16 year old in hotel alone?

[Anonymous]

Most hotels will not give them a room. And if they start to party, they will be kicked out.

[Anonymous]

Can you call and ask? When I was 17 I went to work on a volunteer project our West and I flew in the night before the whole group met up and stayed at a hotel alone without any problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do believe the adult who rents the hotel room can be civilly and criminally liable for any illegal activities that occur in the room. Underage drinking, drugs, sexual assault, nuisance, etc., if t happens in the hotel room then it’s on the OP. Just like parents that allow drinking and parties by teenagers in their house.

No way, don’t be this dumb. What 16 year old is dying to spend an entire weekend in Colonial Williamsburg? Wake up.

Geez, it's like you people have never met a geek. I would have loved that when I was 16! The most I would have done is maybe watched a R-rated movie on HBO. And I also can't believe you folks never leave a teenager unattended in a hotel room. Really? For the record, I am always one that is firmly opposed to these dumb "senior weeks" and such where the kids all go off to the beach with a lot of random kids you don't know. I think this is totally different. It's one night, with a close friend, at a place where they have a geeky interest. When I was a year older than that, I was touring colleges by myself.
Although, OP, if your kid is not a history geek and it seems surprising to you that she would want to hang out in C.W. for 2 days for legit historical research, then I would totally change my opinion, as in those circumstances I would agree that they are probably going to a party at W&M.

This!!!

[Anonymous]

My 15 y.o. DD and friends would love to go to Colonial Williamsburg. PPs, not every teenager is the same. She has a close knit group of friends, is plenty social at school and just happens to love history... why is this a shock??? If you raised your kids right, they'll know partying for a weekend away is not ok. Not that I condone 16 year olds by themselves in a hotel room. Too many dangerous risks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Can I check them in and then leave??

Sure, if you want to teach them and support the idea that the rules don't apply to them.

+1

[Anonymous]

Why the rush? Why the rush to adult privileges? In 2 years they'll be 18. They can go then.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why the rush? Why the rush to adult privileges? In 2 years they'll be 18. They can go then.

+1000 They will be gone and out of the house before you know it. Let them be kids while they still can!

[Anonymous]

You say she's a responsible kid, but many good responsible kids will obviously experiment with alcohol in a situation like this. Don't delude yourself. They're too young to know how to handle the impaired judgment while being out of town on their own. I can't even believe this is a real question.

[Anonymous]

Here is a hostel in Williamsburg - I wonder if they would allow 16-year olds on their own: http://www.pineapplehousing.com

I wouldn't break hotel rules, but I also have a kid who would be fine on her own with a friend.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You say she's a responsible kid, but many good responsible kids will obviously experiment with alcohol in a situation like this. Don't delude yourself. They're too young to know how to handle the impaired judgment while being out of town on their own. I can't even believe this is a real question.

It is weird how some parents think A) Only pothead slackers party. Geeky kids would never do that. B) Geeky kids would never, ever hook up with a random attractive person at a party.

Newsflash: Geeky/good/responsible kids go out and do this stuff, too.

Reminds me of that Katy Perry song "Last Friday Night"

[Anonymous]

I don't consider my 16 year-old irresponsible but I know I could not leave her alone in a hotel with friends for the night near a college. We have to keep an eye on her at home so she would likely go wild in hotel without supervision. We are hoping for some maturity in the next two years before going off to college. Even my super responsible younger kid I would not tempt by leaving alone in hotel. Too much opportunity for things to go wrong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If we were parents of one of the other girls and we found out you did this, we probably would report you to law enforcement or CPS. My husband and I would be very angry with you. It is one thing for you to do this to your kid (it is wrong but it is your choice to make); it is entirely another thing to do it to someone else's kid.

Where did OP imply that she wasn't going to talk to the other parents?

Where did OP say he/she had the blessing of the other parents?

well she didn't specify. Why does DCUM always assume the worse?
Why is everyone so quick to be nasty?

Unfortunately a parent who would leave their own 16 year old alone in a hotel room several hours away is possibly also the type who would invite friends along and then not make it clear to the other parents that the kids would be alone, unsupervised in a hotel room. In fact, the parent may not even talk to the other parents at all but issue the invitation directly from their kid to the other kids.

At that age, you really need to be able to trust what your own kid is telling you. You can't assume that other parents are going to see the need to provide the same level of supervision that you would.

The very existence of this thread makes that abundantly clear!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here is a hostel in Williamsburg - I wonder if they would allow 16-year olds on their own: http://www.pineapplehousing.com

I wouldn't break hotel rules, but I also have a kid who would be fine on her own with a friend.

Read the links you post, please. This hostel's web site clearly says the hostel provides weekly and monthly accommodation for international exchange students, college students, seasonal staff, construction workers. It's not a hotel and is not in the business of providing weekend rooms for tourists, teenaged or otherwise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I stayed in hotels alone or with friends all the time from 16-18, but this was in Europe so the rules are probably different.

Kids are the same. American Parents just infantilize their children.

Parents didn't write the hotel policy, nor the "must be 25 to rent a car" policy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can you call and ask? When I was 17 I went to work on a volunteer project our West and I flew in the night before the whole group met up and stayed at a hotel alone without any problem.

Yeah, I was an exchange student in Europe my last two years of HS, so left my family at around 16 and had barely any supervision from there on out. I stayed in hotels a lot. I had to get myself into the city, stay the night at a hotel, and make my way to my SAT/ACT exams and whatnot. Also had older girlfriends and we traveled around a lot for fun. We drank, but we were able to just go out to bars and clubs, so we weren't binging in hotel rooms. I was pretty responsible overall and college was a total bore to me by the time I arrived. Never set foot in a frat house. This isn't that ludicrous to me given my own adolescence.