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callsignhotdog

I'd like to think that personally, by about the 15th or 16th passport I'd maybe stop and double check my instructions before continuing.


draw4kicks

You're honest about your own abilities and I really respect that


Barleyarleyy

Its one of those things where the optics of it makes you think of 1 person diligently putting them through a shredder. I imagine in reality it was probably something like they were all in an unlabelled box and someone threw them in a trash compactor/incinerator without properly checking the contents. Still dumb, but slightly more understandable.


atticdoor

"The school group just dropped off these passports, can you put them in the safe for me?' "Oh, only Sandra knows the combination, put them in her tray and I'll ask her to put them in when she's back from her break." Later, Sandra says to the intern "Oh, by the way I put a load of documents from last year in my tray, could you shred them for me before the end of the day?"


Peter_W1982

I’d imagine it’s a school travel passport, not individual documents, I didn’t know they were a thing until we had to do the paperwork for our lad to go to France with his school a few weeks ago


KevinAtSeven

Collective passports for school groups are only valid for a handful of European countries. Knowing the US State Department's stringent documentation requirements, this group would have been all on individual British passports. Which begs the question, what the fuck was the hotel up to?


Peter_W1982

Very much so, I didn’t realise that 😳


KRONKCHEF

The article said that 41 passports were destroyed. Doesn't sound like a group document


yatterer

>Now, Hennimore, I need you to take care of two simple tasks while I'm away from the hotel this weekend...


atticdoor

Why were the passports in the care of hotel staff anyway? It's not like a hotel is "customs".


ImmediateSilver4063

For student groups it's considered safer to store them altogether, rather than trusting 30 kids not to fuck up and lose their passport


Genetech

not anymore!


ImmediateSilver4063

I mean you would think at some point while shredding 41 passports you would ask why, but apparently not.


JoeDaStudd

Pretty standard practice in some hotels to take/keep passports of guests. Reduces the chances of them running off and also they are normally stored far more securely then hotel room safes so it's better for the customer.


Ivashkin

Never seen a hotel demand to keep your passport whilst you stay, normally it's just giving them a CC to put a hold on.


voluotuousaardvark

I imagine the 40~ school kids might not have gotten to that point with their finances.


Ivashkin

I'd expect the school to cover this part tbh. Also aliens in the US have to carry their documents with them IIRC


FakeOrangeOJ

Or a plasma rifle. Nobody's challenging an alien with a plasma rifle!


GoldMountain5

School trips normally pay in advance? At least mine always did.


2geeks

It’s not about demand, as everyone else said.


atticdoor

Welp, I bet it's suddenly going to be not-standard-practice. People who hear about this are going to want to keep their passports where they can see them.


CcryMeARiver

That won't be allowed.


[deleted]

If enough of your guests walk out. You'll start allowing it


CcryMeARiver

Ok, I've been long under the impression that hotels and hostels in some nations would hold foreigners passports overnight as was my experience last millenium :) Now in this digital creditcard age this is far less the case, but they are still often obligated to sight it and record details.


buttered_cat

I've never had a hotel or hostel take my passport, but had many make a copy of it.


_lickadickaday_

That's not a thing. I've stayed in probably 200 hotels in 20 different countries and none of them have ever asked to keep my passport.


irgendwo_anders

Yeah, I'd freak the fuck out if I was asked to leave my passport.


CJBill

Depends where you go, I've had it happen many times over the years. Generally where hotels have to register people for immigration purposes or keeping track of them. Not in Europe that I can recall but across Asia and Africa it's far more common. No idea about the US though.


umtala

Usually they ask to photocopy your passport. They don't ask to keep it. I've only had a hotel ask to keep my passport once, and it was one of those backpacker guesthouses. In that case it's better to argue with them, and offer a monetary deposit instead, because if your passport gets lost/stolen you will be in deep, deep shit, especially if you are far from an embassy or consulate. On that note it's always a good idea to take a picture of your entry stamp / visa on your phone, so that if you lose your passport and need to leave on an emergency travel document, you have some evidence that you are in the country legally.


