Checkin Procedures - Do you make guests sign anything ?

Hi All,
My wife and I (newby innkeepers) have restored an old inn and are now accepting direct book reservations after having started with only airbnb. My question is do other folks require guests to sign any paperwork when they check in ie acknowledgment of policies etc. If so what exactly do you have them sign ?
What about ID/Driver License etc ?
In theory they have read our policies when they booked online. We also hand out a registration form that has the basic policy info as well.
We have collected the guests CC details and charged a deposit or the whole amount prior to their arrival and since its processed online we don't have any CC receipts for them to sign per se.
Thanks,
John

As a fully licensed inn we are required by state law to get guest signatures on check in. That form also contains info about no smoking in the building and what the late check out fee is.
We have air guests sign the same form.

Check your local laws. Legally, around here, I'm not obligated to check ID, but I must have a guest's name for registration. I don't need a signature, but credit card company rules do require one if I have charged the card beforehand.
Also, around here, it is illegal to write down certain ID numbers including driver's licence number, social insurance and medical insurance numbers. Most don't follow the law, but the fine is about $75 per incident if someone complains. Check your local requirements.

We have every guest sign a registration card which clearly has their name (address /phone optional), complete set of charges, we highlight the most important policies and have a statement indicating they agree to the charges. We probably don't have the exact wording from a credit card slip, but should look to change that.
Having the signed registration card had saved us numerous times when their we receive a credit card inquiry or a charge back. The credit card banks still seem to put the most weight on a signed document with a clear explanation of charges and policies (short of maybe a chip read card at the time of arrival) which I do not think exists yet for hotels/lodging.

JerseyBoy said:

We have every guest sign a registration card which clearly has their name (address /phone optional), complete set of charges, we highlight the most important policies and have a statement indicating they agree to the charges. We probably don't have the exact wording from a credit card slip, but should look to change that.
Having the signed registration card had saved us numerous times when their we receive a credit card inquiry or a charge back. The credit card banks still seem to put the most weight on a signed document with a clear explanation of charges and policies (short of maybe a chip read card at the time of arrival) which I do not think exists yet for hotels/lodging..

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What do you mean by chip read card? I'm confused.

Morticia said:

JerseyBoy said:

We have every guest sign a registration card which clearly has their name (address /phone optional), complete set of charges, we highlight the most important policies and have a statement indicating they agree to the charges. We probably don't have the exact wording from a credit card slip, but should look to change that.
Having the signed registration card had saved us numerous times when their we receive a credit card inquiry or a charge back. The credit card banks still seem to put the most weight on a signed document with a clear explanation of charges and policies (short of maybe a chip read card at the time of arrival) which I do not think exists yet for hotels/lodging..

Click to expand...

What do you mean by chip read card? I'm confused.
.

Click to expand...

The chip (EMV) read is unique each time it is done. It's almost completely incontrovertible.

We have all our guests sign our terms, which we print on the back of their invoice. They are emailed a copy of the invoice with the terms when they make their reservation, but we don't expect them to sign until arrival.

Guests have to accept our policies when they book online, so we don't have them sign anything at checkin. Walk-ins do get a sheet with our house rules and we do ask for a signature accepting them. We don't ask for photo ID's. It's Vermont. We're friendly here.

We have them fill out a card and sign it upon arrival, its part of our checking in guests. (even air guests)

95% of res are on-line or phone with online confirmation and all backed by credit card so we have info on who they are. We don't do anything when they arrive, but we run a physical credit card (not necessarily same as online) before they leave. Day-of/walk-in can't book online, they give us the same info as online (so we can enter it online) and pay in advance. Have never asked for ID. 8 years, never a problem. Some cards didn't run right away, but there was always one that would.