What would you have done?

Asked for a beer. If the beer was not given I'd up the ante to "give me pot or I'm telling".

Kiddin' I'd have told them not to drive or I'd call the cops, as long as they didn't drive I'd not have any qualm.

Sorry, Craven. I have to disagree.

I wish you could have seen the young man that I did ~ he was in no condition to drive and yet his 'friend' was telling him that he could shake it off.

When the police finally entered the room, they found a 17 year old passed out on one of the beds. All he could mutter out was his phone number.

The same phone number of the woman who registered for the room.

You disagree with my take on what I'd have done?

Kiddin' I get your point. Ahh the good old days of passing out from alcohol.

I've been through it, Rae, from every possible direction you can imagine. Our motel had acquired the reputation of being THE party place in town. With me as new night auditor and a new GM, we determined to straighten the place out. And slowly (very slowly) we succeeded. Regardless of ethics, moral outlook, or whatever, you have to protect the reputation of the hotel, or the outrageous becomes commonplace quicker than you would ever believe.

The police have probably done nothing, by the way. Here, if an officer arrests a minor, they have to stay with him/her until a parent or other legal guardian arrives. This can take all night, and extend past the shift. As a result, they usually turn them loose without charges, unless there is something really extreme going on.

Am I right to assume that in that business it's safe to crack down on juvenile clientele? What with the young people's buying power and all.

The juvenile clintel is not precisely what you want in the motel business, Craven - buying power or not.

There are legal issues as well right? One of the only laws that is perfectly enforced in Brazil is keeping juveniles out of motels. Of course there motels only charge by the hour and the motel would be held responsible for juvenile pregnacy but I'm sure some law exists in the US.

I'm not sure of the criminal law aspects, but so far as civil law goes, a minor cannot form a binding contract. It is really difficult to hold a minor responsible for damages.

In an extreme case, there was a bad party in one of our big jacuzzi suites. Actually, it involved 2 suites, as we later discovered. They made a hole in the wall and occupied two suites. Damages exceeded $5,000.00, and that does not include lost revenue for six weeks. Their business just isn't worth the potential property damage and loss of reputation.

Depending on your location and type of business, you want business people, because they are often repeat customers. After that, travelers are good. They occupy the room, leave it in good condition, and move on. The very best in the motel I worked for were truckers. They came in late and left early, and all they wanted was a hot shower, a quiet room, and a reliable wake up call. Locals are not a good bet; local juveniles are the worst.

Hmm, I hadn't thought of that angle.

I wonder if it would be legal for you to shoot the vandals as hey were breaking into the second room, I wonder if that's tresspassing.

I went on a business trip here a few weeks ago and each hotel I stayed in had me sign a "Party Policy" sheet when I signed for my room. From the hotel's side there are a few issues. One is underage people under the influence with no adults around. Another is damage to the rooms that hapopens when you have 20 people in a room designed for 4. The other is that when parents find out what their kids have been up to they turn around and sue the hotel for allowing it to happen.

Had I been working the desk I'd have turned them in too. If it was 3 kids in the room and they were quiet and not disturbing anyone it might be another story.

With people carrying weapons on their person, these days, I'm afraid that I'd mind my own business and be on my way.

Rae, I would say that taking up your son's concerns and calling the cops was the way to go. You have to protect your own situation.
If you ignore the kind of trouble you've just experienced, you open the way for yet more. The hotel becomes a target and gets a bad name with the public and the cops will watching very closely

Kids will drink and use drugs and get overtaken by them. If they
can't learn their lesson from their own mistakes then they need to be taught the hard way.

In the UK the legal drinking age is 18. The owners of pubs, bars and other licenced drinking places are required by law to run a well ordered place. If they have people who are drunk and potential trouble makers they will refuse to serve them and throw then out.
Or call the cops if things are getting out of hand. If there is persistent trouble, complaints from nearby residents, the pub/bar owner can have his licence refused at the annual review. If the drunk trouble is continuous, then the pub can be closed down and the licence revoked immediately. Everyone becomes a loser.
The drink drive laws here are also very strict and the cops will nail anyone they catch who has crossed the line.

Follow your instincts Rae and do what you think/know is right.

Rae, and all.

First let me say, Rae, that you did exactly what you should have done. When one is in the business of management, the head must rule the heart. I often had the same situations when I taught. No one wants to hurt a young person, or cause them trouble, but I think your son gave you really good advice from the perspective of one who is a member of that peer group. I think he should be congratulated on being so objective.Obviously, the step mother made a poor decision in renting the room in her name. Sounds as though she was trying to be one of the boys, so to speak.

I do hope things can be resolved without a lot of litigation, however.

Rae- IMO you did EXACTLY the right thing.

You protected your business.

You protected the young people.

You probably made a number of "points" with #1 son.

Sounds like a win-win situation to me, girl!

I agree. I really think it was important from a parenting perspective -- what if you had done nothing? That would have said a number of things you probably wouldn't have wanted to say, from "I don't respect your opinion" to "it's fine to go ahead and party that hard, you won't face any consequences."

I agree from a business perspective, too, but that's the first thing I thought of when I read your post.

Thanks for all the responses.

From what I understand, the stepmother of the passed out seventeen year old never came to collect him.

yeah. Stereotype of the wicked step-mother. grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

The Witless Stepmother is very lucky that she hasn't met the District Attorney of Allentown, PA.

Appeals are pending, but the case happened nearly a year ago so I've forgotten some of the details.

Two girls, 15 and 17 were told by their friends it was their turn to hold a kegger. Their mother gave them permission for a party. She either did or did not know alcohol was being served.

Legal driving age in PA is 16. Legal voting age is 18. Legal drinking age is 21.

The party became very rowdy and neighbors called the police.

Drunk as skunks a group of five teenagers 17, 18, 18, 18 and 19 jumped into the 19 year olds car and sped off into the night along winding back roads. Down the road the sideswiped another car. A second car barely averted an accident. Finally the 18-year-old driver lost control of his vehicle.

None of the kids were wearing seat belts. Five of the four were killed and the fifth, 17 years old, will always walk with a limp.

The unknowing mother of the "hostesses" was charged with manslaughter and accessory to homicide. She is appealing a 7-10 year jail sentence.

Keep in mind, the four dead kids were legal adults. No one forced them into the car--or forced them to speed.

Perhaps had the neighbors been fed up earlier and called earlier....but this sad incident is certainly not the fault of the neighbors.

Now the parents of the four dead kids and the survivor are talking about filing civil suits against the mother of the hostesses.

Rae, you took responsibility and may have prevented several deaths. I'm on your side.

Hold your dominion.

What a sad story, Noddy.