Rich Karlgaard (publisher of Forbes magazine) had an interesting post on his blog yesterday in which he said the new economy has made leaders in the lodging industry out of firms like Residence Inns, Hyatt Places, and Holiday Inn Express. They “are mostly new and surprisingly good. In countless ways, they are better–new beds, flat-panel screens, self-serve breakfast buffets and free wireless broadband.”

He went on to say:

In fact, the Residence Inns, Hyatt Places and Holiday Inn Expresses are perfect examples of disruptive technology. They are newer, cleaner and easier to use. They have a simple mission and they fulfill it. They are well-priced and hit the market bulls-eye. Do you really want to pay an extra $200 per day for turn-down service and a chocolate truffle on the pillow … romantic getaways excepted? Whenever I hire a Residence Inn, Hyatt Place or Holiday Inn Express to do a job, I am pleased.

These new mid-market motels are the Charles Schwabs of the hotel world.

It was an interesting parallel to draw that these disrupters in a staid industry like lodging could be likened to Schwab’s disruptiveness when it came on the scene in the ’70s.  He then listed four major industry sectors that are broken, one of which was banking. His point: what is going to save these industries is the equivalent of Holiday Inn Express in each of them.

So, how about it? Is there a Holiday Inn Express (or to put it in the context of our industry, a Charles Schwab) lurking in the banking bog right now? Is there some innovative, but still small, community bank waiting to explode while the big guys suffocate under TARP? Perhaps there are some interesting - and innovative - days ahead after all.