It's abusive ...

Delivering a captive audience to a special-interest organization (such as the Gideons) to directly help them proselytize is abusive and discriminatory, and well beyond the useful purpose of hotels.

Normally, if an organization wants to market their product or service, they have to pay for their distribution/marketing channel. In this instance the Gideons are abusing the misperception that bible is "good" and getting a free distribution channel as hotels are reluctant to deny their requests.

Hotels seemingly have not examined why they allow this practice to continue in modern times. They have not stopped to think why they voluntarily give the Gideons this free marketing channel.

It's discriminatory

Christians represent only one theological viewpoint and it is thus inappropriate to cater solely to them.

The case is often made that we should add the Koran/Torah/etc. to make it fair to everyone else. That is plain silly because that would turn the hotel room into a library once we have added the "Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster", "The Satanic Bible", and perhaps more seriously "The Origin of Species".

The Gideons have a budget of around $100m and use that to strong-arm their theological viewpoint on the rest of the world.

It's inappropriate

The bible contains a mutlitude of nasty passages including rape, human sacrifice, genocide, murder and slavery. The passages are too numerous to quote here. There are numerous web-sites (e.g. www.evilbible.com) dedicated to listing such references.

Hotels should not impose this vile and tasteless book on their guests, nor should they make this repugnant material available to children.