I had an interesting check-in experience at the American Express Centurion Lounge in Dallas last week.
I’ve come to expect meeting readers in airport lounges, it’s great fun and I’m fortunate it seems to happen in almost every lounge — whether it’s the Singapore Airlines Private Room or the American Airlines Admirals Club in Austin, Los Angeles, Chicago, or DC. (Although not in every lounge..) I also run into frequent flyer folks checking into hotels, at breakfast, or any number of other times and of course on planes.
I’ve put enough photos of myself on the blog that I guess I’m pretty recognizable. It’s great, you recognize me, I love it when you come and say hello.
I consider myself to have reached what amounts to the very lowest rung of fame. There’s ‘real famous’ like Hollywood celebrities. Most people know who they are, at least the top tier. There’s also ‘famous for DC’ where I’ve spent 18 years. You see, DC is known as ‘Hollywood for Ugly People’. Cabinet secretaries are absolute rock stars in DC, while in the rest of the world they’re mostly unrecognizable, at least for the lesser agencies.
I’m not even close to famous for DC, but I’ve been told that I’m famous in airport lounges, albeit not usually with the check-in staff.
Entering the Centurion lounge, I got this question: Are you speaking at Frequent Traveler University coming up?
Why yes, yes I am…
The next USA TODAY TRAVEL Frequent Traveler University is April 17-19 at the Hyatt Regency DFW, minutes from the Dallas Fort Worth airport. This is the only large Frequent Traveler University this year.
The American Express Centurion Lounge there has gotten a memo about us, telling them they’re going to need to be prepared, and giving them three months’ notice.
A group of attendees are putting together an airport lounge hop and somehow American Express got wind. That’s good, because they’re going to need to staff up the bar and make sure they’ve got extra food on hand!
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That is truly fabulous. Glad they recognized that a warning was in order.
Forgive my confusion…
Did the lounge dragon ask about your speaking engagement of a lounge GUEST?
Five or six paragraphs to discuss how famous you are? Rolleyes
I think I saw you in the STL Admirals Club last year, but I didn’t say hello. I couldn’t figure out how it was I recognized you until I was already on the plane.
@dbeach bummer! although I don’t think I was in St Louis last year so maybe better you didn’t! Next time please say hello 🙂
Ha, must have been a doppelgänger. Oh well, I’ll keep an eye out at the DFW Centurion Lounge.