Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to still book our DS (16) as a 15 year old at a Premier Inn?

545 replies

VioletOrange · 02/08/2023 09:49

I’m probably going to get a flaming for this but here goes.

We only have DS, he can’t stay in a PI by himself until he’s 18. If we booked him in as an adult, as he’s classed as one now he’s 16, we’d have to pay for another room. So for now, while we can still just about get away with it, we book him in as a child stating he’s 15.

In one PI where we’ve stayed many times over the years, a couple of the regular staff are aware but they’re ok with this. He doesn’t get up for breakfast so doesn’t benefit from the ‘kids eat free’ deal.

AIBU to carry on doing this for as long as we can get away with it? Not that he’ll likely still want to come away with us in the next few years.

My personal opinion is that on the one hand they class 18+ as adults but want to charge a 16 year old adult prices.

OP posts:
NewNovember · 04/08/2023 20:52

SerenadeOfTheSchoolRun · 02/08/2023 10:26

Also if you have two adults and a 16 and 17 year old for example you have to lie a bit even to get two rooms by saying that one adult will sleep in each. Or I guess you have one parent and one child in each room or stay somewhere else. The rules are bonkers.

No you don't 16 or 17 year olds can stay in their own room if a parent is also staying in the hotel.

FiftyNotNifty · 04/08/2023 21:08

Having read some of the scary posts on here about what has happened to lone women in hotel rooms, there is no way I would be putting dd15 into her own room in a hotel in a few months!
OP did you ever think your hotel booking would spark such discussion?!

Morganrae1 · 04/08/2023 21:22

Absolutely not. I did it with my 2 when I could.
When I was a child my mum used to say I was 3 on the bus, I was 5. So when anyone asked how old I was I would say quite proudly, "I'm 5 but I'm 3 on the bus". Always got a laugh.
In later life at 21 I used to go on the train with my boyfriend who worked for BR I used to buy a childs ticket, if the guard asked how old I was I had to say 13 because at that time, not sure if it's still the same, you paid an adult fare at 14 which I think was ludicrous. I did look very young, I'd like to think I still do!! Sorry that was a bit long.

Frazzledstar1 · 04/08/2023 21:46

I think it’s fine but if you’re worried im
sure travelodge allows 3 adults in one room anyway

BlastedIce · 04/08/2023 21:53

ZeldaWillTellYourFortune · 04/08/2023 20:40

Maybe they mistakenly assume all of their guests are honorable.

Yeah in fairness …. All PI employees are thinking they’re dealing with honourable guests…

It’s what gets them through the day…

pollymere · 04/08/2023 21:54

You can just book a room for three. I've done it lots. Unless they've changed it.

BlastedIce · 04/08/2023 21:57

ZeldaWillTellYourFortune · 04/08/2023 19:59

That whole anti-profits, anti-corporation, anti-shareholders, anti-landlords mentality is so sad, petulant and misguided. Imagine going through life feeling envious, hostile and adversarial toward our entire economic system.

Most people's pensions are invested in the markets, you know, so those "greedy shareholders" are friends, neighbours, relatives, co-workers, fellow citizens.

Corporations are expected and obliged to make money for their investors.

It's just as wrong to steal from them as it is to steal from the proverbial widows and orphans.

If you want systemic change to our economic paradigms, vote with your choice of which businesses to patronize, or go through the proper channels to advocate for changes to our laws.

Don't childishly try to subvert it by cheating, scamming and defrauding, then justifying one's actions by calling the other party "immoral" for perfectly ordinary and legitimate business practices.

A lot of investors invest via ESG funds… just saying…

Wally1983 · 04/08/2023 21:59

Carry on doing it! Wouldn’t think twice about this and haven’t on several occasions.
enjoy your stay ;)

just so you know travelodge allow for 3 adults in a room should this ever need booking in future

threatmatrix · 04/08/2023 22:47

I say to my grandchild, ‘how old are you’ he says ‘five’
I then say to him ‘how old are you on a train’ he says ‘4’. Naughty nana.

NewNovember · 04/08/2023 23:02

Boysgrownbutstillathome · 04/08/2023 20:29

Premier Inn breakfasts are not free - you pay for them separately - so it is irrelevant whether he has one or not.
I didn't know three adults couldn't share a three-bed room.
16 is not an adult, 18 is the age of majority in the UK. Your son is still a child and should be allowed to share with you.

They are free for under 16's

NewName122 · 05/08/2023 00:01

Took my 16 year old there for breakfast the other day and said he was 15 so he ate free. He's over 6ft but has only just turned 16 and has issues with food. All he had was 1 plain piece of toast and a tiny orange juice. He doesn't eat enough to warrant me paying £10.99. He only came to get out the house.

