Rick Ueno, the general manager of the Chicago Sheraton Hotel, launched a program this week to help his customers relax by disconnecting their BlackBerry or other mobile communication device. The idea for this service came from his own sick and twisted addiction to his BlackBerry. The service is free and whatever surrendered devices will be locked away in Ueno's office until the customer requests to have them back. He thinks that guests may want to try this so they can have a better experience at the hotel by concentrating on other aspects of life.

This could be a pretty good idea for the customers, but you better keep track of your minutes while Ueno has your phone. I can imagine the headline now: "Sheraton Hotel GM fired after using customer's phones to rack up $3 million worth of phone charges to a Taiwanese sex line." – Travis Hudson

Hotel: Put that 'CrackBerry' down, you addict! [CNN]

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