Minimum Age to Check In at a Hotel

Quick answer: 18 at some hotels, 21 at many: each sets its own. Of 344 IHG, Hilton, Marriott, Hyatt and Red Roof hotel pages we read, 219 said 21 and 99 said 18. We found no state that sets a minimum age, but 15 states have laws on minors or age at hotels; Florida’s makes hotels waive any age for active-duty military.

How to use it

Pick the state you are staying in, the guest’s age on the day of check-in and, if you know it, the hotel chain. Tick the box if the guest is on active duty and has a military ID. The answer says whether the guest can check in, who decides, and what a younger guest needs. Under it are the state’s law in its own words, the chain’s own words, where the chain shows each hotel’s age, the hotels we read in that state, and every chain side by side for the same guest.

Who sets the age: the hotel, then the state

No chain we read promises one age at every hotel. Hilton says The minimum age to book a room varies by hotel. Marriott says The minimum age to check into a Marriott property is set by the Hotel. Wyndham says the same as Hilton, and its own hotel pages post no age at all: the 26 Days Inn, La Quinta and Super 8 pages we read on October 12, 2026 list check-in times, children, pets and smoking under Hotel Policies, and nothing else. Motel 6 has one rule with a catch: All guests registering must be 18 years of age (19-21 years of age required at some locations) and must present photo identification upon check-in. Extended Stay America follows each state’s mandated Age of Majority which may vary (its FAQ, in the Internet Archive’s copy of September 4, 2026): 18 in most states, 19 in Alabama and Nebraska, 21 in Mississippi. Red Roof leaves it to each hotel, which posts a Check-in Age on its page. Choice says most of its hotels want a guest alone to be 19, and some 21. IHG told its hotels in June 2026 to make the minimum 18 everywhere, as LoyaltyLobby reported, yet on October 3, 2026 most of its hotel pages we read still said 21. Hyatt’s help pages refused every reader we tried, so no Hyatt-wide rule is copied here from anyone else; its hotels’ own Policies pages are counted below.

Then the state’s law. These 15 states have a law about minors or age at hotels; each was read on the state legislature’s own site (Tennessee’s and Utah’s through the Internet Archive).

Adulthood itself is 18 in every state but three, says the Defense Department’s age of majority table: 19 in Alabama and Nebraska, 21 in Mississippi. Even there the line for contracts is 18. Alabama’s law lets an 18-year-old enter into a binding contract as may be exercised by an individual of full legal age, Nebraska’s lets one Enter into a binding contract or lease of whatever kind or nature, and Mississippi’s sets 18 for a contract affecting property.

What the chains’ own hotel pages say

We read the minimum check-in age on 377 hotel pages in the places young travelers go. On October 3, 2026, 68 in Las Vegas, Orlando, Panama City Beach, Miami Beach, New Orleans, Nashville, Myrtle Beach, Tuscaloosa, Lincoln, Biloxi, New York, Austin, Denver and Boston. On October 11, 2026, 54 more of IHG’s in South Padre Island, Austin, College Station, San Diego, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Savannah, Tempe, Lake Havasu City, Chicago, Atlantic City, Chapel Hill, the Outer Banks, Columbus, Ann Arbor, State College, Philadelphia, Albuquerque and Las Cruces. On October 12, 2026, 30 more of IHG’s in and around the five cities readers search by name: Las Vegas, Chicago, Orlando, New York City and Atlanta. On October 13, 2026, 12 more of IHG’s in Houston, Myrtle Beach and Fort Lauderdale, three of the six cities added after them (Panama City Beach, Miami and Boston already had nine to twelve pages read). On an IHG page the age is one line near the top, Minimum check-in age: 18 or Minimum check-in age: 21. Hilton’s own site refused our reader both times, but the Internet Archive keeps copies of its hotel pages, and each copy carries the hotel’s own field, labelled Minimum age to register: we read the newest copy, from June 13 to July 12, 2026, of 73 Hilton-brand hotels (Hilton, Hampton, DoubleTree, Embassy Suites, Hilton Garden Inn, Homewood, Home2 and others) in Albuquerque, Ann Arbor, Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chapel Hill, Durham, Chicago, College Station, Columbus, Daytona Beach, Denver, Fort Lauderdale, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Myrtle Beach, Nashville, New Orleans, New York, Omaha, Orlando, Panama City Beach, Pensacola, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, Savannah and Tampa. Marriott’s and Hyatt’s sites refuse every reader too, so we took the same route on October 12, 2026: the newest copy, from June 15 to October 5, 2026, of 81 Marriott-brand hotels (Courtyard, Residence Inn, Fairfield, SpringHill Suites, Sheraton, Westin, Aloft, Moxy and others) around the same towns, where the age sits under Hotel Information as Minimum Age to Check In; and the only nine Hyatt Policies pages in the United States the Archive copied from June 26 to October 5, 2026, in Austin, Chicago, New York, San Diego, Napa and Braintree, where an age, when there is one, is a sentence of the hotel’s own. Red Roof’s site turned our reader away after one page on October 12, 2026, so we read the Internet Archive’s newest copy of every Red Roof hotel page it kept from June 15 to September 30, 2026: 50 hotels in 20 states and Washington, D.C. (three pages marked Coming Soon left out), each with its own Check-in Age: line.

