Tomsky said that over the years working the front desk, he'd learned a valuable skill. "I can simultaneously and effectively call housekeeping for a rollaway while signaling for a bellman, while authorizing a credit card, while fielding questions about the equipment in the health club and still keep an ear on Kayla's phone argument," he wrote. "We hear and see everything going on at all times in our lobbies. It's part of the job. It's not even hard. It's just a self-generating skill, like how a basketball player can spin a ball on his finger: you don't need that move to play the game, but it develops anyway."

A hotel lobby
Hussein Malla/AP