not sure about the U.S. though.

I found this out the hard way by being stranded in a city overnight as I missed the train back and had no other way to get home as it was so late at night. (When I was under 18)

In the U.S. they're pretty strict about 21, but if you book online and don't look shady when you check in, most places will be fine with being 18-21. (Or younger if you already have a cc in your name)

Originally Posted by gsrce

In the U.S. they're pretty strict about 21, but if you book online and don't look shady when you check in, most places will be fine with being 18-21. (Or younger if you already have a cc in your name)

Hmm.. that's what I was thinking too. We all have credit cards under our names, and we're fine with paying a deposit or whatnot. We're not going to break anything (at least, we don't plan to :P), we just want somewhere nice to stay.

They'll ask for ID matching the person's credit card, where you go from there... I don't know... YMMV?

I'd live under the "they don't ask, you don't tell" rule. They don't ask your age, you don't tell then.

Originally Posted by applecheeks

In most places in Canada, you have to be 18.
And I'm pretty sure in most hotels in the States, you have to be 21? Can anyone confirm this?

A couple of my girl friends (ages 19-20) want to do a shopping trip to Buffalo and stay a night. Are we going to have trouble finding a place to check-in if none of us are over the age of 21?

Bonus to whoever can point me in the direction of hotels in Buffalo where you DON'T have to be 21 Thanks!

As far as I remembered, the minimum requirement was that you had the cash to pay for your room ...

I was 12 years old and I checked into a room at a Marriott in New York City just fine ...