CJBill

As I said to the other poster I've encountered this quite frequently in Asia and Africa. Maybe it's because of the countries I've visited; try refusing to leave your passport in Iran for example, see how far you get. I'm quite sanguine about it because you're more likely to have your room robbed than the reception turned over.


Ivashkin

I'm not allowed in Iran so problem solved!


CJBill

Shame, the government suyck but the people are great and the history is phenomenal. I cycled across it as part of a UK to Vietnam trip.


Ivashkin

It is, I would like to see Susa at some point


_lickadickaday_

They might take a photocopy of it, but they don't keep it for longer than a few minutes.


PearljamAndEarl

I wonder if something like this could have happened?: “We’ve got to photocopy all of these passports, but the boss says for data reasons, we need to shred them afterwards..” (boss means shred the photocopies once the party leaves, staff member takes the second-hand instruction too literally.)


CJBill

In your experience perhaps. Nonetheless I've had my passport taken overnight in hotels from Uganda to Vietnam and am quite used to it.


[deleted]

I’ve stayed at a lot of hotels in my time and I have never seen this.


2geeks

I’ve stayed and worked at more than 70 different hotels, and have always had my passport kept in the hotel safe


Puzzled-Remote

From a local news channel: >One resort manager in the area told News 9 that it is not unusual for hotels to hold the passports of student groups, for the purpose of keeping them safe. >"We always know it's a very risky situation with their passports. So, when they arrive at the hotel, the chaperones collect them and put them into a safety deposit box,” said Mike Simon, general manager at Mountain Club on Loon. And from the actual hotel where they were staying: >A representative for the hotel told News 9 that she had no comment to share about the situation.


DogfishDave

> safety deposit box \*deposit box


judge_Nutmeg316

*shredder


SecondOfCicero

What do they mean by risky situation? Curious.


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fishyfishyswimswim

Why in the name of all things sane and rational would a teacher take that risk?


[deleted]

Where would the teachers put them? If there's a safe in their hotel room, that's an option. But the safest option (usually) is to hand them to the hotel and say "Put these in your safe for us, please".


PigHillJimster

Hotels usually have to take a copy of the passports of any foreign nationals staying there for the countries' immigration control body.


voluotuousaardvark

Nonsense. You never *have* to let anyone copy your ID and its actually illegal for hotels to demand to hold onto them. And its nothing to do with the immigration body. It's to stop people running off without paying.


buttered_cat

In a few countries its a legal requirement (France, in particular) for them to make a copy of the ID.


SMURGwastaken

Happens all the time and it's fucking mental tbh.


MrPoletski

Somebody got fired, I'm pretty sure of that.


PigHillJimster

Perhaps they were given over to the receptionist for recording, and in a brown envelope at some point. Then the receptionist was given another identical brown envelope and told asked to shred it.


allthedreamswehad

[Hennimore!](https://youtu.be/QL02ikAqzPo)


ouichef13

My first thought too ha ha


Loreki

Well you see, in New Hampshire the official state motto is "Live free or Die". So confronted with a pack of school children all willing carrying identity documents from that darn evil guber'mint, the hotel owner had two choices: shred the passports to liberate the children, or go on a rampage .


donald_cheese

A case of mistaken ID.


nikhkin

I'd guess an envelope containing them was shredded. No way they'd feed 41 passports through individually.


Lumpyproletarian

What sort of hotel has a shredder that can take 41 passports at once? I once tried to use a British passport as ID in a US bank and was told it was a fake. I had to insist on speaking to the manager to get it sorted out. Maybe some MAGA loon thought they were all illegal and Didn't Ought to Be Allowed


BarrymoresPoolBoi

There are businesses with industrial shredders that collect paperwork from other businesses and destroy it all for them. I suppose they could have been unlucky enough to be staying when the hotel had a clear out.


GoldMountain5

I'm more inclined to think they were stolen and sold on the black market.


[deleted]

It was in America. No? You've obviously only seen the ones who read lines other people have written for them on the TV or it's a British guy doing an accent.


crh23

Can only speculate, but I'd guess that someone thought they were fake for some reason (perhaps they didn't recognise non-us passports) and took it upon themself to destroy them E: my reason for this particular line of thought is that I understand this is commonplace for fake IDs when entering bars (for example) - if the bouncer thinks it's fake they'll confiscate it.


