I’m planning a trip to Europe and need to make some hotels/motels and public transport reservations. I prefer sharing as little personal information as possible. When and where is it important or legally required to give my real name? How can I know if it’s okay to use a pseudonym? What kind of information can I “fake” instead providing real details? Regarding phone number, I don’t have a European number anyway so if I need to fill one in can I write something like +49 171 0000000 or will it raise flags?
Any general advice for traveling and making travel reservations in Europe while protecting my privacy and personal information?
Hotels in the EU will ask to see your passport when you check in - they’re required to do so. So I do not know of any legal way to hide your name or travel anonymously.
You can certainly use throwaway email and phone numbers, though.
You can use a throwaway email and a burner phone but when something happens with your booking or payment or hotel, you will see results of your actions.
You are already using your credit card, you are providing your ID card and your face is on camera on the hotel desk. What kind of privacy are you expecting?
You can protect your privacy but anonymity is impossible as air travel needs positive identification of you along with your government issued documents.
I still think what you do in your hotel room is private for the most part.
Taxi paid with cash still seems to be relatively private.
Hotels, even small ones, look for ID and may ask for a refundable prepaid charge on a credit card. I do not know if you can get away with a disposable or prepaid CC. Banks and financial institutions demand KYC.
I seem to recall an acquaintance mention a Facebook travel club of sorts several years ago. The premise is you lend a room in a house that you own/actively rent so that people in the travel club can come and go as they please, free of charge. I do not know how they vet members, but I seem to recall that having a room is a requirement. Not sure if it is a still thing even after Covid, but if you have a property you can use for such purpose, having an alias in such a club could be an avenue for travel with relatively anonymity. Then again your local government might be attracted about you. But hey it is an option.
Without a doubt, air travel without a valid ID is impossible. You can’t check in without a passport for international travel. In Canada and the US, a state ID is the bare minimum for domestic flights.
I’m not aware of any hotels in North America that let anyone check in without a credit card for incidentals.
In most countries in Europe hotels are required to take your ID and enter the info necessary. But if we’re honest, most smaller companies/hotels/airbnbs etc don’t bother. I’d also not worry about filling in a foreign phone number, it gives away you’re a tourist but besides that doesn’t raise red flags.
Is that an EU regulation or specific to individual countries in the EU? When I traveled to Europe in 2024 I was able to check in at both hotels using the confirmation email and my Hilton rewards number. This was in Belgium and France.
1. The Contracting Parties undertake to adopt the necessary measures in order to ensure that:
(a) the managers of establishments providing accommodation or their agents see to it that aliens accommodated therein, including nationals of the other Contracting Parties and those of other Member States of the European Communities, with the exception of accompanying spouses or accompanying minors or members of travel groups, personally complete and sign registration forms and confirm their identity by producing a valid identity document;
(b) the completed registration forms will be kept for the competent authorities or forwarded to them where such authorities deem this necessary for the prevention of threats, for criminal investigations or for clarifying the circumstances of missing persons or accident victims, save where national law provides otherwise.
Applies within the Schengen zone (EU excluding Ireland and Cyprus. But with the addition of non-EU countries Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland)
Disposable email addresses and phone numbers aren’t a problem. Though I would recommend disposable rather than fake. As you may actually need them to confirm your booking and communicate with the hotel.
Some hotels may also ask for a credit card. But I’ve found that you can get away with a debit card as credit cards aren’t as ubiquitous in Europe. Pre-paid debit cards might not work and are probably a red flag to hotel staff.