What do you think of this hotel rule?

[JumpyTheFrog]

We stayed in a hotel Saturday night. When I checked in the receptionist told me that kids under 16 were not allowed to go *anywhere* in the hotel without an adult. So this wasn't just a rule for the pool or fitness room.

 

DH and I thought this was overkill. They really think a 15 year old shouldn't be allowed to go to the ice machine alone? When I mentioned to a few other families at an event the next day they all thought it was great the hotel had that rule! One mom mentioned some supposed statewide curfew in Minnesota for those under 18. (I haven't looked to see if it's true.) I asked about if a teen needed to get something at the grocery store. She, obviously liking the law, didn't see any reason for anyone under 18 to ever need to go to the store alone after 10 pm.

 

How are kids supposed to grow up when our society keeps adding more and more restrictions?

[clementine]

As a parent of 2 teens, I actually agree with the rule.  

 

Some teens have no idea how loud they are being, people are sleeping at all hours of the day/night in a hotel & noise in the hallway can really echo.  

 

Also, it's a way of keeping minors safe in a place where you have no idea who the people are that are staying there - anyone can enter & walk through the building.  I've seen plenty of sketchy people in hotels & would not want my daughters walking around alone.  

 

 

[Murphy101]

I agree with the hotel and you.

 

Sadly I hazard the hotel has the rule bc not all parents parent their teens.

[MinivanMom]

I've seen some pretty obnoxious and disruptive behavior from teens in hotels, so I can understand why they would have a rule like that. They have to look out for the comfort of all the hotel guests. 

 

Unless you actually live in a hotel full-time, I don't think stricter supervision in that one setting is going to prevent kids from growing up.

[JumpyTheFrog]

Unless you actually live in a hotel full-time, I don't think stricter supervision in that one setting is going to prevent kids from growing up.

I agree. However it seems that more and more places have rules or laws like these now. At some point it does/will impede the ability of kids to grow up.

[bettyandbob]

Well it would be sort of annoying when applied to my own family. However, having stayed in hotels at the same location as a sports tournament or overnight field or even other families on vacation, I understand the rule. Not all children or even teens can be sent to get ice and come back to the room without disruption or detours.

[raptor_dad]

Don't know about wider MN but here are curfew laws for Hennepin Countyhttp://www.hennepinattorney.org/prevention/students-youth/curfew

 

 

 

There are exceptions for employment, school, religious observances, sponsored recreational activities, emergencies, errands at the direction of a parent or guardian and engaging in activities protected by the First Amendment. The law applies if the child is any public place after these hours including walking, biking, and driving a vehicle.

 

The errands at the direction of the parent exemption would cover most of your cases. The hotel can have whatever unreasonable rules they want but it is not a matter of the law.

[AK_Mom4]

As a business traveler, I enthusiastically welcome this rule. If I was traveling with DD15, I would respect it and accompany her to the ice machine.

 

Too many times I have been woken up at night by loud teens in the hallways of the hotel. I'm sure they don't mean to be obnoxious, but they just don't think about the fact someone is sleeping on the other side of those doors. Or finding the fitness center crawling with unattended children playing on the equipment. Or handling the food on the morning buffet. I could go on and on... But I won't.

 

I think it does no harm to have kids stay with their parents and it might do some good.

[Guest]

Lots of hotels have these rules because of liability. It's not just families that stay in hotels. Ebtire debate teams or sports teams or multiple teams end up in hotels. They can be REALLLLLY LOUD.

[rdj2027]

We spend a lot of time in hotels and frankly I have seen far more unruly and inconsiderate adults than teens.  Then again, if the hotel is such a dangerous place that my 15 year old cannot go to the restroom by himself, I may just stay elsewhere the next time.

[Farrar]

If there's a problem with the behavior, make a rule about that. There's no reason a teen shouldn't be able to go out to the car and back to the room to get something or down to the ice machine or something. Absurd.

 

On the other hand, let's be real. I seriously doubt they enforce this rule. The annoying part for me as the parent would be keeping my rule follower, anxiety boy from seeing it. Because then he'd basically spend the entire time at the hotel afraid for his life. "What if I get in trouble for looking out the window and they can't see you!" "What if I stand on the balcony alone? They might arrest me!"

[Tap]

Their property, their rules. I don't see a problem.

 

There are lots of mature teens who would be respectful of others sleeping around them....there are also lots of Immature ones that would go running through the halls, talking loud and causing problems.  

