How do you share credit card info securely with Paris hotels?

FAX - totally secure, which is why it is still around. You are correct about email, not the least bit secure unless you are using a public key scheme.

You can also call them with the information or use the hotel´s own website with an https:// connection.

We've always asked them (via email) if we could simply telephone them with the information. None of them have ever said no, so that's what we've always done. And the phone call is not expensive at all.

I send half the card details in an email and my husband sends the other half of the card details in an email sent from his separate email account. I don't know if that's entitled to as much peace of mind as I get from it.

Interesting idea but not totally effective if the haked server is on the hotel end.

We done the separated emails, and the hotels have assured us they delete the emails immediately . So far, so good, but again no guarantees.

I've used email, and have not had a problem.
I know people say it's very unsafe, but I suspect hotel emails are low on the list of ways to get CC info.

Fax or phone

FAX - totally secure, which is why it is still around.

I'm not a techie guy so my explanation may not be very good, but my company's IT department moved our phone and fax technology to the internet-even our voicemails are now sent to us via an email attachment. As a result it's no longer just a technology of one fax machine talking to another and thus not as secure as you may think. And the only reason we still even bother with a fax line is because some government departments we work with (mainly federal government) still embrace the technology; the same government departments that when they ask for a digital copy still ask for a CD Rom instead of an email or memory stick.

Out of curiosity I checked the websites of 3 of the hotels I'm hoping to stay at next spring in Scotland, and none publish a fax number. They might accept faxes if you ask, but will it be via internet technology? Even if it's to a piece of paper, does the fax print to a front desk available to many prying eyes, or to a private office with only 1 set of eyes? Even then, how far does that piece of paper travel and where does it end up before your reservation deposit is confirmed? Is it shredded, or thrown away whole into a recycling box that makes a trip to a sorting plant where it could be intercepted? Bottom line, still risks when you follow the technology and paths.

Can they not email you a link to pay/hold your room with CC info like you would reserving online??

As a result it's no longer just a technology of one fax machine talking to another and thus not as secure as you may think.

If we are moving into a discussion beyond fax to fax (which is totally secure), and into enterprise communication security, the topic shifts into a technical realm to include encryption standards and practices which are beyond the scope of a travel forum.

For our purposes here, fax to fax is secure, phone calls remain relatively secure, and booking through a hotel´s own website using the https protocol is also secure. These are the solutions I use.

Personally, I do not send anything though unencrypted emails that I do not want read by someone else.

Send details over 2 or 3 emails seemed to be an acceptable option in the old days of they don't have a secure booking system

FYI- I emailed the hotel at the end of the stay, they emailed back and asked if they could call me to get the credit card info. Easy peasy…still waiting to hear from the hotel on the front end of the tour.

This is a great question as credit card security has been - and will continue to be - a concern for travelers. I send numerous forms of payment daily. Fortunately, many of the vendors we use are able to send us a SECURE LINK, which we can complete with the confidence of confidentiality. This is perhaps the safest option. We subscribe to Traveljoy to handle our secure forms of payment. Unfortunately, many smaller European hotels do not have this system.

Thus, when we're dealing with a new partner (or hotel), often the first questions we discuss are form and method of payment. I'd suggest you ask the hotel if have the ability to send you a secure link.

If they don't, we opt for a phone call. With multiple programs - sometimes we use Whatsapp, Google Voice, Skype, etc. - you can use their functionality to call contacts around the world, at no cost other than your data usage.

And we use the voice function for all of these. Just like emails, WhatsApp, SMS, etc. can all be forwarded. And as Allan mentions, using a FAX is no longer secure. For example, all our faxes are routed to us through an "internet company." We do not have a fax machine, but we have a fax number. And you guessed it; our faxes are sent to us... in the form of emails!

So whereas, "old-school" fax to fax was secure... Nowadays, a fax is probably not going to be delivered via a paper printout - and frankly, you'll never know if your fax is being received via paper or online. Perhaps best to avoid the fax option. So we go SECURE LINK --- and then PHONE CALL.

how can you say a fax is secure? Anyone at the receiving end can pick it up and read it at any time. CC numbers can be stolen all kinds of ways, but usually aren't. Although servers in European restaurants are amazed that here in the US we blithely give our cards in a restaurant and they walk in back to use the machine, instead of bringing the machine to us.

At a certain point you send the info electronically and assume it will be fine. If not, that's why you have a credit card and aren't sending personal banking info.

how can you say a fax is secure? Anyone at the receiving end can pick it up and read it at any time.

Fax is secure because it cannot be intercepted or its server haked as emails can be. Faxes do not use servers and if internet transmission is part of the faxe´s transportation link, security is not assured. The point is that if you and the hotel have fax machines, the transmission is secure.

The question is not about a hotel´s, in house security procedures. What a hotel does to protect you personal information once they have it is a completely different subject.

how can you say a fax is secure? Anyone at the receiving end can pick it up and read it at any time

I had to say this made me laugh because it's so true. For all you know the fax machine is down the hall somewhere and prints out incoming messages that anyone can walk by and pick up. Or its in the back of the front desk area, a place frequently left unattended in stretches. I understand the concern with security and I share it, but at some point there's only so much you can do.

To bring up another concern, I'm half-surprised my luggage and belongings make it thru a trip. So many times I've walked into the hotel lobby and said my room number, they hand me the key, and its a clerk I've never seen before so they can't possibly know it's my room. Maybe I look honest ;-) Or you check out early and ask them to hold the bags, they say "sure" and point you to the unlocked room out of sight of the front desk. I pile ours next to the other bags. Nothing I can see stops someone from walking in and helping themselves to a few bags.

Beyond my comprehension, but fax is not as secure as we'd like:

https://www.itproportal.com/features/the-myth-of-the-secure-fax-machine/

While fax machines are analogue and therefore not at risk from the
same hacking techniques as digital technology, that does not mean they
are immune. In fact, the very thing that protects them from modern
forms of data exfiltration is what makes them vulnerable. Often, a
belief that fax machines are secure comes from the fact they cannot be
accessed remotely, unlike digital communication tools. However, this
doesn’t automatically equate to privacy and protection. While in
transit, fax documents are not encrypted which means anyone who can
access the phone line can, theoretically, can also access information
sent via the fax machine.

https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/credit-cards/sending-credit-card-information

However, if it's an email-based fax, your information is just as
vulnerable as with an unencrypted email. Another risk to consider with
phone-based fax is whether the intended recipient is the only one with
access to the fax once it's delivered.