“hotel lobbies are not like conference rooms and ballrooms, which are rented out to large groups. They are generally intended for hotel guests to use as a common area.”
RY23 – If your objection to use of hotel lounges for dates is that the hotel wouldn’t approve of non-guests using it to sit and talk, you could ask the hotel if that’s acceptable. I’ve asked a few and all of them were perfectly fine with it. (Especially if you’re going to buy a soda or water from them while you’re sitting there.)