An increasing number of hotels are saying "Sorry, but kids aren't allowed"

While some hotels scramble to add amenities that might attract additional guests (oh hey, Vitamin C-infused showers), others are removing things in an attempt to become more appealing. You know, like getting rid of all of the children. An increasing number of hotels in Germany, Spain and elsewhere in Europe have gone child-free, banning those under the ages of 14, 16 or even 21. Germans in particular are intolerant of teens, tweens and those too young to be categorized as either one.

"I feel annoyed by the mere presence of children," one 33-year-old German woman told the Wall Street Journal. And in response to such attitudes, hotels in the country have started to cater to that kind of sentiment, as has TUI AG, the world's largest travel and tourism group. It currently operates more than 250 adults-only hotel properties and is so committed to the idea that the word "adults" appears eight times on its homepage. Meanwhile, the Journal reports that its British competitor Thomas Cook has responded by opening almost 200 child-free hotels.

Berlin-based Sociology professor Hans-Peter Müller said:

"Children have become very rare in Germany and because of that adults can show a particularly allergic reaction to them when they present a disturbance. Germans can be incredibly German about this."

So can the British. Warner Leisure Hotels, which has nine properties in England and Wales, bans guests under the age of 21 — and has for more than 20 years. It has also been rated as the best hotel chain in Great Britain, which may or may not be a coincidence.

There are very few adults-only hotels in the United States (the majority of them are spas in California) and no domestic hotel chain has placed an all-out ban on children — because imagine the lawsuits if they did. But, even if no-kids options were more widespread, would business travelers want them? Or should they? The Economist argues that no, we should appreciate every screaming toddler and every sticky breakfast table, writing:

"Families bring benefits to hoteliers and to other guests. Squeezing a few extra beds into the same floorspace creates a family room for which hotels charge a premium [...] Equally families spend more time in hotels, eating overpriced meals and using other services, effectively subsidizing business travelers—allowing them to frequent posher hotels and make their per diems go further."

But the Economist also says that kids tend to congregate in pools and near other amenities where business travelers probably shouldn't be spending their own daylight hours. And it seems like we still have plenty of options that, if they aren't exactly child-free, they're less friendly to children or less appealing to parents. I'd say problem solved, but if you make your travel arrangements accordingly, there might not be much of a problem in the first place.