 

I don't think that setting this rule will greatly impact anyone's ability to grow up into a mature adult.  Unless you live in a hotel, this will only impact a teenager a few days/weeks a year, if even that. If this is a tipping point in one maturing into an adult, I would think there are bigger problems at play.

 

If you know your child is mature and can handle themselves, then I wouldn't worry about sending my 15yo to get ice down the hall.  Its not like there is a hall monitor there checking IDs. 

 

 

My guess is that this is the rule for a couple of potential reasons.  

1. They gets lots of school/team groups and it is easier to enforce this rule as a 'hotel rule' than leaving it up to a coach and parents to keep the kids under control when the kids decide to go wander on their own.  FWIW I have seen some pretty rude teen group behavior at continental breakfasts over the years, when they swarm in an the other hotel patrons are pushed out of the way. Some parents/coaches don't monitor all that well.

 

2. The hotel isn't as safe as it seems.

 

3. Repeated problems in the past with teens. Especially when adults like to get one room for themselves and one for the teens...and the teens decide to go wander after the parents go to bed. It is easier for a hotel to shoo a teenager back to their room, if it is a hotel rule.  

 

 

Edited March 17, 2016 by Tap

[clementine]

I agree. However it seems that more and more places have rules or laws like these now. At some point it does/will impede the ability of kids to grow up.

 

Unless a family lives in a hotel, having to be accompanied by an adult while staying in one should not impede any growth.  

 

In shopping malls we have curfews after a certain time in the evening - the curfew was put in place because of behavior issues of groups of teens.  They can shop all day up until that point - I don't see a problem with that either.  

[Farrar]

I know I'll get flamed for this, but I hate the "they can have whatever rules they want" mindset, in part because this sort of policy bugs me but also because I don't think people really think that's true. What if it was elderly people? What if it was women? What if it was one race of people or one religion? It's discrimination. The fact that it's against kids is the only thing that makes it okay in many minds. But it's not really okay with me because kids are people too. Make a rule about the behavior you want and enforce that. Don't make a rule against a whole group of people.

[Alessandra]

I am surprised. Many, if not most, chess tournaments are held in hotels. No one expects parents to stay with teenage kids. Maybe chess kids are different? In one large tournament, of about 1,200 registrants, about half are kids, mainly boys. I have never seen anything even approaching bad behavior.

 

My Ds age 15 eats with friends his age in the hotel restaurant, orders food and non alcoholic drinks from the bar (but does not sit at actual bar).

[Joker]

I'm surprised by the rule only because my dds have gone on overnight school trips, some for several days, and they have shared rooms with other students. They go to vending machines, ice machines, and pretty much all over the hotel alone or with other teens. They were all of 13/14 actually and managed just fine.

[Haiku]

I travel a lot with my son's hockey team. I think that's a great rule. They are nice, boisterous boys who don't know how loud they can get.

[goldberry]

I'm not surprised because of all the problems with loud people, but agree adults are just as bad.  Just last weekend, apparently someone decided at 2 am that they didn't want to take a cell phone call in their room and went out into the hallway, talking at full loudness right outside our door. At  2 am.  This was a grown man.

 

Regretfully, rudeness has no age limits.

[FaithManor]

My guess is the hotel has suffered some really bad behavior in the past and decided it was easier to have a rule like this than deal with the behavior on an individual basis.

 

My ideal would be to deal with it as it happens and not punish everyone else who has well mannered kids. I recognize their right as private business owners to have such a rule, but I also have a right to choose where to spend my money so I might be inclined to inform corporate that I will be staying elsewhere in the future since my 4-H volunteer, teen mentor teen is treated with the same disdain as an unruly one. I think that is what works best. Recognize the business's right to do what it wants, customers exercise their right to vote with their feet.

 

Yes, I also have to admit that I've been in a hotel in which I would like to have dressed down a couple of teens and their "chaperones" due to insane, unacceptable, crazy hallway behavior. (Chaperones went out to dinner and left all of the eighth graders unattended...8th grade DC trip which many tour guides have horror stories to tell about.) So I've been on the other end as well. I just think that it is getting old the constant punishing of decent kids for the actions of the few ridiculous ones.

 

I get it though...seriously, my mind has gone to some weird places while standing in the Smithsonian Air and Space in May with the mind boggling number of 8th graders there and teachers and chaperones sitting in the McDonalds NOT dealing with their charges. GRRRRR....

