Lifted Lexicons

San Francisco's Stanford Court is perennially rated America's No. 1 hotel by CEOs. To ensure its heady reputation, President Jim Nassikas decided to add a power touch. Along with the mints and fuzzy bathrobes, he tucked a $16.95 copy of a dictionary next to the Bible in each room. "Our hotel competitors are caught up in shampoo wars," says Nassikas. "A dictionary is more useful."

Apparently so. Since December, 49 of 402 dictionaries have found their way into departing suitcases. In the hotel's 15-year history, no guest has filched a Bible.