Every hotel I've checked into wanted the lic plate # of the car I'm driving, but for that to play a role they would have needed to check all the parking lots and actually determine if they had cars that shouldn't be there. From the link above:
Quote:
...Feb. 17 - A ski guide spotted an SOS signal that the couple had marked in the snow. The Golden and District Search and Rescue team and Kicking Horse resort were alerted. But a search of the resort parking lots for abandoned vehicles turned up nothing. The couple had parked their vehicle in underground parking, which was not searched. Neither did a search for missing ski rental equipment or missing persons reports from local hotels. The Golden RCMP detachment was not contacted. ...
emphasis is mine -- The article emphasized that the resort searched the resort parking lots for abandoned vehicles; what criteria did they use to determine that a car was abandoned? It was a red flag, but they had to see it first. You may be right though, I wasn't there.