This question was posed to Rav Yisroel Belsky ZT”L. He answered that for use of the bathroom, it is permitted to enter the lobby. However, using the lobby as a place to do work on one's laptop is not permitted without obtaining permission. I (Rabbi Hoffman) think the reason is that without obtaining permission, one may be considered to have engaged in theft according to Halacha.
The Talmud (Bava Basra 88a) records a debate between Rabbi Yehudah and the Sages as to whether borrowing an item without permission renders a person a Gazlan (a thief) or whether he simply has the status of a borrower (albeit one has done wrong, by using an item of another without asking permission). Rabbi Yehudah maintains that he has the status of a borrower, while the Sages maintain that he is a thief. The Rif and the Rambam both rule in accordance with the Sages - that he is considered a thief. Indeed, this is also the ruling of the Shulchan Aruch in four different places (C.M. 292:1, 308:7, 359:5, 363:5).
Is the “considered a thief” designation applicable in all cases of using something without one’s permission? How about when one is using another’s item without permission and the item has no tangible value? Such is the case above, where one may be trespassing in the hotel’s lobby - there may be nothing of value being borrowed or taken by setting foot on another person’s property.
The Chazon Ish (B.K. 20:5) writes that the Halachic designation of “Sho’el Shelo Mida’as” (one who borrows without permission and would therefore be considered a thief) applies even when the item being borrowed has little or no market value.
While the Chazon Ish above is instructive, it is not directly comparable to the case of trespassing on someone’s land or using a hotel lobby without permission. Maybe, it can be argued that in order to be considered a Sho’el Shelo Mida’as, you have to borrow something – i.e., you have to physically take an object; in the case of trespassing, you are just taking up space on someone’s land or hotel lobby.
The Rashbam in Bava Basra 57b discusses a case of a piece of property owned by two partners. The Rashbam writes that we are lenient and assume that one partner allows the other partner to place his animals on the land even without explicitly giving him permission to do so. In such a case, he would not be considered to be a Sho’el Shelo Mida’as since they are partners, and each partner would let the other do, within reason, what he wants with the shared property. The implication is, that according to the Rashbam, when we are not dealing with two partners of a property, trespassing would not be permitted and one who does so, would be considered a Sho’el Shelo Mida’as.
Therefore, one who intends to use a hotel lobby to work on his computer without permission may be guilty of Sho'el Shelo Mida’as and must ask permission prior to doing so.
