In my experience, most Immigration agents ask you to remove the passport from the passport holder. I'd expect that doing that repeatedly actually causes more wear and tear than a hotel employee. But I ask this out of genuine curiosity: What have hotel staff done to your passport that is rough? All I ever see is the employee open it up to the info page and perhaps copy down the info. No one's ever thrown it on the floor and then stepped on it, or crinkled it into a ball, or thrown it back at me. I suspect it may endure more wear and tear in your pocket, purse or briefcase, in which case a plastic bag might offer all the protection it needs.