Laws vary by state, as does the degree of hospitality.
If you're headed over the river and through the woods to grandmother's house for a holiday celebration, you can be fairly sure your children will be welcome. You can be almost as confident if you're headed through the woods to a major chain hotel. In Nevada, Hawaii and Maryland, for instance, industry officials say state laws give hoteliers leeway to exclude children as long as they enforce their restrictions consistently. If you need this information, you may be able to find it by trolling the Internet or by checking with state government agencies or a statewide lodging trade group. Most hotels, of course, welcome guests with children.