We're bloggers. That means we carry our laptops with us when we travel.
The internet access at hotels has been generally improving. It's usually free, now - a change from even just a year ago. The hotels are also doing better with the hardware (plugs and ethernet cable connections) than they used to.
But no mouse pads.
Post here (via Glenn Reynolds).
My wife and I stayed at a Westin in Chicago two weeks ago. As you'd expect of a Westin - a hotel that caters to the business traveller who, in turn, is probably using other people's money (i.e. his/her employer's), they charged us for internet access, but they did provide us with a mouse pad. It wasn't just any old mouse pad. It was a round mouse pad. It was about 8 inches in diameter and was plenty big enough. I was afraid that I might miss the corners of a typical rectangular pad, but I didn't miss it in the least.
But I'd rather have internet access at no extra charge than a mouse pad. You see, I always bring a handy dandy fake leather portfolio - nothing but the best - and an optical mouse with me when I'm on the road.
Mouse pad? I don't need no stinkin' mouse pad. Even though I happily used that pad the Westin provided, I can blog without a mouse pad. But I can't blog without an internet connection.
Anyways, my guess as to why they don't provide mouse pads: with optical mice, substitutes that can easily function as mouse pads, and the fact that mouse pads are easy to carry, hotel-provided pads are unnecessary.