[linders]

Having stayed in hotels several times the last few years when the barely-chaperoned basketball/volleyball/soccer kids were running up and down halls, slamming doors, and KEEPING ME AWAKE at 2 in the morning, I can understand the rule. In an ideal world, the hotel would have noise rules and enforce them. In reality, I have gone to chaperones to complain and they have shrugged it off. "They're kids, what can I do?" So until the hotel has recourse to a responsible adult who will act on complaints, they have to have these global rules.

[zoobie]

I know I'll get flamed for this, but I hate the "they can have whatever rules they want" mindset, in part because this sort of policy bugs me but also because I don't think people really think that's true. What if it was elderly people? What if it was women? What if it was one race of people or one religion? It's discrimination. The fact that it's against kids is the only thing that makes it okay in many minds. But it's not really okay with me because kids are people too. Make a rule about the behavior you want and enforce that. Don't make a rule against a whole group of people.

Minimum age requirements are legal and incredibly common. Businesses should be able to draw a line somewhere. Ejecting a minor who isn't following the rules is different than ejecting an adult. If the business has to assume some duty of care to the minor, they should be able to minimize their risk by instituting rules. Pregnant women and the elderly are protected classes.

[Haiku]

My ideal would be to deal with it as it happens and not punish everyone else who has well mannered kids.

If you wait until the behavior happens to address if, it's already infringed on other people. Best to be pro-active, imo. The main hotel that we stay at when we travel for hockey (son's team plays in a league in a different state) has all teams of any sort that stay there sign a behavioral contract. Parents know that if their kids break it, they will be told to leave. You can bet that parents keep a better eye on their kids. When we stay in other hotels, the kids on other teams can be super loud and disrespectful. (Our boys can be loud, too. It's not just those evil other teams.)

[JumpyTheFrog]

How are kids supposed to grow up when our society keeps adding more and more restrictions?

I don't mean that hotel rules alone will cause the above. But combined with the following actual company policies or state/local law and proposed bills, kids are getting more and more restricted:

 

-must be 14 to stay home alone in one state

-can't get off the school bus without an adult waiting for you if under 7th grade

-must be with an adult at all times in the mall (I think this is in effect somewhere)

-must be 16 to travel alone on a plane (previous airline policy was 12) without paying extra for supervision

-increased number of businesses won't hire anyone under 18

[Haiku]

-increased number of businesses won't hire anyone under 18

This has to do with increased competition for jobs. Why hire younger teens if you have more adults applying than you can actually hire?

[Joker]

I don't mean that hotel rules alone will cause the above. But combined with the following actual company policies or state/local law and proposed bills, kids are getting more and more restricted:

 

-must be 14 to stay home alone in one state

-can't get off the school bus without an adult waiting for you if under 7th grade

-must be with an adult at all times in the mall (I think this is in effect somewhere)

-must be 16 to travel alone on a plane (previous airline policy was 12) without paying extra for supervision

-increased number of businesses won't hire anyone under 18

 

These things definitely aren't the norm everywhere. I just flew in one of dd's friends and they were able to travel at 15 without supervision. Southwest's website says those 12 and up can travel without supervision. 

 

I've never heard of a place that requires an adult for getting of a bus after K or 1st grade. Where is for under 7th?

 

We know many 14-16 year olds that have jobs. Our fast food restaurants and grocery stores are full of teens. 

 

I hear of some states having strict rules but I don't think it's the norm. 

[Reverie]

I agree with the hotel, for safety reasons. I'd be worried about the chance of a pedophile pulling a child into their room to assault them. It was my first thought, most likely because a child predator in my state will be living in undisclosed hotels because there is so much controversy regarding which neighborhood to release him to.

[brehon]

I was recently at a medical conference and my colleagues and I stayed in a very nice hotel. Unfortunately, the national cheerleading championships were also being held in another part of the hotel/conference center and most of the cheerleaders, parents, and families also stayed at that hotel. Oh, my!! The teens were so incredibly loud at all hours. I'm sure they were nice kids; they simply couldn't conceive that other people were not interested in their music and conversations. They apparently didn't even stop to think that other people at the hotel were sleeping and running and shouting up and down the hall at 2 a.m. was probably not a great idea.

 

Faith, in general I agree with you about not punishing the many for the actions of the few. However, in my experiences staying in hotels, groups of kids are generally louder and much more boisterous than any individual kid. The hotel has to balance the needs of all its guests and having global rules like no unaccompanied minors (which more than likely are the result of many instances of guests complaining about said teens) is the easiest way from them to do that.

