Here’s a very cute article on the evolution of guest amenities, by John R. Hendrie, CEO of Hospitality Performance. My favorite part:

A simple tub begat a Jacuzzi, leading to the Spa.  Ordinary cable television has turned into Movies on Demand.  Lone soda machines were replaced by mini-bars.  Complimentary coffee in the Lobby morphed into a coffee maker, a fridge and a microwave in every room.  Rigid hours for Room Service are now 24/7 with pizza.  Maybe you began to participate in the “bedding wars”, extolling your beds, linens, furniture – actually anything that moves is for sale.  Goodness, I can have my laundry done, a newspaper delivered, and, in some cases, my shoes shined.  If you could only find me a good woman (and some said, “no problem”), I would change my address and become a permanent resident.

I’ve always wanted to start up a site like hotelchatter.com–glad to see someone’s actually doing it. It’s a place where real people can go to post their experiences with various hotels. Seems like a great way to get the scoop on potential issues and great amenities for your next hq hotel. And you can post your views, too, if you sign up for a free membership. It includes a section for "hotel heaven," "hotel hell," and "celebrity scoop," among others. And you can search for a specific property to see if anyone’s given it a thumbs-up or ‘down. Hmm, I have a few kudos to give…maybe I’ll sign up for a free membership and get scooping.

That’s the title of this (I think) totally hilarious editorial in the Library Journal, sent to me by my Capsules co-blogger Anne Taylor-Vaisey. Obviously not a fan of blogs or bloggers–he thinks the word itself sounds like "something you would find stuck in a drain," the librarian-writer, Michael Gorman, would make an excellent blogger himself. A snip:

For the record, though I may have associated with Antidigitalists, I am not and have never been a member of the Antidigitalist party and would be willing to testify to that under oath. I doubt even that would save me from being burned at the virtual stake, or, at best, being placed in a virtual pillory to be pelted with blogs. Ugh!

I’d love to hear more from this guy–beware the wrath of the wronged librarian. OK, back to our regularly scheduled program…

Amazon.com is doing something I think is very cool–and if you’re with a nonprofit doing innovative things to improve the world, I urge you to go for it!

Amazon.com is proud to announce that it is now accepting applications for the Amazon.com Nonprofit Innovation Award, which recognizes and rewards nonprofit organizations whose innovative approaches most effectively improve their communities or the world at large. If your nonprofit is powered by breakthrough ideas, we encourage you to read more about our program and how to apply for the award.

Ten organizations selected as finalists will have a unique opportunity to raise funds and awareness for their programs on Amazon.com. All 10 finalists will be profiled on their own Amazon.com pages, where customers will be invited to vote for their favorites by making monetary donations. The organization that receives the largest amount of customer contributions by the deadline will receive the award, along with a matching grant of up to $1 million from Amazon.com.

To be eligible to enter, the organization must be recognized by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as exempt from federal income tax under IRC §501(c)(3), qualify as a charitable organization under IRC §170(b)(1)(A)(vi) and have public charity status under IRC §509. The organization also must have been in existence for a minimum of two years and may not have Amazon.com employees, officers, or directors serving as employees, officers, or directors.

Travel Insider David Rowell is sick and tired of feeling mistreated by the airlines, so he drafted this air passenger bill of rights. It includes things like being compensated for delayed and cancelled flights, compensation for lost luggage, and other things along these lines. If you have any suggestions, e-mail him.