It’s been 15 years since I last visited Europe, and that was France and Italy. Do English hotels take your passport as do continental hotels? Or maybe that’s not a thing anymore? What about the room keys? I vaguely remember having to leave our key at the front desk whenever we went out for the day. Just trying to get an idea of what to expect.
Thanks!
I do not think there is any standard.
For the passport, they will certainly want to see it during registration, but I do not recall anyplace wanting to hold it. Yes, years ago I recall places holding it as sort of collateral, but not recently.
Room keys vary. If in a small place with no 24 hour desk and you might need to let yourself in, then you have to keep the key. Larger , modern places with the plastic cards, you keep the key. In between, I would just ask the first time you go out.
Keys vary tremendously. Older places often still want to hold the key when you're not in the room. Newer places use electronic key cards of one kind or another, and you keep these with you. If you're not sure, just ask; some hotels are more concerned than others (I've had places very upset if I was going to take the key out, while others said it was my choice).
As for passports, hotels all over don't hold them any more. If they need to see them, they either copy the information and hand it back, or make a copy on their printer-scanner-copier and hand it back.
In all the hotels I've stayed in, all have electronic keys which I could keep. As for passports, I've only had to show them at registration so they can write down the information.
We haven’t been asked to see our passports on our last couple of trips. As for keys it all depends on the hotel.
In all the hotels I've stayed in, all have electronic keys which I
could keep. As for passports, I've only had to show them at
registration so they can write down the information.
All the hotels where I've stayed in the UK - chains and small independent places - had electronic room key cards. I had to carry them with me because I needed them to enter the hotel, either all the time or just at night, depending on the hotel. I think that a tiny B&B where I stayed in Penzance and another place (The Bar Convent in York) may have issued me a conventional room key. But I don't remember any place where I've stayed in the UK asking me to leave my room key at the desk, and none of them kept my passport.
Admittedly, most of my experience is with chains as I tend to prefer them over local charm that I may or may not like. It has always been key cards just like the United States. Most of the places have the ability to do the check in online where they will ask for your passport number. It's pretty rare that they even ask to see it. much less want to hold onto it.
I’m currently on Rick’s Southern England tour. We are in the 5th hotel and I’ve had 2 electronic cards and 3 regular turn-in-the-key keys. Generally the key places have had such big fobs you don’t want to carry them around any way.
We stayed at a small, independent place in London earlier this year. They did request to see our passports, but they were returned before we left the check out desk.
We also had key cards at this place which also worked the outer door if you returned too late to the hotel as reception was up on the second floor.
Although UK hotels do not retain passports at all, there is the little matter of the Immigration (Hotel Records) Order 1972:
(2) Every such person who is an alien shall also—
(a)on arriving at the premises, inform the keeper of the premises of the number and place of issue of his passport, certificate of registration or other document establishing his identity and nationality; and
(b)on or before his departure from the premises, inform the keeper of the premises of his next destination and, if it is known to him, his full address there.
So if on checkout you are asked where you are going it is neither chit-chat nor conversely unwarranted prying, it is the law.
British, Irish, and Commonwealth citizens just have to give their name. They have no obligation to show anything.
I've been traveling to England and much of continental Europe on my own since the mid 90s and no hotel ever took my passport. So I have never experienced the 'policies' about which the OP writes.
As for room keys, I still get the occasional REAL key at the front desk in smaller hotels outside major cities.
Marco, I'm glad you posted that. I regularly have arguments at hotel check-in in the UK that go something like this:
I give them my address (in Switzerland)
The receptionist looks at my address and says, "Oh we need the passport details of all foreign guests"
I say: "What is your definition of a foreign guest?"
Blank look
"Do you mean a person who is not a British citizen or do you mean someone who doesn't live in the UK?"
More blank looks, this is confusing them.
In the end the only way to get me checked in is to hand over my (British) passport.
Next time I will just quote the "Immigration (Hotel Records) Order 1972:" and not hand over my passport, and see what happens.
Haven’t had a hotel keep my passport for for than a few minutes anywhere in Europe. At most, it is scanned, but more often, it is justed looked at. At hotels with actual keys, if the chain or hotel tab is large and heavy, they will ask that you deposit it when going out. Nobody checks to ensure you do, but it does prevent one from losing the key.
Edited: Prior to maybe 2000 and scanners, it wasn’t unusual for hotels to keep your passport for a few hours.
British, Commonwealth and Irish citizens are only required by law to give their full name and nationality at check-in. However, hotels can have their own policies.
Thank you all!! Continental, in Italy in 2003, the hotels kept our passports. Perhaps I’m remembering wrong and they didn’t keep them the entirety of our visit, but I know they kept them for several hours. After all the “keep your passport safe at all times” warnings we’d heard and read, it was disconcerting initially to have to leave them for such a time.
In many cases these days it is handled through the booking process rather than at check-in. This was conceived in an era of paper registers, and even before ubiquity of telephone since it originates from older laws. The hospitality industry has long viewed it as outdated and an unnecessary burden but it stays at the behest of the Home Office. Enough said there maybe.
Marco, thanks for the explanation of why they ask onward destination information. I just thought it was tourism related!!
Perhaps I’m remembering wrong and they didn’t keep them the entirety
of our visit, but I know they kept them for several hours. After all
the “keep your passport safe at all times” warnings we’d heard and
read, it was disconcerting initially to have to leave them for such a
time.
Very disconcerting, I agree! I'm shocked your passport was even held for a few hours. That is very unsettling.
I've never shown my passport at any hotel in the UK, never even given my name, simply the surname in which the reservation was booked under. They're more interested in my credit card details .
Rick Steves has a travel talks video that addresses it, he says that some hotels do need to keep the passports long enough to do their paperwork, but to go get it back from them in about an hour, after they had their chance to do their paperwork.
Have a fun trip!
-Alison
In the UK, hotels are supposed to get passport info from non-British citizens.
I just went through a bunch of hotels in Italy. They all needed to see my passport and made copies right away. They didn't need to keep it.
Some hotels do need your passport, others don't. It all depends so have it at the ready (in a pinch once, I showed them a JPEG of it explaining how it was stowed away in a bag somewhere).
Room keys! Per RS guides - we should always give back the room keys. If for no other reason, it makes it convenient (one less thing to haul about while sight seeing) and safe (one less thing to lose). Some hotels have the key-turns-on-lights and I have found that the newer, magnetic strip ones become demagnatized quite easily so turn 'em in.
It might be different as part of a tour group, but I can't imagine turning in a key card in a typical hotel when you go out. Check in and check out is almost automated at so many hotels and there's not exactly an overabundance of staff. They'd probably think you're checking out if you ask them to hold your key card.
I do agree it is an annoyance at how quickly they become demagnetized. I guarantee that will always happen to me if I'm in Las Vegas staying in a massive hotel where it takes a considerable amount of time to get to your room. .
Was just in London - Earl's Court area. The hotel I stayed at did not request the passport. Didn't even ask where we were from. It was a plastic key card that we kept.
Staying in central London (the WC1 west central area, close to N1) ...reception asked me to fill out a single form with my name, email address, and passport number. That was it.
We also leave the keys at the front desk and that’s a convenience because the fob is very decorative and a little heavy. The reception is open 24 hours anyway so it’s all good. It means we get to interact with the hotel staff more in small measures which is very pleasant.