[HRAAB]

It would bother me, but at the same time, I understand.  I have stayed in hotels where there were kids running up and down the halls, talking loudly, and disturbing the guests after 10:00 PM.  One time I complained since we needed to be up early the next morning.  I don't appreciate paying $150 a night or more just to be kept awake.  Just because I wouldn't allow my kids to behave like that, doesn't mean everyone does likewise.  So, more rules.

[Ellie]

I agree. However it seems that more and more places have rules or laws like these now. At some point it does/will impede the ability of kids to grow up.

 

I don't think we can equate the rule of one hotel to the demise of children growing up.

 

ITA with the rule.

[SereneHome]

I agree. However it seems that more and more places have rules or laws like these now. At some point it does/will impede the ability of kids to grow up.

 

I think it's bc more and more we see children's irresponsible behaviour being excused by parents and others.

[SKL]

It's sad, but I'm guessing the rule was the result of some youngsters doing mischief and ruining it for everyone else.

[SereneHome]

I don't mean that hotel rules alone will cause the above. But combined with the following actual company policies or state/local law and proposed bills, kids are getting more and more restricted:

 

-must be 14 to stay home alone in one state

-can't get off the school bus without an adult waiting for you if under 7th grade

-must be with an adult at all times in the mall (I think this is in effect somewhere)

-must be 16 to travel alone on a plane (previous airline policy was 12) without paying extra for supervision

-increased number of businesses won't hire anyone under 18

 

I can't speak of the first one, but when I read the other examples, "liability" comes to mind.  Technically, minors can not be hold legally liable for many things, so if the parent no where around and something happens, it becomes harder for a business, etc to protect themselves.

 

May be I am completely wrong, and just need to stop watching Judge Judy

[Mergath]

I live in MN, and I've never heard anything about a statewide curfew. I expect someone would have mentioned it at some point.

[Danestress]

I would add the following rules:

 

No more than two women can meet up for a drink in the bar or by the pool. Groups of women have no idea how loud they are!

 

No checking out before 9:00 because people are loud as they leave.

 

Shut the ice Machine down between 9:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m.

 

No mowing or blowing leaves ever.

 

Finally, for reasons I have never understood, some parents speak unnecessarily loudly to young children. So be with your kids at all times, but use inside voices of pantomime.

[Tsuga]

We stayed in a hotel Saturday night. When I checked in the receptionist told me that kids under 16 were not allowed to go *anywhere* in the hotel without an adult. So this wasn't just a rule for the pool or fitness room.

 

DH and I thought this was overkill. They really think a 15 year old shouldn't be allowed to go to the ice machine alone? When I mentioned to a few other families at an event the next day they all thought it was great the hotel had that rule! One mom mentioned some supposed statewide curfew in Minnesota for those under 18. (I haven't looked to see if it's true.) I asked about if a teen needed to get something at the grocery store. She, obviously liking the law, didn't see any reason for anyone under 18 to ever need to go to the store alone after 10 pm.

 

How are kids supposed to grow up when our society keeps adding more and more restrictions?

 

Probably they had a bad experience. Wouldn't stay there again, but I don't think they're over-anything. It's their property, their experiences, their rules.

[Tsuga]

I know I'll get flamed for this, but I hate the "they can have whatever rules they want" mindset, in part because this sort of policy bugs me but also because I don't think people really think that's true. What if it was elderly people? What if it was women? What if it was one race of people or one religion? It's discrimination. The fact that it's against kids is the only thing that makes it okay in many minds. But it's not really okay with me because kids are people too. Make a rule about the behavior you want and enforce that. Don't make a rule against a whole group of people.

 

Children are not a protected class. Religious, ethnic minorities, the disabled and the elderly are.

[Annie G]

It wouldn't bother me if it was just an overnight stay on the way to somewhere, but it would bug me if the hotel was our base for a vacation. When our kids were teens we did lots of trips where we'd spend several days at a hotel and the teens would go off on their own for part of the day. So it wasn't uncommon for them to go grab breakfast in the hotel then head out to explore the city.  They sometimes came back before we did- dropping off items, picking up a jacket, or just to hang out until we returned. New Orleans, Chicago, Asheville, New York, St Louis...it's just how we traveled.  So it would annoy me to have to be there to escort them from the room to the breakfast area or to the door.   I would not have balked if one of my teens had misbehaved and the staff said they could no longer be unsupervised. But I'd rather not have that as a default rule. 

 

I can understand why some hotels have that rule- I've stayed in enough hotels where there were traveling sports teams with not quite enough adults to supervise the kids.  Then again, I've been annoyed more often by intoxicated adults than I have been bothered by rowdy kids. 

