At the desk of a London hotel you will be asked for your full name and nationality, because a 1972 law requires it of every guest aged 16 or over, and most visitors from outside the Commonwealth and Ireland must also give a passport number. You will then be asked for a card, so the hotel can ask your bank to reserve money against your bill. That reservation is not a charge, but on a debit card it can look exactly like one for several days.
Neither request is the hotel being difficult. The first is the Immigration (Hotel Records) Order 1972, which applies to every kind of paid overnight accommodation in the United Kingdom. The second is a card-scheme mechanism called a pre-authorisation, and it explains most of the anxious phone calls hotels get about "being charged twice". This page explains both, and then lists what is worth checking before you take the key.
For choosing where to sleep in the first place, start with our guide to where to stay in London. For the hours between landing and the room being ready, see our page on early check-in and leaving bags at the hotel.
The London check-in, at a glance
- Everyone aged 16+
- Full name and nationality, on arrival (Immigration (Hotel Records) Order 1972, article 4(1))
- Most non-British visitors
- Also the number and place of issue of a passport or other identity document, and on leaving, your next destination and its address if you know it (article 4(2))
- Who is exempt from the extra details
- British, Irish and Commonwealth citizens, and British protected persons
- How long the hotel keeps it
- At least 12 months, open to the police and to Home Office officials (article 5)
- Card at check-in
- Usually a pre-authorisation for the room and an allowance for extras. Reserved, not taken
- When the reservation drops off
- Set by your bank, not the hotel. One British bank, Nationwide, releases an untaken card payment after 7 days (checked November 2026)
- Usual check-in time
- From 14:00 or 15:00, set by the hotel
The 1972 Order: why the desk wants your nationality
The rule is short, and it is worth reading in its own words because hotels rarely explain it. Article 4(1) says that every person aged 16 or over who stays at premises covered by the Order shall, on arriving, "inform the keeper of the premises of his full name and nationality". Article 5 then puts the duty on the hotel: it must require guests to comply, and keep a written record of each guest's date of arrival and details "for a period of at least 12 months". That record must be open at all times to inspection by any police officer or anyone authorised by the Home Secretary.
The scope is wide. Article 3 applies the Order to "any hotel or other premises, whether furnished or unfurnished, where lodging or sleeping accommodation is provided for reward". "Stay" means one night or more. So a hostel bunk, a guest house, a serviced apartment and a flat let through a booking platform are all inside it; the only exception is premises the police have certified as a school, hospital, club or similar institution. That is why the same question appears on our pages about hostels and short-let flats: it is one law, not a series of house rules.
Children under 16 have no duty under the Order. In practice the adult who books gives their names anyway, and the Order allows any of the required information to be given by someone acting on another guest's behalf, so one parent can answer for the family at the desk.
Who has to show more than a name
The extra details in article 4(2) apply to a guest who is an "alien". The Order borrows that word from nationality law, and in the British Nationality Act 1981 an alien is "a person who is neither a Commonwealth citizen nor a British protected person nor a citizen of the Republic of Ireland". The difference is real:
- An American, German, Japanese, Brazilian or Chinese guest must give the number and place of issue of their passport, or of another document establishing identity and nationality, on arrival. On or before leaving, they must also say where they are going next and, if they know it, the full address.
- An Australian, Canadian, Indian, South African or New Zealand guest is a Commonwealth citizen, so the Order itself asks only for name and nationality. So does it for British and Irish guests.
Most hotels ask everyone for a passport or a photo ID card regardless, as their own policy, partly because the desk cannot tell a Canadian from an American by looking. The Order asks for information; it says nothing about photocopying or scanning a document. If a hotel scans your passport, that is its own procedure, and you are entitled to ask what it keeps and for how long. For what a visitor needs to enter the country before any of this, see our guide to UK entry requirements and the ETA.
The "next destination" line on the registration card is a legal question, not a survey. If you hold a non-Commonwealth passport, article 4(2)(b) requires you to give your next destination, and its address where you know it. "Home", or the name of your next hotel, is the honest answer; leaving it blank and being chased at check-out is the usual result of not knowing why it is there.
The card at the desk: a reservation, not a payment
Once you are registered, the hotel asks for a card. What happens next depends on the rate you booked, and it helps to know which of three things is going on.
| What the hotel does | What it means for your account | Usually seen with |
|---|---|---|
| Takes a pre-authorisation | Your bank reserves a sum. Nothing has been paid, but on a debit card your available balance falls at once | Pay-at-the-hotel rates, and as an allowance for extras on any rate |
| Takes a payment | Money leaves your account, and a refund of any overpayment takes as long as a refund does | Rates you were told would be charged on arrival |
| Stores the card details only | Nothing happens to your balance until the hotel charges something | Prepaid rates, where the room is already paid and the card is kept against damage or extras |
A pre-authorisation is a question the hotel's terminal asks your bank: will you guarantee this amount? The bank says yes and sets the money aside. When you check out, the hotel takes the real bill, which may be less, and the reservation should fall away. The usual cause of a "double charge" is a guest seeing both the reservation and the final bill at the same time, before the first has dropped off.
On a credit card this barely matters: your spending limit is reduced for a few days. On a debit card the reserved sum comes out of your available balance, so a hold of several hundred pounds can leave you short of cash for the rest of the trip, even though it was never taken. That is the strongest reason to hand over a credit card at the desk if you have one. Our page on card payments in Britain covers which cards work here and why you should pay in pounds rather than your home currency.
How long the hold takes to disappear
The timing belongs to your bank, not the hotel. The hotel can only tell its payment provider to release the reservation, or take the final amount and let the rest lapse. What your banking app shows after that is decided by the bank that issued your card.
