Most people I know use hotel lobbies as a meeting place especially if one of the folk happens to be staying in the hotel. Hotels in Manhattan are situated close to the business and entertainment sectors of the city, notoriously in Midtown and Downtown.
Hotel lobbies vary in size and in what level of service they offer the paying hotel guest and the general public who come in off the street to have a coffee or an alcoholic beverage. Some hotels are more exclusive than others and hotel staff may challenge those who try and use the facilities in the hotel and venture inside from off the streets. Hotels certainly do not want the homeless, the drug dealers, the pimps and the prostitutes congregating in their lobbies but those responsible for policing these areas that are open to the public have a hard job sifting through who is desirable and who is not.
Manhattan hotels are by and large busy places. The vibe on the streets tends to follow people through revolving doors and spreads itself out once inside hotel lobbies, bars and restaurants. Not only are they meeting places but they act as temporary business centers and dating venues . Some lobbies serve refreshments and are amply furnished with tables and chairs so that the customers who use them can generate extra revenue for the establishment. Others chose to provide little or no place to sit down , preferring to lure the guest into restaurants and bars , leaving the lobbies barren and uninviting.
I tend to use hotel lobbies frequently in Manhattan. There is one particular lobby that comes in very useful when I am feeling exhausted. I work in Midtown and have at least twenty hotels in waking distance from my office. I have done scouting trips to most of them looking for the most desirable one to pass some time during the day. If I get an hour free on days when I am in recovery mode from the previous evening's activities, I tend to gravitate to one hotel that helps me rid myself of fatigue. This particular lobby does not have bar service and is fairly busy. It has extremely comfortable armchairs for resting in. It is ideal for catching forty winks or slightly longer cat naps.
I usually arrive at the hotel with a firm intention of snoozing just like any other rate paying guest. The difference is, I obviously don't want to purchase a room for my endeavors and even if rooms were available by the hour my payment could be misconstrued as being instead for a more illicit activity. I always come well prepared for my little 'meeting.'. I carry under my arm a large newspaper to act as cover and have my blackberry, so as to be able to set an alarm. I don't ever want to sleep for more than thirty minutes. The worst case scenario would involve a much lengthier snooze that would involve having to explain my absence to my employer. I leave work under the disguise of going to get lunch. I arrive at the hotel and immediately look for an empty chair to sit down in. They are very comfy with fluffy pillows and deep seats. When positioned in the sitting pose, I unfold the newspaper and start reading. It isn't long before I have dozed off to never never land , with the tiniest drop of saliva drooling from my slightly open mouth. Thirty minutes later my alarm goes off in my pocket and I refold the newspaper, compose myself and get up and return to work.
The trick is to look as if I am meeting someone in the lobby. When I first arrive, I glance at my watch, look around the room as if I am searching for someone and/or something and then sit down. I make sure others, particularly hotel staff are aware that I look like I am meeting someone so that I am left well alone. If confronted while I am sleeping I have the perfect explanation. I am meeting someone. They are late. I fell asleep. A quick apology would suffice, with a facial expression of slight embarrassment and the matter would be resolved, leaving only the quest for a new lobby . I am pretty good at staying off the radar screen. I dress conservatively and don't arouse any suspicion. What is amusing is that I am not usually alone in the lobby as far as nappers are concerned. Most chairs are filled with other non hotel guests doing the exact same thing. Therefore in New York City I would argue that hotel lobbies are sleepers rather than anything else.
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