Guesting People into Admirals Club or Flagship Lounge Stories
 

What moves you to guest people aside from family or colleagues into lounges?

I tend to attempt to guest someone in when they have a long layover or who look like they could use a nice gesture. Some have been very appreciative. I've been turned down twice by people I suspect thought I was inviting to a bar or to pick up as a date (Admirals Club).

Has been discussed a few times, lengthy threads (below is the only one I could find from a super-quick search) with many of us feeling it's abusive in many cases, a potential risk to personal property, can put entry agents on awkward situations and adds to expense/ raises rates, etc., etc.

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/amer...rals-club.html

Let them buy access.

Once at ORD I was at the dragon desk when the family at the other desk was being denied access for the entire family as 2/4 children were over 18 (and not properly trained to say they were under) plus a spouse. They were going to buy day passes but given the ORD construction, the lounge was not selling them. I guested the adult children so they could access the club.

I guess my question wasn't about the ethics of guesting, but why someone would offer to guest someone else. I have seen instances where impatient club members will offer to guest someone who is slow in finding their own membership cards so as to enter more quickly, and other reasons.

It's all the same question.

I got guested in a lounge when I chatted with my seat opponent on a mileage run SEA-BOS-SEA, and he thought we should have a drink at the bar while I told him about FT and why I did this (lie-flat seats on very long flights).

It was kind of him, and I've tried to pay it forward.

This is the one I think about :)

I think it's tacky to guest strangers in. I remember quite a few years back when AA was offering DEQMs on ORD>LAX or ORD>SFO, and lots of people wanted to be guested into the lounge during their "layovers". I feel like if you can't afford a day pass or a monthly membership, then maybe you shouldn't be doing mileage runs, or resign yourself to relaxing in the terminal.

Do FTers count as "strangers" as in the meet/guest thread? I guess I am tacky by offering to guest/meet by that standard since I know no one from FT in person. I have offered to guest many times but no one has ever taken me up on the offer on that thread.

You are offering your point of view as to why you wouldn't guest a stranger in. I was hoping to hear from the perspective of those who have guested other people in and why. Or, like myself, have had their offer rejected.

Not on AA, but when I used to fly United, I once offered to guest in two soldiers who were connecting in ORD.
They thanked me but said they were going to get something to eat instead.

That's what I was just thinking. The thread can be found here:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...er-thread.html

As for me, years ago on a mileage run, I was chatting with the gal next to me on a PIT-PHL flight. I was continuing to MUC, I think she to CDG, but she was just US Silver (I was Gold or higher, so had lounge access). Anyway, I asked if she wanted to go in the lounge and she graciously accepted. We walked from our flight to the Envoy lounge together, and the agents didn't think anything odd at all. They put the, "docs," stamp on both of our bp's too.

I think I've posted to the meet up thread above, but I always forget to check back to see if anyone has replied to me. :eek:
So I've never been the recipient of a random act of lounge kindness.

Except AA doesn't sell monthly memberships anymore, and some clubs won't take day passes.

For me, I helped a couple times when I had membership and there was a long queue of passengers waiting to be rebooked (winter ORD weather).

I once went through a particularly brutal TSA check at JFK and was reassembling myself and saw a serviceman in a similar state. He was happy to come to the AAdmiral's club and have a beer and relax a bit.

Done it a few times. 1) Someone I'd just flown with who was on the same next leg and in the same long weather delay as I was; 2) a fellow-FTer in ORD on the same MR to try his hand at the JAL desk for seating--was an in-and-out job since boarding was near; 3) an AC-members 2nd guest that was being disallowed (as per standard AC policy) in LHR on a long layover.

As a general rule though, my club benefits are mine and not offered to, or shared with, others.

I don't think FT'ers are strangers. We have small group of unrelated, non-coworkers who happen to do DFW-TPA weekly (up in the air club, so to speak). I will guest them in all the time as they are friends (almost the same as FT'ers).