It is possible that when you tried booking a hotel room online, you came across the term Local ID. Here’s all you need to know about Local IDs and why most hoteliers refuse to accept them.
A local ID is one that has an address proof of the same city in which the room is being booked. Owning a local ID means that you are a resident of that city. If you are planning on booking a room in your own city, it is important to crosscheck if the hotel accepts local ID proofs.
Luckily, most of the popular online hotel booking websites provide customers with filters to differentiate the hotels that accept local IDs from the ones that do not.
Why do hoteliers show hesitation in accepting local IDs?
Fear of losing reputation
It is safe to say that a majority of local ID holders looking to book rooms in their localities are unmarried couples. Though there is no law that denies a room to unmarried couples, due to social norms and moral policing, hoteliers may refuse them rooms in fear of putting their reputation at stake.
Reserve the rooms for travelers
A few hotels, especially the ones located in popular tourist destinations, prefer to reserve their rooms for outstation tourists rather than giving them away to locals.
The unacceptability of local ID's may be justified by hoteliers under the 'Rights to admission reserved' disclaimer. However, Article 15 of the Constitution of India says in its second clause that:
No citizen shall, on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them, be subject to any disability, liability, restriction or condition with regard to - Access to shops, public restaurants, hotels and places of public entertainment; or The use of wells, tanks, bathing ghats, roads and places of public resort maintained wholly or partly out of State funds or dedicated to the use of general public.
However, the third clause of the same Article says that there may be special provisions made for women and children.
After briefing about why local ID's may not be accepted in hotels, the question may arise as to what documents are accepted by hotels as ID proofs. Valid photo identification is required at the time of check-in at any hotel. The ID proofs accepted are:
- Driving License
- Aadhar Card
- Passport
- Voter ID
The original copy of any one of these ID proofs should be carried by all the occupants above the age of 18 staying in the hotel.
With new names emerging in the hospitality sector, it has become increasingly easier to search and book rooms in your own city. There are also microstay options such as Mistay.in where you can decide the length and time of your stay and need not book the room for 24 hours. These options have a local ID filter where you can easily filter out the hotels that accept local IDs. You can book and pay only for the hours you need with flexible check in and check out timings!
