surrendering passport

"Common"?

Mostly it is in Italy, where they are so dishonest themselves that they do not trust anyone else (sorry, a little editorializing here). But really, in 20 weeks in Europe, mostly in Germany, but also in five other countries, I have never once been asked for my passport. I wouldn't call it "common".

Actually, in Italy, by law (you decide why), they have to record your passport information and report it to the local police. They probably keep your passport until they have time to do the paperwork.

In some countries, by law, the hotel must collect information about its guests and register with the police.

It is not common practice now to "surrender" your passport for any length of time. In the past, hotels in some countries (like Italy) often kept your passport overnight as the police could stop by and check. But now, it is much more common for the hotel clerk to simply record the information and return your passport shortly. If you are uncomfortable with letting the passport out of your sight, you can ask to wait while they record the info.

It has nothing to do with dishonesty and your passport is requested in many countries. In just the last two years, I have been asked for my passport in Italy, Slovenia, Belgium, and the United Kingdom.

This is an oft-discussed topic here.

Bottom line: A number of European countries require hotels, etc. to record the identification of overnight guests to report to the police. Hotels frequently ask to hold your passsport until they can record the information during quieter hours.

No one has ever come here to report that they've had a problem with this practice. It's common procedure in much of Europe.

Here's a link to a recent discussion. http://www.ricksteves.com/graffiti/helpline/index.cfm/rurl/topic/29573/passports-held-by-hotel-managers.html Pam

Surrender is such a loaded work, Kathie. Think of it, instead, as following the law and helping to protect the country. Since this is not a political site, I won't go into the countless intrusions into individual privacy conducted in our own fair country in the name of anti-terrorism initiatives and safety...but Italy thinks, rather reasonably, that hotel owners should keep records of foreign guests for registration with the police...just in case something happens. In fact, I find this one of the more reasonable steps to take, as opposed to tapping private phone lines of citizens making international calls. Now it may not be enforced consistently--Italy sure doesn't have our Puritan heritage--but it's all perfectly reasonable and safe.

"risky and dangerous".. Why? the hotel clerk is hardly going to sell it and then tell you they never had it.. cause, duh, you would call the police on them.. LOL

It IS common in many countries for your passport info to be recorded by hotel staff, and sometimes when busy they will just pile them up and do them when it is a bit quieter then return it..

Why do some people worry so much about their passports,, I mean, I get you do not want it lost or stolen,, but really , what is the worst case scenerio?? In most big cities you can get an emergency passport in a few days.. you will not be forced to live in Europe forever.. the worst case scenerio to me would be losing it ( or having it stolen) on the last 2 days of trip,, as then you would worry about maybe having to change plane tickets.

Out of all the places I have stayed I just had to write my passport number down on the check in sheet. Never had to surrender it in the last 2 years. I did 10 years ago though. I agree with Pat too. The likelyhood of it being stolen by hotel staff is very unlikely.

Have never had to leave my passport at the hotel front desk in the past 22 years.
Did give it to the porter on our overnight train trip from Fulda to Denmark though, so we wouldn't have to be woken up. Though oddly, when you cross other borders here, one is seldom asked for your passport.

One other thought about giving up passports. If you are traveling by night train (or bus?)giving up your passport to the conductor will allow you to sleep through any border checks that you might otherwise have to get up for.

Hotels, hostels, campgrounds, etc. always ask for my passport at check-in. They have to report who is staying there to police.

Newer passports have barcodes that scan and better hotels probably scan them quickly like your credit card at check-in while smaller places may take longer to fill out the reports. Normally you don't need to leave them there but I could see them asking to hold the passport for awhile if there were multiple guests arriving at one time.