No page we read set an age under 18, and one set 25: the Hampton Inn New Orleans French Quarter Market Area, in the Archive’s copy of July 12, 2026. One Hilton page’s field was blank (0), counted as no age stated; three Marriott pages list no age under Hotel Information, and six of the nine Hyatt Policies pages state none (the Hyatt Regency Austin’s says 18, the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place Chicago’s and the Park South Hotel’s in New York 21). Every Red Roof page that says 21 adds (18 years or older with valid Military ID), and the two in California that state no age say instead Based on the law in the state of California, there is no minimum age restriction for reserving a room. A Choice hotel writes its own age, when it has one, under Hotel alerts, so a page with none leaves you with Choice’s own rule: 19 for a guest alone at most hotels.

Hotels that take an 18-year-old in Las Vegas, Chicago, Orlando, New York, Miami, Myrtle Beach and more

Pick a city above (under the state) and the answer counts only the hotels we read in and around it. The eleven are the cities readers search for by name with “hotels for 18 year olds”. The state’s law still applies: Florida’s military ID law in Orlando, Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Panama City Beach.

Worked examples

An 18-year-old at an IHG hotel in Orlando. Of the eight IHG hotels we read in Orlando that post an age, six said 21, even after IHG’s June 2026 notice, and two said 18: Holiday Inn Express & Suites Nearest Universal Orlando and Holiday Inn Express & Suites Orlando International Airport. In Miami Beach, all three said 18. Same chain, same state: read the hotel’s own page.

An 18-year-old on a college trip in California or Arizona. All six IHG hotels we read in San Diego and Los Angeles said 18; all four we read around Tempe and in Lake Havasu City said 21. The state you cross into can change the answer, so read the hotel’s own page.

An 18-year-old at a Marriott hotel. Of the 81 Marriott hotel pages we read, 62 said 21 and 16 said 18. All three around San Diego said 18; all three in Atlanta said 21. Marriott leaves the age to each hotel, and the hotel’s own page shows it.

A 21-year-old in New Orleans. Eight of the nine hotel pages we read in Louisiana that post an age take a guest of 21; the Hampton Inn New Orleans French Quarter Market Area wants 25. Turning 21 does not settle it everywhere: read the page.

A 16-year-old staying without a parent in Colorado. Colorado law lets the hotel ask a parent, legal guardian or other responsible adult for a credit card number or a written promise to pay for the room, the minor’s charges and any damage. Whether it takes the booking at all is the hotel’s call.

A 19-year-old soldier in Florida. With a valid military ID, Florida law makes a hotel, motel or bed and breakfast waive its minimum age for anyone on active duty in the Armed Forces, the National Guard, the Reserves or the Coast Guard.

An 18-year-old on a budget. Motel 6’s rule is 18, though some of its locations want 19 to 21. Extended Stay America follows the state’s age of majority, so an 18-year-old can book one in Florida but not in Alabama or Nebraska (19) or Mississippi (21). Of the five Red Roof hotels we read in Florida, two post 18 (Jacksonville and Panama City) and three post 21, or 18 with a military ID.

A 19-year-old alone at a Choice hotel. Choice says most of its hotels take a guest alone from 19 and some want 21. At 18, sharing the room with someone 21 or older meets Choice’s rule for a guest of 18 or under.

Common mistakes

• Trusting “IHG is 18 everywhere”. Of the 131 IHG hotel pages we read on October 3, 11, 12 and 13, 2026, 82 still said 21.
• Reading Alabama’s or Nebraska’s 19 as “no hotel at 18”. Both states let an 18-year-old sign a binding contract, and the Holiday Inn Express in Biloxi, Mississippi, said 18.
• Taking a Red Roof "21" as the last word. Of the 50 Red Roof hotel pages we read, 21 say 21 but take 18 with a valid military ID.
• Booking a Choice room for teenagers alone. When any guest is 18 or under, Choice wants one guest in the room to be 21 or older.
• Expecting the military waiver everywhere. We found it only in Florida’s law. Elsewhere it is the hotel’s choice: Best Western’s Grant Park Hotel in Chicago, for one, takes 18 with an active military ID.
• Flying a minor alone and forgetting the room: the Unaccompanied Minor Rules cover the flight, not the hotel at the other end.

More for the trip

Read how to book a hotel without overpaying for the same room, and, for a teen heading north, whether a minor can rent a hotel room in Canada. Planning spring break? Start with Texas’s party beaches or San Diego’s spring break beaches, where 21 is common at the hotels. A minor travelling without both parents may also need the Minor Travel Consent Letter.