For the hotel to cross-check name for the person against reservation, not a problem. To copy or photograph/film the ID — something hotel front desk personnel can now do very quickly and surreptitiously while holding an ID right next to a keyboard, tablet, or scanner behind the counters/lecterns/and even some desk stations — opens the door for a risk some would rather minimize in much the same way as in places where handing the bank cards over to the hotel employees is becoming less common for much the same reason. I consider it best practice to try to keep the ID in its own bearer’s hands and not release its possession to another more than minimally required — in much the same way as with charge/debit/credit cards being handed over. But identity theft is a harder problem to get around as a consumer than fraudulent bank card charges.

Hopefully, more Marriotts get out of the business of wanting to physically handle customers’ bank cards and photo ID, and make a move faster and more in this direction as there are customer-friendly processes and technologies already available to moot any need to hand over possession of these items and Marriott should push for that as part of brand standards where legal requirements don’t get in the way of doing this.