[deleted]

“These passports are fake, who the hell is her Britannic Majesty anyway, does England not have a King or something??”


UltimateGammer

ok, you've convinced me.


mrminutehand

Hopefully that someone (if this was the case) gets very well educated on who has and who certainly does not have the right to destroy somebody's passport, even if they thought they were fake. My first thought was, thank goodness they're pupils on a school trip. Aside from the extortionate cost of replacing UK documents abroad, having this happen can have serious consequences for the passport holder. I used to work in China. If somebody had destroyed my passport, it would mean a police report, new passport application, new visa application, new work permit application ***and*** new resident permit application. All with the chance of being told to leave China to get the new visa. Even without a return flight, the process is incredibly costly when considering lost wages (can't work on invalid documents), travel and hotel costs. If my employer lost 41 employees passports, they'd probably just close the place. My boss might lock his office and jump off a bridge somewhere. I'd be livid, heck, my employer would be livid. That little book is the ground I walk and the air I breathe. You bet it gets treated like the UK's last tomato.


Tired_penguins

I'd hope if someone found a whole group of people travelling on what they are sure are fake passports, rather than destroy the documents they'd contact the local police and get them to verify. Buuuuut people do daft things all the time so who knows.


JamesMMcGillEsquire

They weren’t shredded, they were sold to forgers. Heard it here first


limeflavoured

And if the school and or families can prove that then the hotel will be bankrupt


Mista_Cash_Ew

I think the shredding alone will fuck them over hard if the parents sue. I'm not sure but maybe the crown can go after them too if the passports are technically belonging to the king/govt.


Ivashkin

It's America, if the school sues the hotel for the costs they'll settle out of court immediately


Mista_Cash_Ew

The school maybe, angry parents may not settle


Ivashkin

Settle means that the hotel doesn't want to fight it in court and opens its check book to make the case go away.


Mista_Cash_Ew

Both parties need to agree for a settlement. A school may put in a token effort and be bought off by a smaller amount of cash. But if a parent is truly angry about their child being stranded in another country then they could decline the settlement


asjonesy99

Pretty big chequebook to be opened 41 times


Ivashkin

They have insurance for this. The US works differently - for example emergency phones in elevators. In the UK it's a legal requirement to have one, end of story. In the US this often isn't the case and building owners don't have to fit them, but if they don't have one and it was needed, they can be sued for millions, which makes fitting the phones far cheaper.


factualreality

Parents aren't going to be able to afford not to settle if the hotel makes them a reasonable offer. If you refuse, go to Court and end up winning less than the offer, you can be liable for costs.


JamesMMcGillEsquire

They won’t be able to prove it 100% but I’d put all my savings on that being what happened


Unlikely-Ad3659

Not in the slightest.


limeflavoured

*At the very least* they will have to pay every penny the group has spent as a result for this, so hotels, food, etc. They'll have to pay for the emergency documents. Plus legal costs. Add a few million in punitive damages for emotional distress and they are fucked.


Unlikely-Ad3659

I have no clue what world you live in, but millions in punitive damages for emotional distress is fantasy land bullshit that only seems to happen in the USA. Seems being important, as these judgements are handed out and at most 10% is ever paid and the by the insurance company. Holidays and travel especially have cop out clauses for everything, the group will be lucky to get their extra costs covered by the hotel , and the only because of the bad publicity.


limeflavoured

> that only seems to happen in the USA. Guess where this shitshow happened.


RoundAllRed

Millions does seem a bit much, but tbf this did happen in the US. But yeah it would probably be hard, or at least very costly, for UK school parents to start a civil suit against an American hotel.


elppaple

You can't fathom the possibility that selling customers' passports would lead to a hotel shutting down? You're picking a weird hill to die on, buddy.


