Originally Posted by Bob'sYourUncle

How exactly is this an inconvenience to you, the tourist? European countries have population registries as part of the national civil registry. EVERYONE is registered as a resident of someplace - this is how you get access to gov't services, including the right to vote. If you move from A to B you need to de-register from A and register in B.

As part of this system, every hotel needs to report its residents on a nightly basis to the local authorities. Having a polite hotel attendant do this sure beats having a nasty US immigration agent doing it to foreigners going to the US....