[quote]<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by tbear:
Why would an ordinary front desk clerk at a hotel check if you had the correct visa? Do they actually do that per their country's regulations? Never paid much attention if the clerk actually did that on my limited international travels. I know they need info from your passport such as nationality, passport #, & etc.
My recent experiences support your hunch -- Chinese hotels seem increasingly willing to check in foreign guests without passports; moreover they rarely check visas.
Still, this is one of those situations where while the risk of getting caught may be quite low, the consequences could be costly and unpleasent. For example, a friend of mine who was studying in Beijing accidentally overstayed her visa by about 30 days. Upon departure, she was given the choice to pay $3000 or go to jail. In the end, she got the $3000 reduced to around $600, which she borrowed from a stranger in the airport and all was well. However, I think most would agree that it's best not to get into pickles like that in the first place.