Assuming it were to just discourage people from hanging out there, it's a poor way of doing so. Why should the actual hotel guests not get a comfortable couch to sit on just because non-hotel guests can sit on them as well ?
From another point of view, it's a bad idea cause it's only going to discourage guests (like us) from spending money in that vicinity. Quite often, when we've lounged inside the lobby we've also bought cocktails from the bar, shopped inside the souvenir store, and had dinner at Storyteller's Cafe.
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