In most retail transactions, the consumer actually has nearly all the leverage. To use an example cited in this thread, how many places are there to buy a mattress??

Another example is in "resort fees." Harrah's group, which runs several hotels on the Las Vegas Strip, recently started advertising "no resort fees." This obviously strikes a nerve with consumers, so it may be a smart marketing ploy. (Or maybe they just jack up the base rates on their properties, but at least they offer a transparency that is certainly attractive to some consumers.) The same hyper-competition characterizes most hotel markets, I think.