suse

The Golden Well in Prague (#1 rated by Tripadvisor.com)has asked me for the names and birthdates of all people in our reservation. They say they must do this according to Czech law. Is this common? I've never been asked for this info in any other country I've visited.

Have any of you stayed at this hotel?

Thanks,
Suse

kappa

I have never been asked this reserving hotels in Prague, direct or using booking sites. And especially when using booking sites, how do hotels check the geusts' birth dates when they don't have direct contacts. It's a great hotel it seems so maybe they want to prepare surprise treat for the guests who have thier birthday while staying at thier hotel ? Or is it a wishful thinking by me?

unclegus

I have never had to do this either on my many visits to Prague.
Are you booking a large party of people?
they may be asking ages as Prague in recent years has be plagued with Stag and hen parties and groups of young males coming over for the cheap drink.The hotel like many in the city are actively trying to discourage this and many places will not take Stag party bookings.

Christina

no, I've never been asked that by hotels in Prague, I've stayed there three times (most recently 2007). It sounds like the information they would usually get off your passport when you register, but I have no idea why they must know it ahead of time. Lots of countries ask for that information when you register, they look at your passport. You just probably weren't thinking about it. I suspect when they say they must do that by Czech law, they are referring to the fact that hotels are supposed to get that information for guests when they stay there, but I bet it is not Czech law that they must get it upon reservation and in advance.

Last hotel I stayed at in Prague was the Hotel Pariz (which was wonderful, actually, I highly recommend it and it's a great location). Now that is at the upper end so don't know how it compares to Golden Well, but they give good discounts if you prepay online. I did that, and you can see right on their website if you make a reservation that they do not require that information. They ask for your name and CC number.

Of course, they always ask your name, but I've never had a large group I was making a reservation for so other's names were not an issue.

Christina

oh, here is the URL of that hotel

www.hotelpariz.cz

I checked Golden Well and they are around the same rate, the Pariz seems a little cheaper. Both claim to be 5* hotels. I am not at all influenced by what Tripadvisor gives as #1 hotel, etc., that is meaningless to me.

I suspect in this case it is not due to hen/stag parties as hotels limit number of guests in a room already and that hotel is def. not the kind of place young hen/stag parties would crash.

suse

Thanks for the input. I thought it was strange to be asked this after I booked online. Here is what the email said..

"I would also kindly ask you whether you could inform us about the name and date of birth of the persons accompanying you as well as about your date of birth. I will also kindly ask you if you could specify how many people there will be in total and who will be appointed to which room, meaning the double and twin bedded one. Thank you very much, it will make your check-in in December much more efficient, I greatly appreciate your cooperation."

I responded that one room was for my husband and myself and one room was for my adult sons. I asked why they needed our birthdates and they said to expedite check in.

So, do I send them our birthdates? I just thought it was an usual request.

suse

Oh, Christina, I don't put too much into the ratings on TripAdvisor, either, it's just that I was assuming it would be a reputable hotel if it had a high rating on trip advisor. That being said, I have also been known to be naive a time or two! Thanks for your input.

tomboy

They merely asked for birthdate for each person.
They won't know if it's a bogus birthdate.

nytraveler

It sounds like they're trying to make sure that you aren't putting too many people in any one room - nor trying to get adults listed at child's prices.

They may have been burned by some of the people you see posting here who try to put 5 or 6 people in a room and think that your offspring count as children even if they're full size adults (15 or more) rather than tiny tots.

Margo_Chester

There's a hyphen missing from Christina's link to the hotel she discussed, it should be: http://www.hotel-pariz.cz

Looks nice by the way!

suse

Hotel Paris looks stunning! I may have to change my reservation......

kappa

nytraveler could be right.

Did they reply to you in other e-mails besides above, that birthdates are required by law? It doesn't say that above, does it?

As said above, it's unusual they ask the birthdates at reservation but it is possible you will have to give your birthdates anyway at check-in. e.g. when you check in at hotels in Switzerland, it is TRUE that by law you have to fill a form with infos such as name, birthdate, address, nationality and passport number, etc. I remember I filled the same sort of form at hotels in Prague (4 hotels in 8 trips in last 3 years). Hotels require the same in many other countries if I remember correctly like Spain and Italy. Some times hotels make a photocopy of your passport and that's enough. No form to fill by the guests. France is an exception. I'm always amazed there they check your reservation and give you the room key without any more infos. Even too easy, I'd say.

".. it will make your check-in in December much more efficient..."
" ..to expedite check in. "

Above two say the same thing, don't they? It might make your check in procedure a bit faster, it makes sense but again it's unusual to ask this info at reservation. My guess is a bit like nytraveler. They might be asking the birthdates to determine the room rates for your sons' room. Maybe you didn't tell the hotel they are adults. They might get some kind of reduction if they are under certain age, if there are 3 of them and extra bed is free of charge for a youth... that kind of thing. Maybe it's because of the way you requested the rooms... I don't know.

I wouldn't say TA's number 1 ranking is MEANINGLESS. That indicates something although I wouldn't look for hotels by its rankings myself.

suse

I would like to apologize should it have sounded a bit strange to ask you about your birthday dates. This is, however, to be prepared on your stay in the best way. One reason for taken the dates now is that it will save you time during your check in because anyway we have to know them as this is based on the Czech law.

suse

oops! This is the second reply I got from the hotel. That's why I questioned the hotel. There responses have been more than polite and after hearing from you all, I think they are just trying to make our stay as pleasant as possible.

Again, thanks for all of your help. I was nervous about going somewhere I've never been before. This wouldn't have bothered me a year ago. I swear I don't know what's gotten into me!

Christina

I just checked my reservation from Hotel Pariz to make sure I wasn't forgetting, and no, they never asked for my birthdate upon reservation.

As for Tripadvisor, I said their rankings are meaningless TO ME, and I stand by that statement.

ardie521

I just made a reservation at the Golden Well last week for our stay there Oct. 29-Nov. 2 I booked it thru the hotel and they did not ask me any of those questions when I made my reservation. It is possible they will want this imformation when we check in. I'll let you know what happened when I return!