Nationwide, one large British bank, says on its help page that a pending card payment would normally go through within 7 days, and that if a company has not taken it after 7 days, the bank stops reserving the money (checked November 2026). Banks abroad set their own periods, and some keep a hotel reservation visible for longer. Your own bank's help page, or its app, is the only reliable answer for your card.
Two things help. Ask at check-out for the reservation to be released rather than left to expire, and keep the final invoice showing the amount actually charged. If the money has not reappeared after your bank's stated period, the invoice is what your bank will ask for. Our page on hotel extras and hidden costs explains what tends to appear on that final bill.
A debit card hold can block your Tube fares. If the reservation leaves your account close to zero, the next contactless tap at a ticket barrier may be declined. Keep a second card, or check your available balance after check-in, before you set off on public transport.
How much the hotel reserves, and whether cash will do
No law sets the amount, and hotels do not publish it consistently. In our observation (November 2026), a London hotel commonly reserves the cost of the stay, where it has not already been paid, plus an allowance for extras per night, and luxury hotels reserve more than budget chains. The figure should be in the booking conditions; if it is not, ask before you arrive rather than at the desk.
Many hotels will not accept cash as a security deposit, and several will not take a debit card for the extras allowance at all. Some chains offer a "no-extras" option: they take no allowance, and in return you cannot charge anything to the room. If you are travelling on a debit card only, ask for that.
Two traps catch people who booked through a website. A prepaid booking made with someone else's card often has to be matched by that card at the desk, or by a written authorisation from its holder, because the hotel is protecting itself against card fraud. And a booking paid with a single-use virtual card issued by the booking website does not cover extras, so the desk will still want a card of your own. If a hotel says the booking does not exist, our page on what to do if your hotel cancels on you explains your position.
Arriving at 09:00 when check-in is at 15:00
Check-in at London hotels is commonly from 14:00 or 15:00, because the room has to be emptied and cleaned after the previous guest's 10:00 or 11:00 check-out. No law sets either time. If your overnight flight lands at dawn, register at the desk when you arrive, even though the room is not ready. The legal details and the card are then done, your bags can be left, and the desk can call or message you when a room comes free.
The ways of getting into a room early, and what paid early check-in actually buys, are on the early check-in page linked at the top of this one. For the rest of that first tired day, our arrival day plan is a better use of the morning than waiting in the lobby.
What to check before you take the key
Mistakes are easiest to fix while you are still standing at the desk and the room has not been used. Read the registration card before you sign it, and check these:
- The room type. A "double" and a "twin" are different rooms in Britain, and "en suite" is not the same as a separate bathroom down the corridor. Our page on British room types translates the words.
- The rate and what it includes. Breakfast in or out, the total in pounds, and whether VAT is in the figure. It should match your confirmation.
- The amount reserved on your card, and whether it is a reservation or a payment.
- Check-out time, and whether a late check-out is possible, before you plan the last day around it.
- Where the room is. The floor, whether the lift reaches it, and which side of the building it faces. Ask for a room away from the street or the lift shaft now, not at midnight; see our page on quiet rooms and street noise. If you need step-free access, confirm it here; our guide to accessible hotels lists the questions.
- Valuables. Ask whether the hotel will keep passports or jewellery at reception. What the hotel owes you if something goes missing depends on whether you did, as our page on the hotel safe and your valuables explains.
Then go to the room and look before you unpack. If it is not the room you booked, has a problem you would complain about later, or is next to the ice machine, go back down straight away. A room swapped in the first ten minutes costs the hotel almost nothing. A complaint on the last morning gets an apology at best.
Self check-in, kiosks and keyless rooms
More London hotels and aparthotels now offer check-in by app or by a machine in the lobby. The legal duty does not change: the app asks for the same name, nationality and passport details, and the hotel keeps the same record. What changes is that nobody checks the room type with you, so read the confirmation screen properly before you accept it.
Keyless check-in also tends to come with a pre-authorisation taken by the app the day before arrival, which is when people first notice the reservation on their account. That is the same mechanism as at a desk, only earlier. Travelling alone and arriving late? Our page on single rooms and travelling alone covers the practical side of a late arrival.
Frequently asked questions
Why does a UK hotel ask for my nationality?
Because the law requires it. The Immigration (Hotel Records) Order 1972 says anyone aged 16 or older staying somewhere for payment has to tell the keeper their full name and their nationality when they arrive, and the hotel must keep a record for at least 12 months, open to the police and the Home Office.
Do I have to show my passport at a London hotel?
If you are not a British, Irish or Commonwealth citizen, the Order requires you to give your passport number and place of issue, or the details of another identity document. Commonwealth citizens strictly need give only name and nationality, but most hotels ask every guest for a passport or photo ID as their own policy.
How long does a hotel pre-authorisation take to come off my card?
It depends on the bank that issued your card, not the hotel. Nationwide, a British bank, releases an untaken card payment after 7 days. Banks abroad set their own periods. Ask the hotel to release the reservation at check-out, and keep the final invoice in case your bank asks for it.
Can I pay a hotel security deposit in cash in London?
Some hotels accept it, many do not, and policies vary within the same chain. If you only have a debit card or cash, ask the hotel before you arrive whether it offers a no-extras option with no card allowance, in which case you cannot charge anything to the room.
Can I check in at a London hotel early in the morning?
You can register and leave your bags at almost any staffed hotel, but the room is usually guaranteed only from 14:00 or 15:00. Early rooms are often given free on a quiet day if you ask, and can sometimes be bought.
Sources
- legislation.gov.uk - The Immigration (Hotel Records) Order 1972, articles 2 to 5 (checked November 2026)
- legislation.gov.uk - British Nationality Act 1981, section 50 (checked November 2026)
- Nationwide - Pending transactions (checked November 2026)