What happens at check-in
Check-in at a hotel in Colombia takes a few steps more than in the United States. The front desk asks for your passport, records your details, and usually scans or copies the photo page and your entry record.
Each adult in the room goes through the same process, not only the person whose name is on the booking. Have all passports ready at once and check-in takes little time.
The passport you entered with
Use the same passport you showed at immigration when you landed. If you hold two nationalities, the hotel will look for the entry record linked to that passport, so a second passport can cause confusion.
A photo of your passport on your phone is useful for daily life, but the front desk will want the original. Keep it in your room once check-in is done.
Proof of entry
Proof of entry is the record that shows when you arrived in Colombia. For many travelers it is the stamp in the passport from the immigration officer at El Dorado, Bogotá's international airport.
Some travelers pass through automated gates and leave without an ink stamp. If that happens to you, keep your boarding pass and flight details. The Migración Colombia website explains how to get a record of your entry if a hotel asks for one.
Why hotels register foreign guests
Hotels in Colombia are required to report foreign guests to the national migration authority, Migración Colombia. The report covers who is staying and for how long, and the hotel files it, not you.
This is why the front desk asks for details such as nationality, passport number, and where you arrived from. It is routine for all foreign guests and has nothing to do with you personally.
Legally operating hotels in Colombia are listed in the national tourism register, the RNT (Registro Nacional de Turismo). Tourist apartments rented by the night are also expected to have an RNT number. If you book an apartment directly, it is fair to ask the host for theirs.
The 19% VAT exemption for foreign tourists
The exemption is the main reason your passport matters beyond registration. Here is how it is described on our hotel pages:
In Colombia, VAT is called IVA (impuesto al valor agregado, the value-added tax). You'll see that abbreviation on invoices and on some booking screens.
We don't give tax advice, and this guide doesn't replace the hotel's own answer. What we can tell you is how to read a price: two sites can show the same room with and without IVA, so compare like with like. Our guide to hotel prices in Bogotá explains what else moves the rate.
If the exemption matters for your budget, ask the hotel two questions when you book. Does the rate shown include IVA, and which documents do they need at check-in to apply the exemption?
Both our cheap hotels in Bogotá and our luxury hotels in Bogotá pages show the same note under each price. On each hotel page, the VAT exemption appears as Tax-Free Price, one of the Bogotá Five checks. It reads "Not yet checked" until we confirm it with the hotel.
Visitor policies
In practice, a visitor shows an ID card or passport at the front desk, and the staff write down the name and room number. Some hotels ask that visitors leave by a set hour or register as an extra guest if they stay the night.
Policies differ from one hotel to the next, and an extra guest may change the rate. If visitors are part of your plans, ask the hotel before you book rather than at the desk.
Apartments and the portería
Many apartment buildings in Bogotá have a portería (a staffed front-door desk run by the building). The staff there often register visitors and sometimes ask for ID, in the same way a hotel front desk does.
When you book an apartment, ask the host whether the building staff know about your stay. That avoids a wait at the door on arrival. Our apartments in Bogotá and suites and aparthotels pages cover both options.
Traveling with children
Colombia has strict rules on minors in hotels, and front desks check the identity of children as carefully as adults. Hotels may ask for proof that the adult traveling with a child is a parent or legal guardian.
Carry each child's passport. If the child's surname differs from yours, or only one parent is traveling, a copy of the birth certificate can save time at the desk.
Our family hotels in Bogotá page lists hotels with family rooms. For adoption trips, our guide to the US Embassy visa interview covers where families tend to stay.
Other house rules to expect
- Smoking: Colombian law bans smoking in enclosed public spaces, and that includes hotel lobbies and restaurants. Ask the hotel whether it has an outdoor area for smokers.
- Pets: some hotels allow pets, and we flag them on our pet-friendly hotels page. Ask about conditions before you book.
- Room guarantee: many hotels take a card guarantee at check-in. Ask how much will be held and when it is released.
- Check-in and check-out: times vary by hotel. If you land early at El Dorado, ask whether early check-in is possible or book the night before.
Invoices and receipts
Colombian businesses issue electronic invoices, called factura electrónica (an electronic invoice registered with the tax authority, DIAN). At check-out, the front desk may ask for a name, an ID or passport number, and an email address for it.
If you need an invoice in a company's name for an expense claim, give those details at check-in rather than at check-out. Changing an electronic invoice after it is issued takes longer than getting it right the first time.
Late arrivals and a 24-hour front desk
Check-in rules don't pause at night, so a late arrival still means passports, entry records, and a registration form. A hotel with a 24-hour front desk handles that at 2am without a call-ahead.
Near El Dorado, Hotel Habitel Prime is a 4-star hotel about 2.4 km (1.5 miles) from the airport as the crow flies, with a 24-hour front desk. It has a guest rating of 8.6/10 from more than 3,000 reviews. Hotel CGH Bogota Airport, about 5.1 km from the airport, also lists a 24-hour front desk and an airport shuttle.
In apartments, check-in after dark depends on the host and the building's portería. Send your flight number in advance, and ask who will hand over the keys if the flight lands late.
Before your first night
Most of these rules take care of themselves if you arrive with the right papers. A short checklist for the flight to Bogotá: passport, entry stamp or record, the booking confirmation, and a card for the guarantee.
For the trip itself, our guide to safety in Bogotá covers rides and areas, and our where to stay in Bogotá page compares 8 areas. If you arrive late at night, start with our hotels near Bogotá airport.
