Lobbying

For someone like me who works alone, hotel lobbies offer the perfect balance between pragmatism and luxury, autonomy and contact with others-- whether they be fellow travellers, colleagues, a dog or a cat.??

I’ve long considered myself a dedicated lobbyist. Not because I advocate before Congress for a product or a favored cause. But because I’ve spent so much of my life hanging out in hotel lobbies.

In fact, I tend to stay in hotels because I find their lobbies appealing. It’s one of my top criteria, along with a walkable location. I can handle a cramped room so long as I have access to a lobby with comfortable seating, easy access to coffee or a small meal, and an inviting look. A place where I can work, read, catch up on email, watch people come and go, and strike up conversations with fellow travellers.

Inclusive Leadership

Like a café in Italy or France, or a Vienna coffeehouse, a lobby is a classic “third place,” or way station between private and public life. (American cafés, by contrast, are increasingly grab-and-go). For anyone who travels for work, as I have for decades, a good lobby can provide an essential alternative to either sitting in your room– often on the bed– or being out on the street. The first can feel lonely and the second exhausting. Being able to recoup your energy without retreating entirely is the whole point.?

Of course, a lobby doesn’t need to be adjacent to check in. I’m thinking of the cozy library with fireplace, coffee, and pastries at the Golden Well in Prague, or the club-like bar and tearoom at the Chesterfield in London. The Monaco brand of the Kimpton chain often features “living room lobbies,” spacious, dapper and welcoming As a bonus, they’re pet-friendly, which means you’re as likely to make friends with a dog as a human. I even made friends with two cat guests while staying at the Monaco in Denver, pictured above.

A truly successful lobby offers the ability to work, hang out, or toggle back and forth between. This requires comfortable seating and an absence of loud music, both of which are becoming harder to find as hotels try to emphasize hipness over comfort. The Palmer House in Chicago used to have one of the world’s great lobbies until it replaced? its luxurious chairs and sofas with the kind of high tables and awkward stools you find at airport departure gates. While these might be good for recharging your laptop, they hardly invite you to linger. But then maybe that’s the point.

How to Bridge Workplace Divides

My appreciation for lobbying was stirred by a recent five-day stay at the Threadneedle in London, where I traveled to attend the Thinkers50 Gala . I chose the hotel because I knew a number of my colleagues would be staying there, though I had no idea there would be around 30 of us. This meant that whenever I had downtime, or felt discouraged at the prospect of eating alone, I didn’t need to make formal plans. I just had to take the elevator two floors down.

I’d set up my laptop or open a book, and within moments I’d run into someone I hadn’t seen in years. Maybe we’d have an impromptu lunch in the lobby’s adjoining bar, as when I ran into Eddie Turner and Bev Wright (pictured in the photo below). One evening I spontaneously joined a big group for dinner and stayed with them into the small hours. Sometimes, I just had coffee and worked alone, never feeling lonely for a minute.

The joy of third places lies in their ability to foster spontaneity. You don’t know who you’re going to run into, but chances are you will run into someone. The joy of this spontaneity is matched by the relief of not having to make plans, call for ubers, make restaurant reservations,? or send and receive a constant stream of texts confirming or canceling participation. Given the increasingly scheduled nature of our work and our private lives, just being able to show up and see what happens feels like a gift.?

You just need to find a good lobby.?

Like what you’re reading? Click here to order my most recent book?Rising Together from Amazon. Also available from your favorite bookseller. Thank you for your support!

Thanks for reading All Rise with Sally Helgesen! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.