Originally Posted by
Airclues
All hotels insist on a credit card being produced at check-in.
That's a sweeping, and incorrect, generalization. Plenty of hotels will accept a debit card, many will accept a cash deposit, some will use the card that the stay was booked with, and quite a few will not require any at all if the guest says they do not require room-charging privileges.
Originally Posted by
Airclues
If the stay has already taken place then would the hotel give you the name of the person who checked in?
Not if they want to comply with data protection legislation, which is substantially the same throughout the EU.
Originally Posted by
Airclues
If the stay has not yet taken place then ask the hotel to call the police when the thief checks in.
May potentially work, may not.