Lobby Bar – June 14th: Tom Bodet, Hotel Slogans, and ‘I’ll Take Ancient Romans for 500 Aureas, Alex!’

Lobby Bar: A Coin-Operated Summary of News and Views (Please Insert Coin Now)

When in Rome…The Eternal City is taking steps to curtail rowdy tourist behavior and also rein in unscrupulous hucksters dressed as Roman Centurions who prey on tourists. In other news, the Poliziadi Stato announced it was reverting to more traditional uniforms modeled after Roman army officers who, coincidentally, were Centurions.

We’ll leave the light on. Seeking to find a place for the now out-of-work Romans, who reportedly all held the famous Black Card, American Express announced it was opening a Centurion Lounge at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.

Be our guest. Jonathan Spira went to see “Beauty and the Beast” at the Paper Mill Playhouse and was offered the part of Lumiere, due to the actor’s unexplained absence. While he performed the role admirably, he insisted on keeping the candlestick hands the character wears and was last seen on Times Square delighting tourists.

Peace, prez. Find out what sorts of great and not-so-great things that have taken place in Junes throughout history.  In this edition, we highlight why William Howard Taft was the Original Gangster of Frequent Business Traveling, or OGFBT.

Maybe a beanstalk would be better?  Enamored by the children’s Magic Treehouse stories, Starwood Capital announced its new hotel brand, Treehouse. The first Treehouse hotel opened to great fanfare but some guests reportedly ran into difficulty after several staff were crushed by guest steamer trunks while trying to ascend to the lobby.

We’ll get right back to you on that.  Hilton announced plans to open its first Motto hotel in the United States in 2021. When asked by a reporter if the hotel had a motto, a red-faced PR executive stammered, “golly, we hadn’t thought of that.”

Jeremy Del Nero contributed to this Lobby Bar.

(Photo: Accura Media Group)