FOOD HOOVERING IN THE LOUNGE

POST

Charles P

DATE 3 March

12:37

I dropped into the Brussels Star Alliance Business lounge (The Loft) last week for some breakfast before my flight and saw the most extreme example of food hoovering I have ever encountered. The lounge has a very nice central food area with a good selection of fruit, pastries, cold meats etc., as well as a bar. The man concerned had a good-sized Tupperware-type box which had separate internal compartments and he was filling each of them with fruit, ham, cheese and biscuits. By the time he had finished he had a goodsized lunch! I no longer feel guilty about slipping an extra chocolate bar into my bag for my daughter.

seasoned-traveller 3 March

14:07

I simply don’t understand people who seem to think it’s acceptable to “remove” lounge food in such a manner – in my view it’s stealing. I remember the old BMI lounge at Edinburgh, which always had a big bowl of chocolates and shortbreads. I regularly saw suited businessmen filling their briefcases with chocolates and biscuits. I think this kind of greedy, selfish behaviour should be clamped down upon by lounge staff and offenders banned from using the lounge.

Charles P 3 March

14:18

seasoned-traveller: I suppose this is one of those areas where society decides what is acceptable. I for example regard taking shampoo and body wash from hotels as fine (I use them in the gym at home) but taking towels I see as stealing (although my sister does not). The odd extra apple or chocolate bar dropped into the bag is OK for me; bringing along a Tupperware box with the express idea of obtaining a picnic looks a lot like theft to me as well. I have among my staff a woman who regards it as acceptable to take from a hotel anything that is “free” including pens, notepads and chocolates.

Sunny M6 3 March

16:23

This post reminds me of the man in China who purchased a first-class plane ticket and used it to eat a year’s worth of free meals at the lounge at Xi’an Xianyang International Airport. He re-booked his ticket over 300 times! When he was confronted by China Eastern Airlines, he simply refunded the ticket, got all of his money back and went on his merry way!

Mr Darwin 4 March

13:41

I’m not in the regular habit of taking anything from lounges or hotels as such, I usually have enough hand luggage to deal with. However about a year ago I stayed at a hotel in Amsterdam that had a single charge of 27 EUR for breakfast irrespective of what one ate. I’m all for a full fry as a treat – but Monday to Friday when at home I hardly get up every morning and make eggs Benny with sausages, bacon, spinach and hash browns on the side etc., because I’d need to get the front door widened. So when travelling, I simply want to have my usual cereal, banana and coffee. 27 EUR for such a simple breakfast is ridiculous. If I’d wanted to take some muffins or fruit with me, I certainly wouldn’t have felt guilty doing so.