Guest identity reporting (KBS): how hotels handle it

Hotels, pensions and similar accommodation businesses are required to report their guests’ identity information to the police; this reporting is commonly known by the name of the system it runs on, KBS (Kimlik Bildirme Sistemi). This obligation matters especially to a small hotel moving onto new software, because a missed report means falling back on the old, manual way of recording it. This article covers what the obligation is and how the process runs inside the check-in screen.

What the reporting obligation is

Law No. 1774 on Identity Reporting requires the operator of an accommodation facility to report the identity of anyone staying there to the local police unit. Facilities that keep computerized records make this report electronically, connected to the police’s own system, rather than on paper. The obligation doesn’t scale with size — a single-room pension and a fifty-room hotel both have to make the same report.

Why no ID photo is asked for

The Personal Data Protection Board’s decision on the tourism and accommodation sector states that accommodation businesses may record a guest’s name, surname and ID number, but may not keep a photocopy or image of the ID document itself. Because of this, the check-in screen has no field for uploading or photographing an ID; the front desk views the ID only to verify it, and never saves an image of it to the system. Any ID photocopies collected in the past need to be destroyed.

How it runs during check-in

When a guest arrives at the front desk, their identity is verified; their name, surname, ID number (or passport details for a foreign guest) and nationality are entered on the check-in screen. This same information creates or updates the guest’s customer record. Once check-in is complete, the report doesn’t wait as a separate task — it is prepared and sent as a natural part of check-in itself.

More than one guest in a room

When more than one guest checks into a room, the report isn’t limited to whoever made the booking — it’s prepared for every guest staying in that room. The front desk only needs to add each guest on the check-in screen; the report list builds itself from the guests added, with no separate step to work out who needs reporting.

Where the data lives, and who sees it

The name, surname, ID number and nationality collected for the report live on the guest’s customer record, accessible only to authorized roles. This identity information isn’t used for anything else — not for building a marketing list, for instance; its only purpose is check-in and the legal report.

What happens if a report is late

Reporting incorrectly or late carries a risk of administrative sanction for the business; this article does not give a specific fine amount or an exact time limit, because figures like these can change over time and the current position needs confirming from an official source. What matters is the principle: the report should be prepared without delay the moment check-in finishes — a record left for “later” during a busy check-in rush gets forgotten easily, and batching everything at day’s end leaves the door open to both errors and delay.

Example: an 18-room city hotel used to enter its identity reports in a batch at the end of the day, by hand, from paper records. In one busy week two guests’ reports were missed and had to be entered the next day retroactively, and re-checking which room belonged to which guest on which date ate into the night shift’s time. Once the report became part of the check-in screen itself, there was no more need for retroactive entry — every check-in completes its own report along with it, leaving no separate list to double-check at day’s end.

How Rotenta handles guest identity reporting

1. The check-in screen opens when a guest arrives at the front desk.
2. Name, surname, ID number (or passport details) and nationality are entered; the ID document is only viewed for verification, never uploaded or photographed into the system.
3. This information creates the guest’s customer record, or finds an existing one and attaches it to the booking.
4. Once check-in completes, the guest identity reporting module prepares the report and sends it to the police reporting system.
5. The report’s status (sent, pending, failed) stays visible on the check-in screen; the front desk is alerted on failure.
6. The guest’s record completes in the same motion as check-in on the room plan — there’s no separate screen to switch to.

You can read how this record joins the room plan and the folio in the front desk and room plan, and what happens with housekeeping and accounting right after check-in in housekeeping and the accommodation tax. How the guest record itself is kept is covered on the customer management (CRM) module page, and how sensitive fields pass through a consent gate on the KVKK consent management module page.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to send the identity report by hand at every check-in?

No; once check-in completes, the report is prepared and sent automatically, with no separate screen to switch to.

Can I keep a photo or scan of the guest’s ID document?

No; under the Personal Data Protection Board’s decision, an ID document’s image or photocopy cannot be kept, and the system has no field for it.

Does a single-room pension have to file this report too?

Yes; the obligation doesn’t depend on the size of the facility.

Is there a different field for foreign guests?

Yes; passport details and nationality are recorded instead of an ID number for foreign guests.

How does the front desk find out if a report fails to send?

The send status shows on the check-in screen; on failure the front desk is alerted and can resend it.

You can see how guest identity reporting fits into the rest of hotel management software on the hotel management software page. To talk through how to set up guest identity reporting at your hotel, contact us.