Can hotel invoices pose a security risk?

Just back from a month-long journey in Europe, road warrior Noel Douglas brought back an unusual souvenir: A concern about hotel safety.

On several occasions, she woke up on check-out morning to find her hotel invoice waiting for her in front of her guestroom door - on the outside of her room in the hallway. Another time, it was left partially under the door, instead of pushed safely inside her room.

"Is this hotel negligence that opens the door (to) identity theft?," she asks.

It's especially puzzling, she adds, since we live in an age when you can check into your hotel remotely or have your invoice e-mailed to you.

"Why take the chance of your personal data being available for anyone walking by your room to pick up the statement and read your name, address and other important data?," Douglas asks.

Douglas took the photo during her stay at the Hilton London Heathrow Airport Terminal 5 hotel. In a comment to Hotel Check-In, a Hilton Worldwide spokesman said:

"Our policy is to always leave the folio fully under the door, since our guests' privacy is always one of our highest priorities. The hotel's management has been notified and is looking into this specific incident."

Joe McInerney, CEO of the American Hotel & Lodging Association who spent his career in the hotel world, told me that this isn't a typical practice in the USA or the rest of the world. "I've stayed in some very nice hotels and in some joints, and I've never seen it happen."

Uncommon practice?

So, just how common is this practice? I have not personally witnessed this; I always find the receipt beneath my door inside my room, but then again, I'm not on the road half the month.

I recently posed the question to my well-traveled friends on Facebook to get more feedback.

Frequent traveler Jeffrey Eslinger wrote that as he walked out of his room in the USA, he "saw bills outside of every door. I never thought about (this) until you mentioned (it), but I agree that it is a potential risk." He declined to identify the hotel.

Frequent traveler Meg Ryan says she usually finds her invoices under the door in her room in the morning, but "I have had some like that." Generally, she notes, the credit card number is deleted, although the name and address sometimes are visible.

"As a solo female traveler, the less info the better," Ryan notes. She adds that she used to work in a hotel and recalls that employees "would make sure (the invoices) were all the way under."

Road warriors to hotels: Just email my receipt!

Road warrior and hotel consultant Are Morch says that the practice shown in the photo "is a no-no."

"Today, as most travelers bring their smartphones, mobile device or laptops, they need to provide customers with the options of electronic billing," Morch says.

Travel industry tracker Henry Harteveldt of Atmosphere Research Group echoes Morch, telling us on Facebook, "I personally prefer not to have my bill sent under the door. Who knows what information an enterprising and dishonest hotel staff member would copy? E-mail me a preliminary bill that I can review prior to checking out."

Road warrior Jay Furr agrees that not enough effort is being made to slip the lightweight piece of paper into his guest room on check-out morning. "I wish they'd make absolutely sure to shove it all the way under (the door)," he wrote on Facebook, adding, "I also wish they'd cut down on the number of times I get someone else's bill under my door."

Readers: Have you ever found your hotel invoice in a potentially compromising location? If so, did you speak up and tell management? If you see one this morning, please take a photo and e-mail to me at bdelolli@usatoday.com.