The disposable ballpoint pens that hotel chains typically provide (along with a small notepad, next to the telephone in your room) are a bit different than the

The disposable ballpoint pens that hotel chains typically provide (along with a small notepad, next to the telephone in your room) are a bit different than the sort that are available in office-supply stores. I prefer the hotel ones, as they feel better in your hand (due to the nicer texture of the plastic, I think). The one I happen to have in my pocket at the moment is from Marriott; looking in my laptop case, there's one from Hampton Inns, and another from the Chambers Hotel (which isn't even a chain). They are all more translucent than the Bics I have lying around, and the branding is ink-only, with no embossing (unlike the Bics, which also help hand-feel). I've been casually looking to buy this sort of ballpoint for years, rather than having to pilfer them piecemeal, but haven't found them anywhere (brick-and-morter / on-line, low-end / high-end, and even various suppliers of branded promotional tchotchkes that are given out at trade shows). Anybody out there know what the story is on this? Who actually makes them, and why won't they sell me any?