zoomgirl

I do it, but only at certain times. For example, I was recently at the HR San Francisco for work. I worked some of the day from my room but at lunch I grabbed a sandwich and then took my sandwich and my laptop up to the Club and worked for an hour or so from there. I grabbed a soda and almost no one else was there. Great place to work and eat a quick bite. Tacky?

chrisl137

Places like Courtyard and RI seem to encourage it-- they have lots of tables inside and out in the lobby/common area. Given that it's not unusual for groups of co-workers to be in the same hotel at the same time, it seems reasonable for them to bring food in and eat in the common area rather than off in their rooms. I've been to some remote-ish areas don't even have a whole lot of places to eat out, so getting carryout or delivery and eating as a group in the common area is reasonable, especially if everyone is stuck at a worksite late-ish. It doesn't bother me at all if I'm in the common area reading and individuals or groups have brought their food down.

cbn42

I don't think there is anything tacky about it. A lounge is primarily a place to relax, not a place to eat. You have paid for the ability to be there, either directly or indirectly through your status/spending. It's not like a restaurant where you are permitted to sit there for free in return for spending money on what they are selling.

MSPeconomist

Common areas in CYs and RIs are NOT executive lounges. These properties don't have executive lounges. It's a somewhat different situation and somewhat to extremely different types of hotels.

lhrsfo

To my mind the position is clear. If there is an eating area and a property serves food, then it is unacceptable to bring outside food into that place. If the property does not serve food and there is an eating area, then it should be ok as long as you clean up after you. If there's no eating area, then no food should be consumed.

writerguyfl

The first hotel where I worked was part of a mixed-use building. The hotel lobby was on the first floor. The second floor had retail, including a quick casual restaurant. The third floor had the hotel restaurants. Additionally, there was a food court across the street and at least a dozen restaurants within two blocks.

Many hotels in downtown locations across the globe have similar nearby locations that offer take-out.

That was always my philosophy whenever I was MOD (Manager-on-Duty) or later when I became a Night Manager. As long as a guest wasn't bothering other guests (or employees), I didn't see the need to be the food police. I was happy as long as the guest was happy.

That hotel always had a handful of frequent guests who stayed with us over 100 nights each year. Those guests had all tried everything on the menu in both of our restaurants. While it didn't happen every day, it wasn't unusual to visit the Concierge Lounge and see one of those guests eating non-hotel food.

Annalisa12

Agree.

pinniped

I've done exactly that myself...ordered pizzas for a group to a Residence Inn lobby. There are no generally no other guests in the area, there's no expectation that it's a quiet space, and the hotel doesn't serve any food. FD clerk will often provide you with names, phone numbers, and coupons for local pizza joints. As long as guests clean up after themselves, I see no issue with that and it's pretty clear the hotel doesn't either.

But that's a different animal than a FS hotel's concierge lounge.

chrisl137

No, they're not, but the thread rapidly began to include discussion of non-lounge common areas. And many CYs do have their own small restaurants.

zitsky

For me, it's about the smell, or lack thereof. I won't take a pastrami sandwich on an airplane for the reason that it stinks too much. I would not take pizza into a lobby area where other people have to smell it. Not everyone likes the smell of greasy food. I think a turkey sandwich or other food without a strong odor would be fine.

BuildingMyBento

A check-in agent at the Grand Millennium Sukhumvit Bangkok stopped me from taking a (complimentary) water bottle from the room, when they saw it leaning out of my ransel. So that was irritating.

On a mostly unrelated note, I reckon taking durians into various convenience stores and fast food places in the US would actually improve the usual aromas...

jaimelannister

I bring food into the AA Admiral's Club in Logan Airport all the time. The food they offer is pretty mediocre (and not to mention they've had the same menu for years for every club in the US, which gets rather boring), so why not bring something in from outside? Never had anyone at the club say anything to me.

I would not do this at an international lounge, however.

pinniped

The AAdmiral's Club in PHX openly suggested that I was welcome to go out, grab food, and bring it back in. It's a former US club that doesn't serve any hot food, so no idea if they'll have the same opinion after they roll out a paid menu of sandwiches, salads, etc. later this year.