Passport at Hotel Check In

In the hotels we checked into this summer in 6 countries they asked for our passports to put the number on their records but they didn't keep them. However, B&Bs don't ask. The EU countries do a much better job of trying to keep track of people in their countries from other places.

so far only 1-2 hotels asked for my passport. The rest - if at all - just me fill in the small standard form with name/addr/passport#. That was in Switzerland and Germany.

It is now European Union (EU) law that hotels have to copy your passport for immigration purposes. This means that inside the EU, basically everywhere in Europe except Turkey, Norway and Switzerland, you should be asked for your passport.

We just returned a few weeks ago from Paris. They did ask for our passport, copied it and handed it right back.
Also note, mant hotels require you to hand your room key in when you leave the hotel. For some reason this bothers some North Americans,, which I cannot understand. The maid can assess your room whether or not you leave your key, so it couldn't be that people are worried about room security , that is silly. The reason you leave your key is many of the older hotels have old fashioned locks , keys , not cards, so if you lose the key they have a hassle to replace it. I personally love handing my key in each time we go in and out, plus think about it, not easy for a " stranger" to just wander in as desk staff quickly learn who is who ( at least in smaller hotels)

In the U.K., they typically ask for your passport at check-in but give it back to you right away.

If you have to leave your passport at the front desk for any length of time just VERIFY upon retrieving it that it is actually YOURS. A very nice hotel in Venice gave us back someone elses passports which is bad enough. But then you have to stop and think if I have someone elses then WHO HAS MINE????

Show and go

Sometimes you can leave them with a copy of your Passport rather than the Original. If they say they don't have a photocopier or don't want a black and white copy (yes, I've been told this, even though some passport photos are black and white and perfectly legal!) You could carry your own colour copy of the info page. They will compare it to the original and most will be satisfied.

I will absolutely avoid surrendering my passport to ANYONE unless absolutely necessary!! Forgetting to pick it up at check out or being given the wrong one realizing too late is a real hassle! Always trust but verify!

Besides the registration reasons, I have had a couple smaller hotels ask to hold my passport in lieu of immediate payment (Belgium, Italy, Greece) sort of a security deposit since they didn't take credit card. While it might bother some, these were family owned places and I saw it as an expression of trust to hand it over for their safekeeping.