Why do some Marriott hotels store guests' passport numbers?
Jan 22, 2019, 9:56 am
#16
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As I recall, Italian law requires any homeowner hosting a guest for more than a few days (even a non commercial guest, as a friend or a visiting relative) to report the guest’s personal details to the local police office. Failure to do so results in heavy fines, although the law is not always enforced. There are special forms for this purpose that can be bought on pretty much any newsstand.
Jan 22, 2019, 12:24 pm
#17
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Jan 22, 2019, 12:39 pm
#18
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As I recall, Italian law requires any homeowner hosting a guest for more than a few days (even a non commercial guest, as a friend or a visiting relative) to report the guest’s personal details to the local police office. Failure to do so results in heavy fines, although the law is not always enforced. There are special forms for this purpose that can be bought on pretty much any newsstand.
Jan 22, 2019, 3:22 pm
#19
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Hotels will generally accept ID instead of a passport unless it's one of those countries where they take a photocopy for registration, etc. I'm not massively amused that Arne has said that it's about "convenience" when it's obviously not about convenience at all - As Marriott never checks that your passport is still up to date, it will never use that information in a way which improves convenience. As a European, we take data privacy and usage a bit more seriously, and that's really unacceptable from a CEO.
But here's what I found.
HK - accepts US drivers license
UK - accepts US drivers license
Aus - accepts US drivers license
Korea - accepts US drivers license
Israel - requires passport
China - requires passport
Japan - requires passport
I'm pretty sure Chinese hotels won't/can't let you check in without a passport. I was on a group tour (my one and only time) years ago, and a family had a shoulder bag stolen with their passports and a load of cash (which they were taking to an orphanage where they had adopted their daughter from). The tour guides were trying to figure out how they were going to even be able to get them a hotel room until they got replacement passports.
So let's say I visit country XYZ, upon check-in I hand over my driver's license and when they insist I must show my passport, I answer that I left it at a friend's house several hundred miles away in that same country. Can they refuse me a room just because I do not have my passport? I understand hotels and immigration might prefer to have my passport as ID, but I have never heard that it is an absolute necessity otherwise I cannot stay in the hotel. But I have never tested this - maybe I should.
Jan 22, 2019, 3:32 pm
#20
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Jan 22, 2019, 4:00 pm
#22
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Peru is another country that does not charge taxes if your a foreigner. The hotel takes a bunch of photocopy of your passport along with the immigration card and also the page where your entry stamp was placed during checkin. I guess if you don't want to show your passport, you can pay the tax which is substantial. During my stay in Miraflores, the tax and no tax difference was about $100US! Back in SPG days, when you booked your room, it showed the price with the local tax but it was not charged at the hotel. It was a nice little surprise at the end to see such big drop in price.
Jan 22, 2019, 4:05 pm
#23
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The way to think of it is that once you leave your home country the most valid document you have is your passport or national ID card. In Europe sometimes drivers' licenses from other European countries. This is kind of non-news- plenty of hotels have my ID card or passport on file because as a previous poster said, they are required to turn this information over to the police daily.
Jan 22, 2019, 4:07 pm
#24
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@samwise6222 You are quite lucky that ANY country outside of North America would accept a drivers license as proof of identification! That would not fly in Europe.
Jan 22, 2019, 4:14 pm
#25
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Data protection in the 21st Century is actually a conventional CEO matter, but surely more broadly the point is that making authoritative statements which are untrue is always a concern when evaluating CEO’s?
Jan 22, 2019, 4:15 pm
#26
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I travel to Italy regularly. While it is true that hotels always used to require to see and photocopy your passport, I would say that in 50% of my stays that no longer happens. Either the law has relaxed, or the hotels themselves have decided not always to bother. I also suspect that guests in Europe with European Union passports might be exempt now..
I have stayed in literally hundreds of hotels in Italy and not once have they not asked me for ID. If anything the immigration laws are more enforced these days there.
As for European guests there is no exemption whatsoever. They (we) have to show ID each and every time. That would be a major employee infraction so it is second nature to check-in staff.
Jan 22, 2019, 4:16 pm
#27
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Peru is another country that does not charge taxes if your a foreigner. The hotel takes a bunch of photocopy of your passport along with the immigration card and also the page where your entry stamp was placed during checkin. I guess if you don't want to show your passport, you can pay the tax which is substantial. During my stay in Miraflores, the tax and no tax difference was about $100US! Back in SPG days, when you booked your room, it showed the price with the local tax but it was not charged at the hotel. It was a nice little surprise at the end to see such big drop in price.
Jan 22, 2019, 4:17 pm
#28
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@samwise6222 You are quite lucky that ANY country outside of North America would accept a drivers license as proof of identification! That would not fly in Europe.
Other places like China took my passport and changed the res name to match the passport name, and they changed it back right before checkout to make sure it correctly posted to my account.
Jan 22, 2019, 4:26 pm
#29
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Some countries require passport information for non-resident occupancy tax waivers. I'd expect that the hotel is required to maintain the information until whatever statutory period (on reporting, audits, etc.) expires.
It is all nice to speculate from a US-based kitchen, or office, or bathroom as to what hotels in non-US countries should and must do, but most of us have no idea what those local realities might be.
It is all nice to speculate from a US-based kitchen, or office, or bathroom as to what hotels in non-US countries should and must do, but most of us have no idea what those local realities might be.
Jan 22, 2019, 4:27 pm
#30
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I carry both and I usually gave a heads up to hotels about my predicament: "reservation in drivers license name, marriott rewards in drivers license name, different name in passport - can I check in with my drivers license?"
Other places like China took my passport and changed the res name to match the passport name, and they changed it back right before checkout to make sure it correctly posted to my account.
Other places like China took my passport and changed the res name to match the passport name, and they changed it back right before checkout to make sure it correctly posted to my account.