Porto: ID requirements by Airbnb host

sounds totally legit to me. You always show your passport when checking into a hotel, so its pretty much the same.

This is normal. All this information is on the photo page of your passport (apart from residence). Hotels copy or photocopy your passport when you check in.
I don't see how this info can result in ID theft.

And didn’t you have to scan your psssport to AirBnBs website already? We did when renting abroad. No ID theft problems here.

Showing a passport at check in is one thing - emailing the data to a stranger is something else. As I said I'm probably being overly suspicious but having booked other Airbnb apartments previously (including in Portugal) and never having to provide this information I was concerned. I will just go ahead and do it and move along!

We rented Airbnb's in Austria and Italy and we not asked for any of this info. Personaly, I would be suspicious. I'll show them this info at check-in, if requested, but not in email

I just rented places in Lisbon Coimbra and Nazare and was not asked for it either which is why I was concerned.

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:42000A0922%2802%29:en:HTML

I have not used Airbnb but have stayed several times in similar lodgings found on booking.com. The procedures for providing the locally-required information have varied. I doubt that most Airbnb hosts have a photocopier at the same location as the apartment itself unless you're renting a room in an occupied home, so asking you to send the information ahead of time saves effort at the time of check-in, when the host would otherwise need to copy out information by hand.

Even hotels sometimes hand me a form to fill out that requests all the information listed in the original post as well as telephone number, street addres and email address. Those last bits of info seem to be at least partly for use in the event I leave something important behind when I depart..

Helena, since I don't blindy click through can you say what is on the other side of your link please?

Yes, Helena. Please do. Not curious enough to click without a little hint.

Helena - since you live in Porto, do you have any insight into the request for personal data from my Airbnb host, which seems to be specifically a Porto requirement? It was not requested by the hosts in Lisbon, Nazare or Coimbra (also individual apartments) at least one of which has a self check-in so I wouldn't be showing my passport to them in person.

I didn't click on the link but by using Google it appears to be: The Schengen acquis - Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement of 14 June 1985 between the Governments of the States of the Benelux Economic Union, the Federal Republic of Germany and the French Republic on the gradual abolition of checks at their common borders

I'm not 100% sure how it applies to my concerns because it's a very long document that I don't have the time or inclination to read at the moment but I gather it's the guts of the formation of the EU?

Nigel, Norma, If you hover over it you can see the website is: eur-lex.europa.eu
That is the EU's own website. And "lex" (Latin for law) is where they publish all EU rules and regulations. This page is the English version of the Schengen Treaty, very long and boring but I guess somewhere in there is the bit of law that says all hotels etc. must check ID of all foreign guests.

The Schengen acquis - Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement of 14 June 1985 between the Governments of the States of the Benelux Economic Union, the Federal Republic of Germany and the French Republic on the gradual abolition of checks at their common borders

Yes, Schengen started in 1985 with just those countries. How it has grown.

Cindy, the Schengen Agreement is not "the guts of the formation of the EU?". The EU dates back (under other names) to the 1950's.
But it is an agreement that is sponsored by the EU. It is the "no internal borders" agreement. As EU citizens can travel with no restrictions between EU countries, it became a total waste of resources (staff, taxpayers money and travellers time) to have border controls between EU countries when most border posts had 99.9% locals who got waved through. In order to do this they had to agree common rules for non-EU/Schengen foreigners, who would be allowed in and for how long. This is where the "90 days in 180" limit comes from.

One of the provisions of the Schengen Agreement is that all foreigners must have their ID checked and recorded when they check into hotels.

See this map of the Schengen Area which shows who is "in" and "out": https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--jIBKY6VdsY/VtisrS9x6tI/AAAAAAAAA4I/_leAxgJTLkY/s1600/schengen-countries-map-2016-03.png
You can trust this link - honest! Note this ends in ".png" which means it is a picture file.

Legitimate.
We had to show docs last year in Portugal.
As AirBnB units enter into the official system (registering, paying taxes, etc.), this requirement will soon be everywhere.

Showing a passport at check in is one thing - emailing the data to a
stranger is something else.

No, it's not. None of the information requested can be used for nefarious purposes. It's all in your passport, which is a document that has to be shown on request and many hotels/accommodations are required to collect said info.

My friends and I just booked an Airbnb in Lisbon and was asked for the same information but not at the places in Porto or Sintra. I was also required to give all this info when I traveled to China this past spring and stayed at an Airbnb there. No big deal, go ahead, we did.

Sorry! Only today come again to this site, and I'm with lack of time! That link guides you to the official eureopean rules wich are mandatory but unfortunately not everyone is doing. Will came back later with better info.

Oh, and you don't have to "Blindly click", just search the link at google!!!!

Hi Cindy!

Well now I have a litle time. It is just a coincidence that you where asked for this info in Porto and not on other cities, it could have been the other way around. Most hosts prefer to collect this information shortly after you booked, along with check-in time and other details, but your documentation must also be verified at check-in. Those who do not ask (previously or at the check-in) are not abiding to the law.

Since 2015 Portugal has more strictly enforced a long-standing law requiring anyone providing paid holiday accommodation to record the entry, exit, and identification details of all non-Portuguese nationals who use that accommodation. This law has been brought into force in Portugal and most other EU countries at some point since the gradual implementation of the 1990 Schengen Agreement that aims to stop human trafficking and other illegal practices. In this case, it is specifically Article 45 of the Schengen Agreement and the recent Alojamento Local law in Portugal that has brought this rule into sharper focus.

The governing body that monitors the movement of foreigners is SEF (Serviço de Estrangeiros e Fronteiras or the Immigration and Borders Service).

Of course you could reply you will give the information when you arrive.

Hi Helena - thank you so much for the detailed information regarding the EU rules. I have given the information to my Airbnb host and feel comfortable with having done so. I work in an industry where we see hacking, phishing and other fraudulent schemes that occur through the internet so I'm probably overly concerned about these things.