We've all seen those gently worded, politically correct suggestions in our hotel rooms - "____ gallons of water are used each day cleaning towels and sheets that have been used just once..." While guests are invited to re-use sheets or towels in the name of environmental friendliness, the conservation serves another purpose -- lowering housekeeping costs.

With occupancy rates on the decline, hotel chains are looking for ways to limit expenses, and one of these ways is by reducing housekeeping efforts. Some Wyhndham Worldwide (WYN) chains, such as Howard Johnson, Ramada, and Super 8, leave linens unchanged whenever possible. WYN's Days Inn chain is soon going to adopt a three-day change rule (I'm assuming all hotels still change between guests, regardless of the length of stay).

The average American family has seen its income fall over the last eight years while its expenses have risen. Not so for the top 1%. They've been building 40,000 square foot mansions and flying in private jets to visit their vacation homes in Aspen and the Hamptons and so on. But since the fall of 2007, things have headed downhill for the rich along with the Dow -- which has lost 36% of its value since its peak in October 2007.

They're changing their lifestyles. How so? Vanity Fair provides examples of how the super-rich are downsizing in wine, shoes, fitness training, air travel, grocery shopping, and maid service. To illustrate these changes, the list below contrasts their behavior in these different categories between the fall of 2007 and the fall of 2008:

WINE

• 2007: $1,950 bottle of 2003 Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon
• 2008: $15 bottles of wine

SHOES

• 2007: $600 or $700 pair of shoes as "retail therapy
• 2008: No retail therapy because "It just doesn't feel good."

FITNESS TRAINING

• 2007: Fitness trainer three times a week
• 2008: Fitness trainer once a week