To let two 17 year olds stay in a hotel in London on their own

It’s to stop child trafficking and child exploitation among other things, it’s nothing to do with how sensible 16 year olds are or aren’t.

All budget accommodation in London asks for passport or driving license ID for check ins. They won’t be able to lie.

Can’t you go with them to stay in the hotel? They can order a twin room while you (on your own or with your partner/a friend/your mum) book another and go see the sights or a show or something?

Forgot to say that Airbnb don’t allow third party bookings although many hosts will accept them. Just be aware if there is a problem Airbnb won’t help.

Most airb&b don’t allow under 18s either.. they too have insurance that prevents it.

Airbnb doesn’t allow under 18s to stay unaccompanied although some hosts might take them with a deposit. They are not supposed to this.

if the host retains the money claiming that damage has been done, you may find it very hard to get it back.

It isn’t daft from the perspective of a business which doesn’t want to be in the position of having to safeguard unaccompanied minors, particularly young and possibly naive teens in an unfamiliar city who can get themselves into all sorts of trouble, from underage drinking, to medical emergencies, to just being “befriended” by some older teens or adults at the concert who suggest going back to their hotel room to continue the “fun.”

Definitely try AirBnB. I’ve done this for my DC at same age. Booked it then messaged to explain who it was for.

Yha is probably better for 16 year olds as they don't risk having their accommodation refused. It's daft it's over 18 but I wouldn't risk it

That’s government policy. Hotels are private businesses and don’t want to be responsible for under 18s. It just opens them up to dealing with underage drinking, or issues where no one is actually available who can give consent (medical help etc). And they aren’t considered adults so hotels don’t want to deal with them without an adult present.

It has nothing to do with voting age, marriage age, driving age.

You’d be an idiot to try it. An adult is going to have to go and stay in the hotel that night with them.

yha As others have said. That is what you need.

it was literally set up to be a safe place for young people to stay. Allowed alone from 16.

I would look at the Youth Hostel rules, hopefully they will be ok for 16 year olds, I certainly wouldn't risk them not getting into a hotel in London. Could they just get a train home instead if not.

They will be askednfor id and not allowed to stay. Either you book a room also sonthere's an adult in charge, or you go the yha route. Might be worth trying uni halls - some let in the holidays.

How about an Airbnb?

Maybe ask an Airbnb locally and offer to leave a deposit

So 16 then. Your thread title says “two 17 year olds.”

They’re 16. They won’t get away with it.

It’s very likely they will ask for ID. My daughter studied in London from she was a 16 coming 17 and we had a lot of problems finding accomodation that would allow her to live there. Even now, at 20, she gets asked for ID when staying in a hotel even using self check in as there is nearly always staff hanging around

I’d probably risk a Premier Inn with a back up plan. Make sure you pay in advance and do the check in ahead of time so they only need to collect the key from one of the machines.

DH took DD and a mate to a gig last year and he had one room and they had another. Not technically allowed as they are under 16 but nobody even queried it.

Expect them to get ID and not be allowed to stay. The hotels will probably need different insurance, and there is the issue of lability. The reality is you either need to risk them going down a really criminal route of fake IDs and stuff, or you end up with teens stuck wandering the streets in London at night. Both those options are seriously bad!

This happened to two sensible 17 year olds I know - got to the hotel after a gig and weren't allowed to stay.

I have stayed here before with my family and it was fine.

YHA Youth Hostels.

There are several in London

Personally I don’t think it’s worth the risk. If they get asked for ID which they likely will if they look anywhere near 18 they’re going to be stuck in London for the night with nowhere to go.

What about the London YHA you might be ok to be over 16 there and they have private rooms.

Every time I've used a Premier Inn self check in, there's been a staff member stood somewhere nearby overseeing it, a bit like how it works at the supermarket self check outs. They'll definitely be asked for ID, and the hotel are within their rights to cancel the booking. Not worth risking as they'll be stranded.
As well as possible safeguarding issues, the U18 can't be held liable for any costs/damage as they're not old enough to agree the contract with the hotel, so it would be daft for the hotel to accept them.