I had to go to a couple of meetings down in the city centre this afternoon, and, not being quite sure of the locations from the addresses/directions/'maps' I'd been given, I dug up a couple of old tourist maps I hadn't looked at in ages to doublecheck where I was going. I noticed that one of them marked a Beijing Intentional Hotel. Ah, obviously I'd just misread that; perhaps they'd broken the word in an unusual place, and I hadn't noticed a discreet apostrophe signalling the omission of a syllable. Er, no - they really had spelled it like that. I'm sure you can guess what they actually meant.
Oh, if only there were such a hotel! It would be a novel and thrilling concept for Beijing!
I rather suspect, though, that a contrary theme would better fit the prevailing local business culture and thus enjoy more success. Yes, the rival chain of Chaotic Hotels - including venues like the Inadvertent, the Haphazard, the Unforeseen, and the Random - could easily become a leader in the hospitality industry here.
2 comments:
I missed the best example of all: a Chinese hotel really ought to be called The Unexpectable.
I thought I'd told that story on here long ago, but if I did, it has become mysteriously invisible to Google. I might have to tell it again, in a day or two...
Looking forward to it!
Some advice to heed concerning such places from our typo-afflicted friends- http://www.engrish.com/wp-content/uploads//2012/04/please-dont-sfay-here.jpg
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