Sharing hotel rooms with teens

[PremierLynn]

Do you book separate rooms if you are staying in a hotel with your teen(s)?
I feel it's very cramped as they are basically an extra adult, then there's the waiting around to use the one bathroom in order to get out early, plus the fact there's a general lack of privacy.
If you book additional rooms, at what age did you start doing so?
My oldest is 13 and I know they won't be impressed to share with us

My DS Is 14 and we've had this exact dilemma! We've decided to keep him with us this time, probably for the last time. It's partially due to the fact he is very anxious though and we worry he would sit in the hotel room on his own at night and get spooked

Not at 13 for sure. We used to offer our DDs the option of cheap hotel and two rooms or a luxe hotel and all sharing. They almost always went for luxe. Even into their late teens/early 20s they would share with us. This was mostly on USA road trip type holidays.

Following this with interest as I’m just coming to the end of a week sharing various hotel rooms with DS (14) . General cramped space and lack of privacy has made it tricky.
I’m looking at a holiday abroad for next year (fingers crossed) but I’m shuddering at the eye watering cost of 2 hotel rooms - that’s assuming a hotel is happy for a teenager to be in room on their own .
Sorry I can’t answer but hopefully someone can.

You might be better booking an apartment or suite. I’m not sure hotels will allow a 13 year old and younger child to be in their own room, I definitely wouldn’t if you can’t get interconnecting rooms

It’s a USA road trip type holiday I want to do next year . I’m looking at air B and B instead of hotels if we stay anywhere for two or three nights

for proper holidays we always book self-catering so that we have bedrooms and a living space all separate. for overnight stays we stick with the one room in a hotel (normally premier inn!), partly for cost but also AFAIK most of the hotels don't allow under 16s to be in rooms on their own.

DS (13) stayed in his own room for the first time this summer. He wanted to or we wouldn’t have done it.

He’s adult height/weight and the put-you-up beds in some hotels don’t always work for him now.

By age 10 we were booking conjoining rooms for our to eldest. First it was two eldest in another room conjoined to our room with extra bed that me, DH and the younger 2 shared(we have 4 DC). Then we moved to one room for us on same floor preferably next door to two conjoining rooms or a 2 bedroom suite for all 4 DC and they look out for each other. Usually you have to call hotel to arrange this because most systems online will want 1 adult assigned to each room.....and that can get tricky when booking 3 rooms with only 2 adults at times.

I had two DC a year apart and i think in some ways it's easier as when you decide not to share, they have each other (both boys in my case).

We did a mixture. If it was a night or two away would usually say that if we shared we could do more things/have nicer meals with the money saved. When going on a longer holiday at that age we started mostly doing self catering apartments/lodges or villas and getting 2, and then quickly 3 bedrooms as they no longer wanted to share. Occasionally if a bargain two bed last minute deal for a short break came up, we'd ask if they were happy to share or not go and usually they'd share if it was only a few nights.

You really have to suck and see but I don't think i'd be completely happy with a 13 year old in a hotel room by themselves that wasn't adjoining.

We rarely stay in hotels but if we do it’s usually for no more than 2 nights. My 2 are now 16 & 18 and we’ve booked adjoining rooms this year for the first time. My oldest does have special needs so it’s been safer to be all together.

One two different occasions for one night DS shared with DH and I and he was 20. But that was a case of there being no other rooms and we were really just sleeping and leaving. Both were for funerals in a small village with limited accommodation options and very little notice.

I have 3 DC so if we stop overnight I go in with dd15 and dd9. DH goes in with ds13. I'm not booking extra rooms, two is bad enough.

It depends on who is on holiday - we have done all combos.

DD19, DS 18 and DD10

If we are all away we do a boy room and a girl room.

If DS isn't with us (he often stays with a friend) the girls will have their own room and DH and I share.

If DD19 and I go together we share

If Ds and I just go he tends to bring a friend so they have their own room

If DH and DD19 go they share a room

The teens have shared with each other before too

Yes if we go abroad / on a longer UK holiday we would book an apartment or something where we have separate sleeping areas.
I was more wondering for a one or two night hotel stay

Ours preferred a better hotel and share. Where possible I picked hotels with family suites which worked at at about 1.25-1.5x just a room as that was in budget. Occasionally we would have separate rooms if affordable

Kids are younger but we get interconnecting rooms (3 kids).

One thing we did do with DS(13) was to talk through the fire alarm and evacuation route. Which was lucky as in one of the hotels there was a 6:20 am fire alarm.

We booked two rooms and assigned who was sleeping where when we got there. Neither hotel asked about the teenagers being supervised.

2 and sometimes 3 now. But we rarely stay in hotels, never for a holiday but more for when we’re staying at the hotel for a wedding or a couple of nights for a city break.
We always book self catering holidays so we can have more bedrooms - our teens don’t want to share with us, we wouldn’t want to share a room with them.

DS (15) and DD (12) had their own room in an hotel this summer for our holiday. They were three or four rooms away and it was not a problem at all. For next year though we’re sharing due to cost (Disney!).

I remember being 10 and having my own room with my cousin aged 7 on a different floor from our parents in an hotel in Nairobi in the 80s!!

We tend to book accommodation where we aren't sharing, so self catering a lot.
However we've booked a skiing holiday in a hotel, so have two rooms.
I will share with teen DSD, and DH will share with our DS.
I'd obviously prefer to stay with my DH but we can't let DSD share with DS, and I don't think DSD would particularly be thrilled to share with DH, even though it is her dad

We've pretty much always had separate sleeping areas from when DS was a noisy baby. Usually that is something like a motel with separate living area or short rental apart hotels. Available pretty much everywhere if you look hard enough. Does tend to mean we stay in 3/4 star rather than more luxurious places, but worth it to be able to sleep properly.
I make an exception for Premier Inn which would generally be one or two nights only.

Thanks for your replies.
My friends teen has also recently complained about sharing with her mum, step dad and younger sibling and stated she would rather stay at home
I'd like to avoid that if possible

I'd opt for interconnecting rooms. If we all go - 2 older teens of opposite sex and younger Ds - I'd share with dd and Dh shares with the boys, so rooms don't have to be interconnected. If eldest doesn't come then dd will share with younger Ds and we'd get interconnected rooms.

About 14 was right for us and DS: the first time we had separate rooms there was a cock up at the hotel in Sicily and we got a massive upgrade to extra swanky rooms: DS thought he was in heaven!

Payback time was about 18 months later when I booked what I thought were two rooms in a fab hotel In Athens, thinking it was a bit pricey but would be nice. Then I realised it was one extremely pricey room which was just about big enough for two adults and a toddler, not quite so much fun with a huge stroppy 15 year old ….

Last time we stayed in a hotel for a night, DD (age 13) shared one room with me and DH, and our two DSs (age 11 and 15) shared a second room.