If you are between the ages of 18 and 20, you can serve in the military, you can vote, you might have some free time to travel, you might have some money, and you might even own a car — but at least one reason exists as to why adults younger than 21 years of age cannot check in to hotel properties alone in the United States.
Why Adults Younger Than 21 Years of Age Cannot Check In to Hotel Properties Alone
The main reason is that all states in the United States were forced to raise the drinking age to 21 years of age 41 years ago due to the 1984 National Minimum Drinking Age Act, as explained by the official Internet web site of the Alcohol Policy Information System of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, which is a department of the National Institutes of Health of the United States:
The 1984 National Minimum Drinking Age Act, [23 U.S.C. § 158], requires that States prohibit persons under 21 years of age from purchasing or publicly possessing alcoholic beverages as a condition of receiving State highway funds. A Federal regulation that interprets the Act excludes from the definition of “public possession,” possession “for an established religious purpose; when accompanied by a parent, spouse or legal guardian age 21 or older; for medical purposes when prescribed or administered by a licensed physician, pharmacist, dentist, nurse, hospital or medical institution; in private clubs or establishments; or to the sale, handling, transport, or service in dispensing of any alcoholic beverage pursuant to lawful employment of a person under the age of twenty-one years by a duly licensed manufacturer, wholesaler, or retailer of alcoholic beverages”, [23 C.F.R. § 1208.3].
As a result of the act, hotel and resort properties changed their policies to reflect the change in the drinking age — meaning that the age to check into a hotel property was set to a minimum of 21 years of age for several reasons:
- The hotel or resort property may have at least one restaurant or bar on premises which serves alcoholic beverages
- Minibars in rooms may contain alcoholic beverages
- Hotel and resort properties want to reduce their liability in case something adverse happens — and not permitting anyone younger than 21 years of age to check in by himself or herself means that the chance of an incident that is related to the illegal consumption of alcohol is mitigated
- Guests who either illegally consume alcohol or allow the illegal consumption of alcohol on the premises of the hotel or resort property are held fully accountable for anything that happens as a result, shifting the liability from the hotel or resort property to the guests themselves
This policy is especially enforced in Las Vegas, Miami Beach, or other destinations in the United States which are known to be exposed to a greater number of incidents that are related to the consumption of alcohol.
Another reason is that some insurance policies may dictate age requirements for guests, which in turn influence the policies of hotel and resort properties.
Also, the general belief that a person who is 21 years of age or older is usually more responsible than someone younger; and therefore can be held accountable for any wrongdoing.
Final Boarding Call
I drove from the Seattle metropolitan area to San Antonio via San Diego by myself just after my twentieth birthday. I had no problem with checking in to lodging — although I was a college student on a budget and checked into motel properties just for a place to sleep for the night before continuing my drive. I stayed overnight in such places as Florence in Oregon, Ukiah in California, Tucson in Arizona, and El Paso in Texas. I stayed with relatives in other places along the way while delivering jars of homemade pickles from my cousin. I drove along the Pacific Coast Highway. I stood on stage at the Hollywood Bowl. Those were only parts of what was an amazing road trip which I will always fondly remember.
Not allowing anyone younger than 21 years of age to check in to a hotel or resort property is a policy and not a law. Much of the lodging industry prefers to not expose itself to greater liability than necessary — but the possibility still exists that people between the ages of 18 and 20 can check into a hotel or resort property by themselves.
The policy is, of course, unfair to responsible people who are younger than 21 years of age that never get inebriated or do not drink at all…
Photograph ©2022 by Brian Cohen.