[Joker]

I would add the following rules:

 

No more than two women can meet up for a drink in the bar or by the pool. Groups of women have no idea how loud they are!

 

No checking out before 9:00 because people are loud as they leave.

 

Shut the ice Machine down between 9:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m.

 

No mowing or blowing leaves ever.

 

Finally, for reasons I have never understood, some parents speak unnecessarily loudly to young children. So be with your kids at all times, but use inside voices of pantomime.

 

 

You forgot adding rules about check in times. People are also loud as they arrive. I cannot count the number of times my sleep has been disrupted due to someone checking in after I have gone to sleep. So, maybe no leaving hotel rooms/checking out before 9am and no arriving at hotel rooms/checking in after 9pm. 

 

They should also really work on curbing nearby businesses. It's annoying to stay somewhere and have your sleep disrupted by music and noise. Which leads me to also say they should curb the noise at hotels that are near airports. That's truly horrible and disruptive. Maybe we should have tougher restrictions on when airlines can fly in and out due to nearby hotels. 

 

Honestly, I can count several times we have left a hotel or complained to management and it was almost always other adults. I can think of only one time in my entire life it was due to teens or children. When I stay at a hotel, no matter how nice or expensive, I expect some noise. 

Edited March 17, 2016 by Joker

[SparklyUnicorn]

It's a bit much, but they have to come up with a cut off I guess. 

 

 

[Carrie12345]

I know I'll get flamed for this, but I hate the "they can have whatever rules they want" mindset, in part because this sort of policy bugs me but also because I don't think people really think that's true. What if it was elderly people? What if it was women? What if it was one race of people or one religion? It's discrimination. The fact that it's against kids is the only thing that makes it okay in many minds. But it's not really okay with me because kids are people too. Make a rule about the behavior you want and enforce that. Don't make a rule against a whole group of people.

 

I hear you, but I do consider this a completely different category.

Lots of places have age limits.  Taverns, campgrounds, libraries...

My library's rules are no kids under 8 without a supervisor over 13.  It sucked when I had a 7yo and 12yo and my other kids needed help, but it was what it was.  (They also had a rule about childless adults in the children's room.  An excellent age-based example, if you ask me!)

[Lanny]

Two different issues. One is the hotel policy. The other apparently is a Curfew, which is a State Law in Minnesota.  I would not think that a Minor should need to go to a store after 10 P.M.   Where I lived in Texas, on the local TV news, it started with, "It's 10 P.M., do you know where your children are?"  

[creekland]

We travel all the time and a rule like that wouldn't bother me at all.

 

Of course, we also don't follow rules we don't agree with, so it also wouldn't have stopped us from sending one or two of our boys for ice...

 

BUT, we also brought our boys up knowing how to travel and be respectful.  If they weren't, they had us to answer to and we wouldn't be terribly nice about it since they knew better.  There was one incident at a campground when they were young... making our kids go to the folks they'd upset and apologize in person cemented their ability to be considerate of others even when on a playground.

 

I suspect the hotel has the rule to help enforce against loud/unruly teens/kids left unsupervised.  I doubt they'd bat an eye about a quiet 14 year old getting ice.

 

We actively try to avoid hotels or campgrounds with teen groups staying at them.  Teens/kids in groups are a totally different creature than most single teens.

[DawnM]

Well.......

 

I may have created that rule.

 

We stayed in a hotel once (a Marriott) where an entire Jr. High hockey team was staying.  The chaperones stayed directly above us.  They were drinking, HEAVILY.  They had their sliding balcony door opening and shutting, opening and shutting.  They were sitting out on the balcony talking loudly, laughing, swearing.

 

The children were running the halls at 2am yelling, running, carrying on.  They went to the hot tub outside of our room and were yelling and laughing.  There were about 60 of them.....yup, you read that right.

 

I called the front desk and demanded to have my room moved at around 3am.  Apparently I wasn't the only one, several other families around them asked to be moved.

 

 

[Valley Girl]

 

 

I suspect the hotel has the rule to help enforce against loud/unruly teens/kids left unsupervised.  I doubt they'd bat an eye about a quiet 14 year old getting ice.

 

 

 

I would think that's the case, too. Having the rule might prevent some adults (parents or chaperones) from letting multiple kids roam together in the first place. Then, if a problem arises, the hotel has an actual policy it can point to should the adults in charge fluff off the complaint with a kids-will-be-kids response.

[skimomma]

I hate rules like this but can totally understand why they are made.

