Travel Q & A: No personal information on hotel key cards

Q. Are credit card information and other personal details lodged in hotel key cards, and can such data be extracted by malevolent finders?

A. “It’s an urban legend that’s been around for a while,” says Jessica Maccaro, marketing director of the American Hotel and Lodging Association, “but the cards don’t contain guests’ personal information.”

Most hoteliers use an embedding and encryption track that includes the bare minimum of data: guest name, room number, and check-in and checkout dates. All sensitive information is kept in the computer.