Guest Register Obligation
According to Directive 2004/38/EC on the right of EU citizens and their families to move and reside freely within the EU, some EU countries require accommodation establishments (Vacation rental, rural house, a camping site, a hostel or hotel) to report guest presence to the relevant authorities (often the town hall or local police station) within a reasonable period of time after arrival and may impose a penalty, such as a fine if you fail to do so.
- All you need to report their presence as EU nationals is your identity card or passport;
- If they were accompanied by family members who are not EU nationals, they will need a passport.
In some EU countries, failure to report guest presence might result in a fine, but you cannot be expelled just for this.
Convention Implementing the Schengen Agreement
The Convention Implementing the Schengen Agreement provides a general framework for the collection of personal data of hotel guests. The EU Member States therefore implemented the requirements in differing ways. The chapter on police cooperation in the Convention Implementing the Schengen Agreement contains a provision stating that Member States must adopt the necessary measures to ensure that the managers of establishments providing accommodation see to it that foreign guests complete and sign registration forms and confirm their identity by producing a valid identity document.
Completed registration forms must be kept for, or forwarded to, the competent authorities if necessary for the prevention of threats or criminal investigations.
Data Protection Compliance
As mentioned above, the Convention Implementing the Schengen Agreement provides that Member States must ensure a certain level of data protection in line with the principles of Recommendation No. R (87) 15 when personal data is processed and communicated. In addition, on May 25, 2018, the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) took effect. As a regulation, it is directly applicable in all Member States without any implementing legislation needed. The GDPR covers the processing of all personal data. Persons processing personal data must ensure that the processing complies with the principles set out in the GDPR, in particular lawfulness, meaning there needs to be a proper legal basis for the processing. In the case of business accommodations, processing of personal data is necessary for the performance of the accommodation contract and for compliance with the legal obligation to collect personal data from hotel guests upon registration codified in the Convention Implementing the Schengen Agreement and the respective national implementing legislation.
In the case of business accommodations, processing of personal data is necessary for the performance of the accommodation contract and for compliance with the legal obligation to collect personal data from hotel guests upon registration codified in the Convention Implementing the Schengen Agreement and the respective national implementing legislation.
