Well,,this is only good advice if you want to make the evening news. Never,EVER offer to pay cash when checking in. Now the clerk will want to make copy of your ID and take a deposit.And what are you going to do if one of the local cops stops by and run's the info on those photcopies just for fun,then your really fucked. Remember you paid cash and that is very suspicious these days. And if your in the area to card shit,,,you now have a clear photocopy copy of your face in the hotel records. And as a bonus you will be easily remembered by the clerk,because nobody pays cash at hotels anymore. Using a cvv to pre-auth before you get there is even worse idea unless you want to sleep with gloves on. Because if the shit hits the fan and you got to split,,you really want to leave a room behind covered in your fingerprints? If you just GOT to card a hotel,,try using a prepaid debit like greendot at check in(do I even need to tell you guys to get it in someone elses name? ) and then swipe your borrowed cc when checking out. Depending on the hotel,,you might get your money back before the cardholder notices the charge. And if your really good,,,the billing addy on your greendot is on the otherside of the country from where you are and that will keep the cops busy.