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Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but nearly every hotel/motel shares information with some subset of law enforcement themed agencies, regardless of what their

Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but nearly every hotel/motel shares information with some subset of law enforcement themed agencies, regardless of what their "privacy policy" says on paper. e.g. Why do you have to write down your car's plate number, by law, if you pay cash for a hotel room? So the law can find you when you're on the run and therefore not using a credit card, of course. This is law enforcement 101, one of the oldest tricks in the book. It's not just ICE, there must be literally dozens of three letter agencies privy to the same information from Motel 6 and its competitors.

kstrauser 9y ago
I worked as a night auditor in a couple of hotels while in college, and I’ve never even heard a rumor of what you’re talking about. We never gave a scrap of information to a LEO unless it was directly related to a crime under active investigation (as in “we chased someone into room 204 and arrested them. Do you have their registration info?”). As others have said, license plates were purely so that we didn’t accidentally tow guests’ vehicles and we could call someone who was blocking the fire lane.
JorgeGT 9y ago
At least in my country, Spain, guest data must be sent to the police database within 24h of his/her check-in.
- talmand 9y ago
  This is common in many countries; whether official or not.
- chrismeller 9y ago
  Not just Spain. If you’ve ever traveled you’ll know that the first question you’re asked at a hotel upon checkin is “Can I see your passport?” I knew Estonia did, so I used that as a basis for a search. Apparently they requested basically an RFC from other EU countries on whether they do [1]. Of the respondents, the following require registration: Belgium, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and Norway. That’s non-exhaustive, I know from other sources that at least within the EU Italy does as well, not to mention countless other countries around the world. 1: http://emn.ee/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/466_emn_ad-hoc_query_on_registration_of_visitorsider_dissemination_en.pdf http://emn.ee/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/466_emn_ad-hoc_quer...
- dionmanu 9y ago
  I can confirm that it is also the case in Italy and Mexico. My family and I stayed there recently. In both countries, they took copies of our passports to send them to law enforcement agencies as part of the hotel check-in process.
kevin_thibedeau 9y ago
Sort of pointless since a fugitive can easily lie about their plate.
mikeash 9y ago
I can’t remember the last time I was required to give a license plate number at a hotel. I have on some occasions years ago, but not any time recently. I assumed it was just a matter of parking enforcement. Surely it can’t be a legal requirement if it’s so inconsistent.
- vkou 9y ago
  Were you paying by cash or by card? When you pay by cash, you need to do that, as well as supply photo ID.
  - mikeash 9y ago
    Oh, it’s only if you pay cash? What do they do if you say you don’t have a car?
    - vkou 9y ago
      If you're not in one of five metro areas where you can reasonably navigate without a car, they'll know you're a liar and a scoundrel, and will do nothing about it.
      - hollerith 9y ago
        I'm curious what those 5 metro areas are. (NYC is one, obviously.)
        fibbery 9y ago
        My guesses: Chicago, Boston, SF, ??
- arcdigital 9y ago
  I've only stayed at a motel once, and they asked for my license plate (paid with a credit card). I've been to hundreds of hotels and they have never asked.
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
SilasX 9y ago
Hm, I always thought the license plate number was so they know not to tow your car when it's left there for a(n otherwise) suspiciously long time. IME, when filling out the form, the clerks usually just say "oh don't worry about that". So one time, expecting the same, I asked them, "and do you actually need the plate?" and she said "well how long are you staying?" and I said "A few weeks" and she laughed and said "oh then of course I need that, don't want to tow you by accident." Your theory IMHO doesn't make sense -- if it's for ratting you out and they don't otherwise use it, then this fugitive-on-the-run can just give a fake number.
indubitable 9y ago
Their privacy policy, in this case, literally states they may disclose your information with law enforcement agencies. Compliance with Law This is a United States Site and is subject to the laws of the United States. We may disclose Guest Information to law enforcement agencies, or may be required to disclose it during the discovery process in litigation, pursuant to a court order, or in compliance with any applicable law, regulation, rule or ordinance. https://www.motel6.com/en/faq.html https://www.motel6.com/en/faq.html

kstrauser 9y ago

I worked as a night auditor in a couple of hotels while in college, and I’ve never even heard a rumor of what you’re talking about. We never gave a scrap of information to a LEO unless it was directly related to a crime under active investigation (as in “we chased someone into room 204 and arrested them. Do you have their registration info?”). As others have said, license plates were purely so that we didn’t accidentally tow guests’ vehicles and we could call someone who was blocking the fire lane.

JorgeGT 9y ago

At least in my country, Spain, guest data must be sent to the police database within 24h of his/her check-in.

talmand 9y ago
This is common in many countries; whether official or not.
chrismeller 9y ago
Not just Spain. If you’ve ever traveled you’ll know that the first question you’re asked at a hotel upon checkin is “Can I see your passport?” I knew Estonia did, so I used that as a basis for a search. Apparently they requested basically an RFC from other EU countries on whether they do [1]. Of the respondents, the following require registration: Belgium, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and Norway. That’s non-exhaustive, I know from other sources that at least within the EU Italy does as well, not to mention countless other countries around the world. 1: http://emn.ee/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/466_emn_ad-hoc_query_on_registration_of_visitorsider_dissemination_en.pdf http://emn.ee/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/466_emn_ad-hoc_quer...
dionmanu 9y ago
I can confirm that it is also the case in Italy and Mexico. My family and I stayed there recently. In both countries, they took copies of our passports to send them to law enforcement agencies as part of the hotel check-in process.

kevin_thibedeau 9y ago

Sort of pointless since a fugitive can easily lie about their plate.

mikeash 9y ago

I can’t remember the last time I was required to give a license plate number at a hotel. I have on some occasions years ago, but not any time recently. I assumed it was just a matter of parking enforcement. Surely it can’t be a legal requirement if it’s so inconsistent.

vkou 9y ago
Were you paying by cash or by card? When you pay by cash, you need to do that, as well as supply photo ID.
- mikeash 9y ago
  Oh, it’s only if you pay cash? What do they do if you say you don’t have a car?
  - vkou 9y ago
    If you're not in one of five metro areas where you can reasonably navigate without a car, they'll know you're a liar and a scoundrel, and will do nothing about it.
    - hollerith 9y ago
      I'm curious what those 5 metro areas are. (NYC is one, obviously.)
      - fibbery 9y ago
        My guesses: Chicago, Boston, SF, ??
arcdigital 9y ago
I've only stayed at a motel once, and they asked for my license plate (paid with a credit card). I've been to hundreds of hotels and they have never asked.

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

SilasX 9y ago

Hm, I always thought the license plate number was so they know not to tow your car when it's left there for a(n otherwise) suspiciously long time. IME, when filling out the form, the clerks usually just say "oh don't worry about that". So one time, expecting the same, I asked them, "and do you actually need the plate?" and she said "well how long are you staying?" and I said "A few weeks" and she laughed and said "oh then of course I need that, don't want to tow you by accident." Your theory IMHO doesn't make sense -- if it's for ratting you out and they don't otherwise use it, then this fugitive-on-the-run can just give a fake number.

indubitable 9y ago

Their privacy policy, in this case, literally states they may disclose your information with law enforcement agencies. Compliance with Law This is a United States Site and is subject to the laws of the United States. We may disclose Guest Information to law enforcement agencies, or may be required to disclose it during the discovery process in litigation, pursuant to a court order, or in compliance with any applicable law, regulation, rule or ordinance. https://www.motel6.com/en/faq.html https://www.motel6.com/en/faq.html