If one hotelier has her way, leftists visiting Washington, D.C. to do business or while on vacation, will have a “safe space” to gather, even as the rest of the city transitions to the Trump era.
Katherine Lo, the daughter of Langham Hospitality Group founder Ka Shui Lo — and whose family operates a chain of five-plus star resorts across the globe — says she’s planning to open the “Anti-Trump International hotel” just down the street from the White House, for progressives to gather, reinforce their own ideas, and escape to an oasis free of Republicans.
Currently named “The Eaton,” the hotel will feature a modern decor, progressive-themed art installations, and “a premise that’s built around liberal activism and civic engagement,” according to Bloomberg. “The brand,” the business outlet claims, “will weave a liberal philosophy into every aspect of the guest experience.”
If that sounds like it would fall short of a rip-roaring good time, well perhaps you just don’t have your progressive priorities straight.
Lo says the hotel’s amenities will include “fireside chats,” rooftop lectures, and TED-style talks for progressives only, as well as co-working space for leftist non-profits. The hotel will also inculcate the rest of its services with “social justice,” providing “inner-health-focused treatments” like Reiki and “sound baths” instead of traditional spa services, and has hired a bar manager that “cares deeply about social justice.”
The restaurant will serve food from an “on-site” garden and the rooms will feature organic mattresses and in-room “activist toolkits” rather than liquor-filled mini-bars.
As if that’s not eye-rolling enough, Lo says that she hopes the guests will be self-selecting, and while the property claims to value “diversity” and “inclusion,” that doesn’t necessarily include tolerating conservatives. “The goal isn’t to bring together left and right,” Lo told Bloomberg. Instead, the Eaton will draw “a diversity of fields and backgrounds as well as gender and ethnicity.”
The hotel will have around 200 rooms, and Lo anticipates a nightly rate of $200 — because while the hotel wants to support local artists and the community, it still has to turn a profit to stay in business.