Oh, hotel bars how I miss thee
If you follow me on Twitter, you know I have posted more than a few times about how I surprisingly miss hotel bars the most when I find myself reminiscing about certain aspects of business travel. As I have wondered why that is, I thought it would be interesting for my own reflection (and for those of you who may be feeling the same way) to try to understand what it is it that I experience and enjoy in the usual emptiness of hotel bars, which I still feel the absence of a year into the pandemic.
Here is what I came up with:
There is a sense of immediate acceptance. I don’t have to assess if I will get served. Some of you might be familiar with that 5-10 minutes when the staff keeps walking by you and you are trying to determine if they are not approaching because they are in the weeds, there is a shift change or that you are Black. I have yet to have this experience at a hotel bar.
It is in the hotel, so I can come as I am — usually post gym. Because I am a solo business traveler, I feel freed from the need to perform and the expectations associated with being a woman in this work. Additionally, the hotel menu options allow me to eat well and smart — a difficult feat when you are on the road 30-50% of the time (or were).
Highly likely there is Veuve on the menu. My BFF’s daughter announced I was fancy when she was 10 about 10 years ago - why fight it.
I can be with people and work while also being alone and undisturbed.
I have lived on the West Coast most of my adult life. And yet, there are reminders of my East Coast beginnings which bring me a unique comfort. One of the reminders that transports me to a different time is aged walnut, cherry or mahogany wood. I tend to seek out hotel bars with this aesthetic as it provides a backdrop for my younger and current selves to meet.
It will be a while before business travel comes back.
And when it does, you know where to find me.
First drink (your choice) on me.
About The Author:
Jara Dean-Coffey (jdc) is Founder and Director of the Equitable Evaluation Initiative and the Founder of Luminare Group. For the past twenty-five years, she has partnered with clients and colleagues to elevate their collective understanding of the relationship between values, context, strategy and evaluation and shifting our practices so that they are more fully in service of equity. For more about musings + machinations click here.
