Get used to showing I.D. I normally stay at Hyatt and *wood properties, but recently I stayed at the Doubletree at Plymouth Meeting.

Upon arrival, the clerk asked for a photo ID, which apparently is a new, but irregularly applied Hilton policy--I posted a question about this on the Hilton thread, and that's what the regular Hiltonites said. Expect other chains to follow suit, btw, as apparently Hyatt has.

I didn't have my D/L on me, as when I am on long haul trips, I tuck it in with my registration, in case I get pulled over....hey, I like to speed.

As it happened, I did have other photo ID on me (my NY Atty ID), but that wasn't good enough for the clerk, who was actually kind of snotty about it--"As a lawyer, don't you think it's a good idea to have your d/l on you when you travel?" Sure. That's why I kee it in my truck--I hadn't expected to get pulled over by a state trooper in the lobby of the Doubletree.

She asked for a passport, which, since the break up of the USSR, you no longer need to drive from NY to PA, so I didn't have mine on me. Then she gave me a speech about September 11.

Things got better from there.

If hotels want a photo ID to go with a credit card, fine, or to establish that I am not secretly taking advantage of my buddy's Diamond card, fine, but the 9/11 thing is pretty brain-dead, if you ask me:

1. The terrorists all *had* ID.

2. In the event that the hotel ever made it onto OBL's Big List of Things to Blow Up, then if they don't x-ray my bags, I could check in with my ID *and* a duffel bag full of Cemtex, and blow the entire place up, including their photocopy of my license.

Anyway, I generally like the Park Hyatt in Philly, but I generally stay in the Hyatt Regency at Penn's Landing these days.

Regards,

O/H