This info was passed onto me & I felt it was pretty interesting & important enough to share. Did you ever wonder what makes up the code on your hotel key that unlocks your door? Answer: a customer's name, customer's partial home address, hotel room number, check in date & check out date, and the customer's credit card number & experation date. When you turn these cards back in, your information is there for any employee to access by simply scanning the card key in the hotel scanner. An employee could take a handful of cards home & using a scanning device, access the information onto a laptop computer and then go shopping at your expense.
Simply put, hotels don't erase the information on these cards until an employee re-issues them to the next hotel guest. At that time, the new guest's information is overwritten and the previous guest's information is erased. But until this happens, your card is kept in a drawer at the front desk with your information on it.
The bottom line: Keep the key cards, take them home with you or destroy them. Never leave them behind in your room or in the room's waste basket and Never turn them in at the front desk. They can not & will not charge you for these cards, it's illegal. This information is courtesy of the Metropoltian Police Department.
Simply put, hotels don't erase the information on these cards until an employee re-issues them to the next hotel guest. At that time, the new guest's information is overwritten and the previous guest's information is erased. But until this happens, your card is kept in a drawer at the front desk with your information on it.
The bottom line: Keep the key cards, take them home with you or destroy them. Never leave them behind in your room or in the room's waste basket and Never turn them in at the front desk. They can not & will not charge you for these cards, it's illegal. This information is courtesy of the Metropoltian Police Department.
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