 

My dd's sports' team stayed at a hotel a couple of years ago that happened to also be occupied by a large hockey team.  We had to be up very early in the morning for competition.  The hockey "chaperones" were up drinking and loudly partying all night.  The teen boys were loudly running the halls.  At 2am, we called the front desk.  They said they would take care of it.  At 3am, the noise was even worse.  Dh went into the hallway to find the boys had taken all moveable furniture out of their rooms and were throwing mattresses down the stairwells!  Dh went to the front desk to ask why it was not being "taken care of."  The poor woman at the desk said she was there alone and couldn't do anything.  Dh tracked down the adults in charge, who were wasted.  The "spokesperson" for the group, who was at least twice dh's size, told dh to "make him" do something about the situation.  Dh finally begged the boys themselves to just stop, which did work.  

 

Mere hours later when we were checking out, I demanded our money back since we were not able to sleep more than an hour or two.  The hallway walls were wrecked.  There was food smeared on everything.  Soda was even sprayed on the ceiling.  They would not refund our money.  I was livid (and exhausted).  I appealed all the way up the chain of command of the hotel and got nowhere.  All I got was "boys will be boys" and "we have to defer to the adults in charge of the teams in these situations."  I did not fail to mention that we were also there with a team of kids that were all under control at all times.  I will never stay at the hotel chain again.

 

I am now 100% in favor of such rules although I doubt it would have made any difference in our situation.  How they could only have one employee on staff overnight who was too chicken to call for back-up OR the cops, I will never understand.

[JumpyTheFrog]

The only time we stayed in a hotel with loud kids, it was also a hockey team. The parents were drinking hard liquor in the lobby.

[kewb]

I would find it annoying simply because my teen is capable of getting ice unescorted.  I would follow the rule because it seems that the hotel has had an issue in the past and is using a balnket policy to solve the problem.  I would explain to my teen that even though we may not agree with the rule we will follow it while we are staying in the hotel.

 

 

[sassenach]

If there's a problem with the behavior, make a rule about that. There's no reason a teen shouldn't be able to go out to the car and back to the room to get something or down to the ice machine or something. Absurd.

 

On the other hand, let's be real. I seriously doubt they enforce this rule. The annoying part for me as the parent would be keeping my rule follower, anxiety boy from seeing it. Because then he'd basically spend the entire time at the hotel afraid for his life. "What if I get in trouble for looking out the window and they can't see you!" "What if I stand on the balcony alone? They might arrest me!"

This is a window into my teenage self. The first thing I thought was there's no way for them to enforce that rule. Therefore, I would have paid no attention to it. Though if I had a group of teens, I would totally site the rule to keep them in check. But just for my own family? Nope.

 

And that, folks, is how I became a teenage mother. Haha

[Bluegoat]

I think it's silly. If the hotel cannot enforce its noise policy I doubt they can enforce all kids staying in the rooms. If it were younger kids only I could maybe see it but teens makes no sense.

[Mergath]

I hate rules like this but can totally understand why they are made.

 

My dd's sports' team stayed at a hotel a couple of years ago that happened to also be occupied by a large hockey team.  We had to be up very early in the morning for competition.  The hockey "chaperones" were up drinking and loudly partying all night.  The teen boys were loudly running the halls.  At 2am, we called the front desk.  They said they would take care of it.  At 3am, the noise was even worse.  Dh went into the hallway to find the boys had taken all moveable furniture out of their rooms and were throwing mattresses down the stairwells!  Dh went to the front desk to ask why it was not being "taken care of."  The poor woman at the desk said she was there alone and couldn't do anything.  Dh tracked down the adults in charge, who were wasted.  The "spokesperson" for the group, who was at least twice dh's size, told dh to "make him" do something about the situation.  Dh finally begged the boys themselves to just stop, which did work.  

 

Mere hours later when we were checking out, I demanded our money back since we were not able to sleep more than an hour or two.  The hallway walls were wrecked.  There was food smeared on everything.  Soda was even sprayed on the ceiling.  They would not refund our money.  I was livid (and exhausted).  I appealed all the way up the chain of command of the hotel and got nowhere.  All I got was "boys will be boys" and "we have to defer to the adults in charge of the teams in these situations."  I did not fail to mention that we were also there with a team of kids that were all under control at all times.  I will never stay at the hotel chain again.

 

I am now 100% in favor of such rules although I doubt it would have made any difference in our situation.  How they could only have one employee on staff overnight who was too chicken to call for back-up OR the cops, I will never understand.

 

Wow. I probably would have just called the police myself. Noisy kids are one thing, but what you had to go through is completely insane.