NewName122 · 05/08/2023 00:01

So yanbu op! Crack on.

LoisLane66 · 05/08/2023 00:49

You'd be lying and if everyone did similar scams then you could hardly complain. How about I park in disabled bay which left you nowhere to park or pretended to be older than I am in order to get senior rates and discounts? They're all forms of deception no matter how you try to make yours look like a minor infraction.
Liars who implicate others, as you have done with the hotel staff, are the underbelly of society and you're showing your son that it's ok to lie to gain an advantage. Some mother you are...

Original poster
VioletOrange · 05/08/2023 00:58

LoisLane66 · 05/08/2023 00:49

You'd be lying and if everyone did similar scams then you could hardly complain. How about I park in disabled bay which left you nowhere to park or pretended to be older than I am in order to get senior rates and discounts? They're all forms of deception no matter how you try to make yours look like a minor infraction.
Liars who implicate others, as you have done with the hotel staff, are the underbelly of society and you're showing your son that it's ok to lie to gain an advantage. Some mother you are...

Thanks, I’ll sleep easy, as will his father! 😊

OP posts:
SamW98 · 05/08/2023 01:01

VioletOrange · 05/08/2023 00:58

Thanks, I’ll sleep easy, as will his father! 😊

Show quote history

Sweet dreams you underbelly of society you 😘🤣

LoisLane66 · 05/08/2023 01:05

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

Original poster
VioletOrange · 05/08/2023 01:11

SamW98 · 05/08/2023 01:01

Sweet dreams you underbelly of society you 😘🤣

Show quote history

🤣 thank you!

OP posts:
Original poster
VioletOrange · 05/08/2023 01:13

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

Oh Lois, just stop before you start to embarrass yourself.

OP posts:
BlastedIce · 05/08/2023 05:41

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

And she got it! Well deserved as well.

At least 84% of MN are sensible!

EhrlicheFrau · 05/08/2023 07:36

BlastedIce · 05/08/2023 05:41

And she got it! Well deserved as well.

At least 84% of MN are sensible!

Show quote history

84% of people voting to 'bend the truth' sayings nothing either way about who is 'sensible' or not! If you choose to lie/bend the truth/whatever you want to call it, then crack on, but don't start attaching labels to those who chose not to lie/bend the truth. None of us should be doing blanket labelling/assumption drawing, based on one vote on on MN poll! With that I wish you all a pleasant stay wherever you are - all I ask of my neighbours in hotel rooms is to be mindful, especially between 11ish and 6ish, that other people would rather sleep than mostly listen to whatever noise you feel like making!

Triflefan · 05/08/2023 07:49

Don’t know if you’ve noticed but you can’t book a Hub or a Zip as a party of 2 with an under 16. They’re filtered out of your search entirely.
So, does this mean sharing a bed with your child is somehow defrauding PI too?
what difference does it make who you share with? Zero

I believe this is all just how their IT system manages the logistics of the meal deal and prevents rowdy groups who will then be costly in refunds through their Good Night Sleep Guarantee.
I don’t believe for a second it’s to help families with young children! PI don’t care about you! Why would families with young children be more deserving than those with older teens?

I used to stay at a PI in Birmingham fairly regularly with work. Did I get a single person discount? Nope! It’s a room rate and they need to know how many they’re accounting for in the event of an emergency.
Only once did I have a smaller room where the bed was kind of in the wardrobe weirdly. None of my colleagues ever had this. It was really odd.

I have had 2 incidents at PI where a complete stranger has been checked into my room late at night. I was a lone woman. It’s not a nice experience. Of course I had the latch over but when the unwanted roomie is tired and annoyed and has perhaps had one too many, they aren’t always easy to reason with!
Some people may not wish to stay alone when there is really no need to.

If a room contains 3 or 4 adults, PI may well cash in on 3-4 meals, a few drinks at the bar and breakfast. That’s likely to be far more profitable than option 2.

If the room contains 2 adults and 2 children they have the possibility of 2 little freeloaders for breakfast and dinner 🤷‍♀️

Years ago we ended up stuck in London for the night. I can’t remember why but there was some kind of train issue.
Most hotels were booked up centrally but we found a room at really lovely independent in Kew. It was listed as a room for 2. We called, explained that we had our young teen with us and they said if we were happy with it, so were they.
The room came with an exceptional free breakfast (made to order so none of the buffet waste) I think the best eggs Benedict I’ve ever had. We did of course request a bill for our son. The response?
’nobody is going to lose any sleep over a free breakfast’ and they refused our money.
We’ve never forgotten it but have had no reason to stay in Kew since sadly.

