Hotels -- or other businesses -- increasingly need to know the identity
of their customers, for a variety of reasons. First among these is the
need to prevent fraud due to "identity theft", the use of stolen or
forged credit cards. The best way for a merchant to do this is to ask
for photo ID that matches the credit card.
And if the hotel burns down, the owners can give the authorities an
accurate list of guests!
I totally agree and would never mind if anyone asked for photo I.D. as it is mutually a protection to my credit card on my behalf as well as a protection for the hotel.
Cheers! -- Rik