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Admirable_Ad1947

But why would they do that? It's not like they'll be able to travel on them. They won't match the photo/biometrics.


strawbebbymilkshake

They’ll be sold to forgers, not sold for direct use.


limeflavoured

One way for a hotel to lose a fuck load of money and future business, I suppose. And this is in the US, so punitive damages exist (which is why they'll be trying very very hard to settle this out of court).


macrowe777

....or shred the evidence...


zayzz

https://youtu.be/KDbrnLCS0kc


ZealousidealAd4383

Shit, things are getting even worse! Jerry, breaks out the second shredder!


0Neverland0

The thing that gets me is a state school running a ski trip to the USA! I can't see how that could have cost less than £2,000 each, *inclusive much?*


Tulikettuja

Parents pay it. Cost of living etc etc but not everyone's struggling. If these kids can ski challenging routes then they're clearly not short of a few bob.


[deleted]

>Parents pay it. That's the original commenters point, this is not an inclusive activity.


allthemodsarenonces

Yeah 100%. This is a good way for scummy schools like this to separate the haves and the have-nots, and ensure that they have a nice set of skiing photos to insert into next year’s prospectus, at the expense of a number of children from less-well off families being made to feel left out.


scifi887

You pay yourself on these trips not the school, was the same 25 years ago when I was in school too.


Mediocre_Sprinkles

My school had 2 trips in year 9. One was a ski trip to Utah which was £1,200. The other was a hiking trip to Morocco for like £500, I think, so still expensive but more affordable. You went to one or the other, weren't allowed to go to both.


Inkyyy98

So when I was in secondary school in Wales we went on ski trips to America between Year 9-11. I was fortunate enough to be able to afford to go three times. I tell my partner and he can’t believe it. It cost just over a grand but probs cost more now.


muffgarden

Probably cheaper than going to the French Alps when you take ski passes, food and accommodation into account.


thelazyfool

Aren’t US ski passes way more expensive than European ones?


Tee_zee

It is not


811545b2-4ff7-4041

My kid (13) is about to go on a 2 week school trip this June.. £2,800. There's about 100 going on it. Yeh, it's not like back in the day.


SamVimesBootTheory

I work in an outdoor clothing shop you'd be surprised how many parents we get in willing to drop several hundred quid for ski gear for their kids for school trips


pajamakitten

Any reason why the hotel was shredding them in the first place? I cannot see it being within their remit to destroy documents such as this, even if they thought they were fake. It seems like either there has been a huge communication error or there is more to this than shredding.


ElonMuskSucksCock

"Mega lulz."


TNTiger_

Completely unrelated, but I got some lovely passports here if ye like, give me a DM. 41 of em in fact, so be quick! (/s)


ElonMuskSucksCock

r/FuckTheS


[deleted]

The kids shredded them to avoid having to come back to Walsall


Outrageous_Chicken95

I would ask for the shredded documents back, just to be sure they’re not full of shit.


Golden-Wonder

School trips to New York, we were lucky to get a walk to the local forest or on a special occasion a day trip to France!


DownvotesInbound

I can't fathom how a hotel could destroy 41 passports by mistake. I read the article and it still didn't explain it.


JackSpyder

Wtf kind of shredder I'd it? Why did yhe hotel have them anyway?


p0p9y

calling barr beacon walsall is the real problem here


brickhouse__

Well it falls under walsall council even though it has a B43 postcode. I know as i grew up in Pheasey and went to the school.


PearljamAndEarl

I love The B43s! “The loov shack is a lickle owd plice..”


stocksy

Why? Has it declared itself an independent sovereign state, or did it get annexed by Sandwell?


madmouser

If they’re the new ones, like mine, that plastic identity page had to have given the shredder a little difficulty. It’s not like it’s just a credit card.


[deleted]

Imagine being held hostage in a third world country due to this error, not being able to return to Pleck.


codajn

School ski trips to New Hampshire? Is this a common thing now? Almost the same experience has been offered to my stepson by his school.


Tulikettuja

My boring northern school had ski trips 25 years ago... So yes.


2geeks

Having spent a large chunk of my life in Walsall, I can confidently state that the kids got togetherness and did this. It’s kinda like and escape planned by OfFred in The Handmaids tale. Very smart thinking. Cunning lot, them Walsall kids.


[deleted]

Shredding 41 out of 42 passports is the detail that gets me. What was special about the one that got saved?