A good post by Seth on feeding egos. The problem with the idea of customizing things for people is that it takes a lot of energy and time...precisely what most companies, hotels included, don't want to invest in. They're too busy growing, adding more hotels and worrying about attracting more and more customers...too busy to take really good care of the ones they already have in the chair, the bar, etc. I suspect that the small companies (and even large ones, although not as likely) who do this well will prevail, albeit they'll never show up on the NYSE.