Do Spanish Hotels Copy Passports?
I'm a UK citizen. I'm very security conscious when it comes to identity fraud and absolutely hate my passport being copied by hotels. Eg, booked a holiday package for family through a major UK travel agent so all paid for prior to travel. We got to hotel and it insisted that it was normal for them to copy all passports. I would have stood there and had an argument but my teenage daughter asked me not to. So the hotel ended up copying all of them, including kids' passports. They also got me to fill in those 'official' forms which ask for full address (didn't give full address, just town/city/area/country). Is is normal for hotels in Spain to do this?
Best Answer
Yes, it is normal, and happens to everyone I know so it is not peculiar to UK travelers. And because very few people raise a fuss they continue to do this, because it happens to be illegal and heavily discouraged by experts for the reasons you know.
But nobody gives a hoot so it is normal.
Pictures about "Do Spanish Hotels Copy Passports?"
Why do hotels in Spain ask for passport?
It is the law in Spain that hotels see your passport as documentation. Your passport number and name has to be kept if authorities do any investigation. Before computers the hotels had to keep paper copies of this data.Should you carry your passport or leave it in the hotel?
Safe Storage It's generally inadvisable to carry your passport with you everywhere while you're traveling, as this increases the chances of losing it. Ideally, it's best to have passports locked away, either in a hotel room safe or in a suitcase with a secure travel lock.Why do Italian hotels take your passport?
An Italian hotel has no legal right to keep your passport overnight. They need your passport in order to complete a registration document for the police, but this only takes a couple of minutes. Many hotels like to keep the passport overnight as security, so that guests won't run off in the morning without paying.Why do you need passport for hotel?
It's for security reasons In a similar way, at From Home to Rome (and any other legit agency or person working in the same business) we need to verify that you are who you claimed to be when you booked your holiday accommodation.How easy is it for refugees to buy fake passports in Athens? BBC News
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Tirachard Kumtanom, Andrea Piacquadio, Lukas, Luis Quintero