Give up a copy of your passport to your hotel—not the original.

The policy of leaving your passport with the desk is now somewhat moot—in-room safes mean travelers can store them there, and all a hotel really needs for their protection is to see your passport and copy down the passport number. It's best not to be separated from your identification—this has become even more important in our post-9/11 world. Bring along a few extra copies of your passport information page and hand over those instead.