For what it's worth, I just stayed at an HGI Saturday night, and wasn't asked for ID. I've only ever been asked for photo ID when checking in once. After arguing for several minutes, I managed to convince them that a credit card would work instead. Why was I so adamant about not giving them an ID? They wanted to make a copy of it, and I have issues with that. At least, if they make a copy of my credit card and an employee uses it, I can go through the credit card company and dispute the charges. If someone snags a copy of my driver's license, they then have one of my "unique" identifying numbers, along with my birthdate and address. I just feel safer if they don't have access to that.

That said, I've also refused to provide my driver's license for photocopy purposes at the hospital, when having outpatient testing done. They asked for it and my insurance card, which seems valid, to prove I am who I say I am, and the names between the two match. However, I drew the line at them keeping a copy of it, especially because it was copied onto the same paper which had my social security number on it. The registration person was very understanding, and gave me the copy that had been made without a problem. In today's age of ID theft, you need to be careful about what information you provide to strangers.