I tried to find a place in the Panhandle for myself, DD and four of her friends last summer. I had a lot of trouble finding anywhere that would le me (I'm 46) have a room with 4 teenagers in tow. The only way I could stay at most of the places in Panama City, Destin or Ft. Walton beach would be if the teens were all my own kids. We ended up a place called Landmark in Panama City and it would only let them stay if I was also there, no unchaperoned groups of teens allowed. This summer DD and friends wanted a stopover in Destin on the way home from WDW and the only place that would give them a room was an icky Motel 6 located behind an "adult" movie store across the road from the beach. I don't know how hard they looked for a room before they chose this one though.
Good luck!