I‘ve never even considered the Kids Eat Free deal side of the argument because we simply don’t eat there. I’d not have done it myself but my husband totally would have if our son had looked younger!

BlastedIce · 05/08/2023 07:58

EhrlicheFrau · 05/08/2023 07:36

84% of people voting to 'bend the truth' sayings nothing either way about who is 'sensible' or not! If you choose to lie/bend the truth/whatever you want to call it, then crack on, but don't start attaching labels to those who chose not to lie/bend the truth. None of us should be doing blanket labelling/assumption drawing, based on one vote on on MN poll! With that I wish you all a pleasant stay wherever you are - all I ask of my neighbours in hotel rooms is to be mindful, especially between 11ish and 6ish, that other people would rather sleep than mostly listen to whatever noise you feel like making!

Show quote history

Yeah a couple of 16 year olds alone in a room are more likely to be noisy than with their parents. It’s almost like PI are doing this to make even more profits, rather than the comfort of their guests.

PinkCherryBlossoms · 05/08/2023 08:00

BlastedIce · 04/08/2023 21:53

Yeah in fairness …. All PI employees are thinking they’re dealing with honourable guests…

It’s what gets them through the day…

Show quote history

Lmfao

BlastedIce · 05/08/2023 08:00

Triflefan · 05/08/2023 07:49

Don’t know if you’ve noticed but you can’t book a Hub or a Zip as a party of 2 with an under 16. They’re filtered out of your search entirely.
So, does this mean sharing a bed with your child is somehow defrauding PI too?
what difference does it make who you share with? Zero

I believe this is all just how their IT system manages the logistics of the meal deal and prevents rowdy groups who will then be costly in refunds through their Good Night Sleep Guarantee.
I don’t believe for a second it’s to help families with young children! PI don’t care about you! Why would families with young children be more deserving than those with older teens?

I used to stay at a PI in Birmingham fairly regularly with work. Did I get a single person discount? Nope! It’s a room rate and they need to know how many they’re accounting for in the event of an emergency.
Only once did I have a smaller room where the bed was kind of in the wardrobe weirdly. None of my colleagues ever had this. It was really odd.

I have had 2 incidents at PI where a complete stranger has been checked into my room late at night. I was a lone woman. It’s not a nice experience. Of course I had the latch over but when the unwanted roomie is tired and annoyed and has perhaps had one too many, they aren’t always easy to reason with!
Some people may not wish to stay alone when there is really no need to.

If a room contains 3 or 4 adults, PI may well cash in on 3-4 meals, a few drinks at the bar and breakfast. That’s likely to be far more profitable than option 2.

If the room contains 2 adults and 2 children they have the possibility of 2 little freeloaders for breakfast and dinner 🤷‍♀️

Years ago we ended up stuck in London for the night. I can’t remember why but there was some kind of train issue.
Most hotels were booked up centrally but we found a room at really lovely independent in Kew. It was listed as a room for 2. We called, explained that we had our young teen with us and they said if we were happy with it, so were they.
The room came with an exceptional free breakfast (made to order so none of the buffet waste) I think the best eggs Benedict I’ve ever had. We did of course request a bill for our son. The response?
’nobody is going to lose any sleep over a free breakfast’ and they refused our money.
We’ve never forgotten it but have had no reason to stay in Kew since sadly.

I‘ve never even considered the Kids Eat Free deal side of the argument because we simply don’t eat there. I’d not have done it myself but my husband totally would have if our son had looked younger!

Which is why I prefer independents but sadly PI has forced so many out of business.

EhrlicheFrau · 05/08/2023 08:07

BlastedIce · 05/08/2023 07:58

Yeah a couple of 16 year olds alone in a room are more likely to be noisy than with their parents. It’s almost like PI are doing this to make even more profits, rather than the comfort of their guests.

Show quote history

I don't really understand your reply - at no point did I say 16 year olds were more likely to be noisy. In reality, adult groups are potentially more likely to be noisy (and not realise it if they've been having a few drinks), and I think this is partly what is behind the limiting of adults in rooms by PI. While I wouldn't pretend my DS was younger, I do think that some sort of 'family' option needs to be available which accept that a family can have children of over 16 and still want/need to share a room. I do understand why people would worry about booking two rooms, especially as PI cannot guarantee they'll be together, even taking the extra cost aside.