Passports at hotel check-in
 

Some years ago I seem to remember German hotels collecting our passports for a time (or perhaps the whole stay). I don't know if this is still the practice though I heard something similar in a recent Italy trip report. What has been the practice of recent travelers to Italy? Also, why would they do this, is it a form of police check? Can we expect them back immediately after check-in if they do this?

Hi VR,

Almost all European countries require that you be registered with the local police. That is why the hotels ask for your passport.

Today, they often give you a form to fill out and check it against your passport.

Don't worry, they won't steal it.

((I))

This practice is still in effect in Italy. You are asked for your passport when you check in; the hotel is required to supply the local police with some basic information, and the passport is returned to you. At some hotels, the passport 's ID page is merely photocopied and the passport is immediately returned to you. In other hotels, it is returned in a few hours, and in others, the next morning. I think the time required to return it to you is dependent upon what time you checkin, how busy the hotel is, and how efficient the staff is.

I was initially uncomfortable with this practice, but after observing why and how the system works, it just became part of the check-in procedure. In any event, it is not a big deal.

One caveat, when you retrieve your passport, check immediately that it is your passport. Mistakes happen.

In all our fairly extensive travels in Germany and France over the last three years, not a single hotel has actually asked to *see* our passports. We fill in the number on the form when we check in. Not one has bothered to compare the number provided to the passport itself; maybe we just look honest ;-)
After that, the only credential they have any interest in is our credit card.
In Italy, they have looked at my passport and held onto it briefly, but haven't kept it for more than 20 minutes. The only time my passport has been kept has been on overnight trains when I'm traveling in a private sleeping compartment and the attendant keeps my passport during the journey to show on border checks.
Good advice about doublechecking that the passport returned to you really is yours...especially if the hotel is busy at checkin or the staff seem a little scattered.

Italian hotels need the passport to fill in the form for the Italian police. The requirement to register with the police in France ended years ago. Many Italian hotels like to keep the passport overnight for security - to ensure you don't leave in the morning without paying. They have no legal right to do this and, in my experience, will always return the passport if you ask for it. However, they may ask you to pay for a night's stay before you go to bed, and I don't find anything wrong with this.

It's normal for all hotels to take your passport for a short amount of time, perhaps an hour or two (sometimes more or less). No worries!

In Italy--If you do not stay in a commercial lodgings establishment, you are supposed to register with the police. I don't remember how many days they give you to do this.

<i>Registration for Tourists
The formality of registering with the police within 3 days of a tourist's arrival in Italy is attended to by the hotels one stays with. If staying with friends or in a private home, the visitor has to register in person at the nearest police station within a 3-day period. In Rome there is a special police information office to assist tourists. (Interpreters are available) telephone: 461-950 or 486-609.</i>

http://www.italiantourism.com/regulat.html

And I have never remembered to register when I stay with various friends in Italy. Hope someone reminds me when I go to Italy next time.

Thanks for the replies.... I didn't think they would &quot;steal&quot; them, but it would be a problem if they got misplaced or (something someone mentioned that I hadn't thought of) switched them by mistake. Anyway, for people who rent apartments, does the agency or owner take care of this or are they technically required to do so on their own? I suppose it may just get overlooked...

The way I look at the Italian law is this. It's not the crime of the century. I'm sure there are millions of visitors that don't even know about it and if not staying at a hotel, probably never register. The Italian police don't do nightly sweeps to catch the &quot;law-breakers&quot;, BUT, if something were to happen, a car accident, a misunderstanding with somebody at a bar/restaurant, anything that may involve the police, and then it's very possible that if you did not register, it may comeback to haunt you. It's one of these old laws that doesn't get enforced on a daily basis, but when needed, for whatever reason, it's there, to use it against you to either strengthen the case or if nothing else, make your life more miserable.

We made copies of our passports and had had one of the copies laminated. That's what we left with the hotel.

This was very helpful with our place in Florence. The &quot;front desk&quot; was only open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. We checked out at 6 a.m. on our last day and never returned to the room before 8 p.m. We would have had a really hard time getting our passports back from them.

Every place we stayed was fine with the laminated copies. They just wanted to have a look at the originals. Have a great trip.

I haven't had to show my passport in any hotels in Germany, but I did on my last trip to Austria.

I also had to surrender my passport to the porter on a night train. She ended up losing one that belonged to a fellow passenger.

Does anyone know if the hotels that take passports will accept a photocopy?

There is no legal reason for a hotel to keep your passport overnight. If they do that, they're doing it for their security: to stop you leaving in the morning without paying. A photocopy would be of no use in this case but, if the hotel doesn't trust you, simply offer to pay in the evening before going to bed.