Age Limit in Dorms?

I have mixed feelings about this rule. I just turned 40 and have no plans to stop travelling and staying in hostels, but at the same time there are some older travellers that are a bit creepy.

Happy birthday, Tim! :)

Indeed, some older travelers are creepy, and comparing to those few older who travels this ratio is higher but I wouldn't generalize that for banning all elder generation because of those few. It's always good to chat with some older backpackers because they've got much more experience about backpacking and have lots of stories to tell.

I just turned 30 and I already don't understand the mentality of recent 18ys old ones... So IMHO generation problems will always exist. Most of the elder don't understand computers. I doubt we will understand the technology or the people 30 years later...

There are certain people I wouldn't let in to the hostel regardless their age. If you can't filter them out at the front desk, you can always tell them to leave if they mess up, either politely (sorry, we are booked out) or honestly...
You can make some house rules and refer to that.

It sort of makes sense though, although it would be better if you kept one small dorm for older travellers and only checked younger travellers into that room when the hostel was really full or had some rule such as not checking older travellers into a mixed room or a room with travellers aged 25 or younger.

That's a good idea...

I'm not sure if it would be legal in the US, but I guess that age discrimination is not such an issue in a country where under-21s aren't allowed to buy beer.

There's a huge difference: underage drinking is illegal, it's in the law, age limit in hostels isn't.

You can refer to your Terms and Conditions though, similar to out of state IDs...

Yep, I agree, it is sort of weird to have a rule like that because it's like generalizing, but generalizing (paradox) older backpackers tend to be quite creepy.

I remember this dude from Poland, sleeping in a mix dorm, totally naked. At that time i was doing the night shift and i remembered this chick shocked about the old men being nude. We had to wake him up and tell him that He was making other people in the room rather uncomfortable.

Sometimes you would think it is common sense not to sleep fully naked in a mix dorm, but some people don't get it hehehehe

I remember this dude from Poland, sleeping in a mix dorm, totally naked.

Wow! I am speechless!

A separate dorm for older guests sounds like a great idea to me. I have met plenty of friendly older guests, but invariably they snore like a chain saw.

Chris

I've heard a few horror stories from other young travelers about having to share a dorm room with older guests for a variety of reasons. What is your take on this? Anyone else have this rule? Would it even be legal here in the US?

It sort of makes sense though, although it would be better if you kept one small dorm for older travellers and only checked younger travellers into that room when the hostel was really full or had some rule such as not checking older travellers into a mixed room or a room with travellers aged 25 or younger.

At one hostel in the US we had a couple of rooms unofficially designated like that. One was an all-male dorm, and one was all-female. They were for older travelers, people who wanted all-male dorms (e.g., religious reasons), unusual characters, etc. It worked out well, and there wasn't any need to worry about legality. There wasn't anything written down that rooms were assigned by age (it was just a guideline), and everyone was happier that way anyway.