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

[Susieblue18]

My son wants to go to an event at the O2 arena in March with a friend. They will be almost 17 but hotels are saying they can’t stay without an over 18 present. I even checked with St Christopher’s hostel and they’re the same, even with a room for 2. I know some of the premier Inns and travelodges are self check in, are they likely to get away with this? I phoned a couple of hotels but they’re said they will ask for ID.

So they'll actually be 16, not 17. And they need to be 18.

They will ask them for ID if they look even remotely under 18

It’s two different questions, would I let them, yes. Will the get away with it, I don’t know, it’s risky, what happens if they don’t, can they get home?

It’s extremely unlikely they’ll get away with it. How awful would it be for them to arrived all excited for their concert, only to be turned away when they check in.

I would I have been responsible enough to do this at 17, but rules are rules. If they aren’t 18 then it’s no.

It’s not allowed for a reason but the yha allows 16 year olds to stay unaccompanied

So, almost 17 or actually 17?

You’ve even tried to lie on here 🫤. They’re 16. No, you can’t let two 16 year olds stay in a hotel in London because they aren’t allowed. And staff will check.

What about air BnB?

@SargeMargenot lying 🤔, my son will be 17 two days later, so yes, almost 17!

I hadn’t actually considered this would be an issue. It seems bizarre that you can get married in Scotland at 16 but can’t stay in a hotel!

This is crazy! I was living by myself and independent of parents at 17 (mid 00s so not that long ago), stayed in lots of hotels as travelled a lot for a volunteering thing I did.

I'd go with the premier inn and chance it. Have a back up plan for them if it goes tits up.

What about air BnB? Most of those will be keybox check in.

The actual crazy thing about that is 16yo’s being allowed to marry!!

I would personally go with them, book a different room and let them go to the gig but that way you're on site for check in and also in the same city if needed. I've done this when my DS has gone to gigs at that age.

It's a pretty high risk strategy if they do get id-ed as they'll be stuck outside in London overnight. It may seem daft and be frustrating but you can't change how it is. If they're going then either someone needs to go with them for the hotel, or they need to look at getting the sleeper train/bus back after the concert.

Citizen M has self check in, I stayed in a premier Inn for work recently and had to check myself in via a kiosk thing, not London though and it didn't work so I had to go and find a member of staff

It’s a stupid rule tbh. You can pass your driving test at 17 and get married in Scotland at 16 but you can’t stay in a hotel. I think it must be an insurance thing! I wouldn’t risk it tbh as you could end up paying for a room and they could end up stranded. Have they a look alike relative/friend they could take borrow ID from.

Book a YHA
private room
not dorm
they are good and safe

YHA Thameside is the closest

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.

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

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.

YHA Youth Hostels.

There are several in London

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

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

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!