Passport Security

This is a common practice. Maybe not as much as it used to be, but still common and not to be worried about.

Hotels in several countries must record the passport information of their guests for the local police. In fact, because of this practice, that is why you don't need to register with the local police when you are visiting.

Most hotels will return your passport to you the next day or later in the evening when they've had the chance to complete their paperwork. Just ask.

As says Doug it may be becoming less common but it still occurs. You are right. You have no choice. We have been giving up our passport since 72 and never had a problem or concern. Don't worry about. The hotel star has nothing to do with this practice.

In Italy, all tourists must register with the police within 3 days of arrival. To keep millions of people from swarming police stations, the hotels do it for you. That's why they take the passport.

And technically, with each move to a different place, you must re-register which is why every hotel in Italy will take your passport.

Nowadays, most hotels will just take it for a short time. If you really need it, tell them and they should be able to copy the information quickly.

When I am in Italy I just wait at the desk for them to write down the info from my passport. Then I take it back and return it to my moneybelt. I haven't had a problem with this. Nobody has insisted on holding my passport. After all, it is a security problem for them to be holding a bunch of passports.

I have also, in smaller hotels, had my passport held as sort of a security deposit. I have no real concern with them holding it, probably as safe with them as with me.

A friend of mine keeps a high quality color photocopy of his passport (the picture and signature pages). I was surprised to see that hotels and other places readily took it without actually handing over the real passport.

At the Pensione Accademia in Venice we checked in, handed over our passport, and then came back later that evening to retrieve our passport. They handed my wife a passport that didn't belong to her. Luckily they still had hers on the shelf, but they could just as easily have handed her passport to someone else. If you really must turn over your passport, then by all means check it when it is returned to you to make sure it's actually yours and not some other American's passport.

Hi Julie,

I am very uncomfortable with anyone holding on to my passport (a friend of mine had a very difficult time when the hotel missplaced her id). I explain to the front desk that I would really appreciate if they would make a copy and return my passport to me before I go to my room. I have never had any problems with this.

I am not sure what is written on the United States passport, but the Canadian passport says that this is property of the Canadian government and that you are the only one who should have possesion of it.

I hope this is helpful.

Paula

Paula,...while your suggestion is a good one, some smaller hotels simply don't have the facilities to do this right at check-in time...and if their law says copy down passport information, then we can't really object to them taking the time that's necessary. I can remember years ago consistently not getting my passport back until the following morning....nowadays, it is usually immediately, or within a few hours.
Just for clarification, nowhere in a Canadian passport does it say that "you are the only one who should have possesion of it."

This is a question that comes up every so often,, it does seem to make some people nervous,, but really, I have never heard of anyone losing their passport by handing it over to hotel staff. They are required to record the information.,, and if they are busy,, they may prefer to wait and do it later in day. They are not off marketing it in the black market.

Still , if this worries you,, ( it never worries me) then I think someones suggestion of having a color copy made and ready to hand over is a good idea. Occaisonally a hotel may not accept it,, perhaps thinking YOU are trying to pull a fast one on them,, LOL

I made and laminated high quality color copies of our passports and was told it was illegal @ Kinko's ( State Dept. travel experts, ya know) to have the exact same size pages copied. I carry two and my husband carries 2 behind the zipper in the rollaboards. Will eventually redo them in a smaller size for my convenience. I like having them laminated.

It's not illegal. In fact, the State Department suggests you have copies of your passport info page in case you lose your passport. It makes getting a new one so much easier. (Yes, Kinko employees are the first people I would go to with travel law quesitons.)

Now it is illegal to make perfect copies of U.S. currency and try to use it--but that's for a different board.

To all who replied to Passport Security Question, Thanks. I actually got this little credit card size passport besides the other usual one, so this will help when I hand one over to hotel. (I'll still have one in my possession) AND I just did not know what they were actually doing with my information. Registering it with the police. Okay then.....thanks!

FYI--the Passport Card can only be used for land or sea travel from Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Bermuda. It cannot be used for international air travel.

The card came into being when the laws changed and everyone coming into the U.S. needed a passport. (You may remember you didn't need one from the above mentioned places). But rather than force everyone to get a passport and pay those fees, they came up with the Passport Card which costs less.