wliwl

OK, here's a new one to me...A rental agent for a Paris apartment requests a "live passport" instead of deposit. What do you think?

P_M

I checked into a small hotel in Greece a few years ago and I was given the choice of paying my bill in advance or leaving my passport with the owner until I check out. I chose to pay, but I'm have been told that leaving a passport is a common occurrence too.

jeffwill4you

I would say, I will give it to you in person when we arrive and until then please accept a cash or credit card deposit.

cmt

Do you mean you are expected to SEND your passport to Paris to hold your apt.? I can't imagine that anyone would be willing to compy. There must be other apartments that do not have such a requirement. A monetary deposit is of use to the apt. owner. Your passport isn't, or shouldn't be.

jeffwill4you

We had to show our passports at every hotel we stayed in but NEVER had to leave it.

sfowler

Errrmmmm .. if you send then that "live passport", how are you supposed to get into the country ????

P_M

There's no way they are asking you to send your passport, you can't travel overseas without it. There is an obvious glitch in communication here, so I would call or e-mail the agent and ask for clarification.

ira

Hi wl,

>A rental agent for a Paris apartment requests a "live passport" instead of deposit. <

Nope.

Consider that you are about to leave. The agent or owner says, "You have left a very dirty apartment. It will cost 400E to clean it."

How do you get home if he has your passport?

You walk down to the ATM, withdraw 500E and trade it for your passport.

ckenb

Back in the 1970s, you often had to leave your passport at the front desk when you checked into a hotel. That is not the case these days.

You can't send your passport to Europe ahead of your trip! You wouldn't be able to enter the country -- or even board the plane in the US -- if you didn't have a passport on your person.

I think it would be better not to hand over your passport when you get to Paris. Tell them you will pay the rent and a deposit in advance.

nini

We had to leave our PP at the desk of every place we stayed in Italy excpt those that required cash which was quite a few. It will be returned & you shouldn't need it unless you spend enough money to request VAT.

Intrepid1

Do they perhaps want a copy of the information page?

Some places, by law, must collect your passport and either photocopy the information page or keep it while you reside...usually the former (Italy comes to mind)...I'd be on the phone with these people if I were you...sounds like miscommunication

StCirq

I'm guessing this is a translation issue and that if you fax or mail a Xerox of the inside pages of your passport, that will suffice. Obviously you can't send your passport or you wouldn't be able to show up for the rental!
I'm thinking it's a typo and he/she wants you to "deliver"(livrer en français) your passport as a deposit upon arrival.

ira

Hi wl,

Have you got the message?

May we see it?

kswl

I wouldn't do it under any circumstances. A "regular" hotel takes a credit card imprint to guarantee your bill. You have recourse through your credit card company if there is any problem with the bill or service. That is also why I would not stay at one of the smaller B&B's that require payment in full in advance. Even with Priceline, which you pay for in advance with a credit card, you have some recourse through the card company if there is misrepresentation or fraud.

But leaving a passport?? No.

Christina

I think this is ridiculous. DOn't deal with such a person, it's not professional. I don't think they want a copy of your passport instead of a deposit. What good will that do them monetarily. I think they do indeed want to keep your passport because then you can't skip out without paying.

I don't understand how you can give it to them before you arrive, though, but maybe they expect to hold it while you are there? Bad idea. Why would you even consider giving some stranger your passport to keep? It is unlikely you will need it while there, but possible, but I wouldn't give it away in any case.

I think this is a very similar idea to museums or other places that request you to leave some ID as a form of deposit for returning the headset or whatever. I think there may be a slight mistranslation, but that they probably do indeed want your actual passport, and probably mean valid or active.

Jean

In a post-9/11 world, I don't allow hotels to hold our passports for more than an hour or two. I go back to reception and retrieve them. If anything happened to cause you to want to leave a city/country immediately, you'd need your passport.

My English grandfather used to tell us the story of his escape from Germany in September 1939. His German employer was holding his passport as "collateral" on his work contract. Grandpa hoarded some rationed gasoline in milk bottles and then fled to Switzerland which, because he wasn't Jewish, allowed him to transit through to France without a passport. By the time he got to Calais, it was total chaos, and he just forced his way onto a ferry bound for England. If attempted now, this journey would end at the first border crossing.