Can hotels be trusted with your confidential data?

When you check in to a hotel, you think nothing of letting the reception desk have your name, address, credit card details and mobile phone number; often more.

But can hotels be trusted to retain your data safely? In the case of Choice Hotels, apparently not.

As many as 700,000 guests of Choice Hotels may have had their personal data compromised, Travel Mole reported.

The data breach was entirely preventable as the information was hosted on an unsecured database.

Internet security researchers revealed the breach - and the site was also hacked.

The hotel group said it has now stopped using the vendor which hosted the data.

"The records did not contain payment, password or reservation information - we will be notifying affected guests to advise them of what occurred," Choice Hotels said in a statement.

"We have discussed this matter with the vendor and will not be working with them in the future. We are evaluating other vendor relationships and working to put additional controls in place to prevent any future occurrences."

Data potentially compromised included guest names, email addresses, and phone numbers. 

Which is downright irresponsible of US-based Choice Hotels; which franchises 7,005 properties in 41 countries and territories worldwide including Clarion Hotels, Quality Inn and Rodeway Inn.