Received an email today from a relative advising me how dangerous it is to give people plastic hotel room keys because of all the personal information that is contained on the magnetic strip. This is not the first time I've received this same e-misinformation that is being distributed world-wide. I have personally spoken to hotel desk clerks who have told me this information is bogus. Below is a link to what Snopes has to say about magnetic hotel room keys and what information is (and what information IS NOT) stored on them.
http://www.snopes.com/crime/warnings/hotelkey.asp