When walking into hotel lobbies these days, I sometimes wonder whether I have entered through a side entrance into the bar or restaurant. There’s been a lot of talk lately about maximizing revenues from every square foot of a hotel’s interior, including the formerly under-utilized reception/lobby area. Lobby spaces are being converted from stark, transitory spaces to dynamic spaces with coffee bars, chic lounges, restaurants and museums. Examples of this approach are all around, especially in recently remodeled properties. All you have to do is go to the newly re-gilded lobby of the Palace in New York.

But are revenue-generating lobbies a new concept or do we just have short-term memories? I would like to point to the lobby of the Astoria, which opened in the 1930s. The large open space around the clock is dotted with living room-like chairs which flow into the famous Peacock Alley restaurant. While perhaps the original intent was not solely to create a revenue generating lobby space, it is certainly true that guests and non-guests alike often enjoy utilizing this inviting space.

Ian Schrager’s Royalton Hotel, now part of Morgans Hotel Group, is another example of lobby space being used for revenue generation. Since its opening in 1988, hipsters and wannabes have hankered for the opportunity to sip expensive cocktails there. Starwood built upon this idea with its “living room” lobby concept in the W Hotel on Lexington that is arguably more popular than its bar.

As hotel owners and operators seek to squeeze every penny possible out of each square foot, effective use of lobby space for revenue generation is a welcome tactic. It is arguably preferable to bolstering profits by charging for local telephone calls, tripling the prices on mini bar items relative to the corner store, and fees for internet access (which never fails to irk me), but that’s a topic for another posting (coming soon).

When talking about the redevelopment of the lobbies at Courtyard by Marriott in the article referenced above, Brian King, vice president and the global brand manager indicated that it was their desire to keep guests from walking out the door to spend money in another establishment. Updating the lobby space with a cafe-like offering was meant to capture this revenue-generating opportunity

Perhaps owners and hoteliers should think beyond this loss of revenue to something entirely more bold. If these same spaces featured a unique offering that surpassed anything in the area, would that space not only retain guests of the hotel but also be a favourite for non-guests as well?