Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - Ethics Question: coorporate hotel discounts

Racnad · 11-08-2007, 07:48 PM

All:

I'm on my way home from a business trip at this time, and I stayed at a hotel that gave me a discount for mentioning the comany I was visiting. I also used to work for a major company that gave it's employes a booklet listing hotels that have a negotiated rate for business travelers connected to that company.

It occurs to me that no one ever verifies that you work for or are visiting the company you are citing, so there is nothing stopig one from finding out what big companies are near an area you want to visit for pleasure, and askign for a corporate rate?

This seems a little like cheating to me, but if so, who is being cheated?

Not the hotel. If you weren't getting a discounted rate, you might have choosen a cheaper hotel and they wouldn't have your business at all.

Not the company you mention. The company doesn't pay the hotel anything for people staying with the corporate rate. The traveller is billed for the entire amount. In fact, more reservations at the hotel receives citing the company name, the more willing the company will be to give travelers connected to the company a good rate.

So is there anything unethical about this?

11-08-2007, 07:48 PM	#1 (permalink)
Racnad Crazy Location: Washington State	Ethics Question: coorporate hotel discounts All: I'm on my way home from a business trip at this time, and I stayed at a hotel that gave me a discount for mentioning the comany I was visiting. I also used to work for a major company that gave it's employes a booklet listing hotels that have a negotiated rate for business travelers connected to that company. It occurs to me that no one ever verifies that you work for or are visiting the company you are citing, so there is nothing stopig one from finding out what big companies are near an area you want to visit for pleasure, and askign for a corporate rate? This seems a little like cheating to me, but if so, who is being cheated? Not the hotel. If you weren't getting a discounted rate, you might have choosen a cheaper hotel and they wouldn't have your business at all. Not the company you mention. The company doesn't pay the hotel anything for people staying with the corporate rate. The traveller is billed for the entire amount. In fact, more reservations at the hotel receives citing the company name, the more willing the company will be to give travelers connected to the company a good rate. So is there anything unethical about this?