A new five-star hotel on the Australian island of Tasmania will boast 176 rooms, a theater, a spa, and a three-level library. What it will not boast, in a late-breaking development, is the name HoMo.
The $400 million luxury hotel planned for the city of Hobart will accompany the Museum of Old and New Art, colloquially called Mona. The name HoMo was meant to stand for “Hotel Mona,” but employees weren’t buying it.
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“After consultation with the Mona staff force, and with the community beyond, we decided to ditch it,” the museum announced in a blog post.
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Mona founder David Walsh later elaborated on the backlash. “There was a slight preference for HoMo but the people that didn’t like it really hated it,” he told reporters on December 12, per News.com.au.
Walsh claimed he hoped the hotel formerly known as HoMo would convert homophobes to the right side of history. “But it turned out that I didn’t really have the right to call something HoMo when I’m not gay,” he said. “It offended a few people. I guess I was being culturally insensitive.”
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So now, instead of appropriating homo culture, the hotel now risks appropriating Detroit culture: The new name for the hotel is Motown.
Wicked Dickie
“But it turned out that I didn’t really have the right to call something HoMo when I’m not gay,” he said. “It offended a few people. I guess I was being culturally insensitive.” What a prick.
Pete le meat
An awful name. Don’t Australians have imaginations?
JJinAus
No, the entire 23 million of us have absolutely no imagination. Imagine that! A whole nation of Borg-like homogeneous people.
Mack
I think it’s funny.
Bob LaBlah
I have to agree with the people who said hell no to this name. I have been out of the closet more years than the majority of you reading this are old and no, I would not want to give directions to my house or job with “just turn right at the HoMo” or “you can’t miss it. Its right next to the HoMo.”
Chrisk
I think they missed an amazing marketing idea. I would’ve hired the most flamboyant staff. Think RSVP cruise meets Queer eye for the straight guy theme. It would be the most fabulous hotel around.