"Guests at the Love Lomas Pousada in the Amazon city of Belem receive an email from reception before check-in with two questions, one conventional, the other unforeseen. Could you kindly let us know what time you expect to arrive at our establishment, the message reads. And one other thing, our rooms feature erotic chairs. Would you like to have it removed?"
"With less than three months until tens of thousands of climate negotiators, campaigners and diplomats flock to this sweltering riverside metropolis to discuss the future of the planet, Belem's love motels are racing to remodel themselves to receive visitors from around the globe. Ricardo Teixeira, the owner of Love Lomas, said a de-eroticization campaign was in full swing as motels traditionally used for passionate rendezvous between lovers stepped into the breach to help authorities cope with the huge influx of outsiders for November's Cop30 summit."
"Mirrored ceilings, pole dancing poles and sex chairs resembling a cross between a torture rack and a weight bench were being covered or removed. Mattresses were being changed and kitsch erotic artwork being stored away to ensure bashful conference-goers felt at home. There's a certain stigma [attached to motels] because they charge by the hour but the only difference is that they're mostly used for romantic liaisons,"
Belem's love motels are undertaking rapid renovations to welcome tens of thousands of COP30 visitors by removing or covering erotic fittings and changing mattresses and artwork. Guests receive pre-check-in emails asking arrival time and whether erotic chairs should be removed. Owner Ricardo Teixeira says a de-eroticization campaign is underway as motels traditionally used for passionate rendezvous prepare to house delegates and other outsiders. Mirrored ceilings, pole-dancing poles and sex chairs are being hidden or removed to ensure bashful conference-goers feel at home. Motels also serve non-romantic guests such as frontline health workers and business travellers from interior Pará.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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