Originally Posted by BearX220

Not all of us are on big-time corporate expense accounts. Quite a lot of business travelers are self-employed or work for small companies where every dollar counts these days... or where every unnecessary dollar spent on lodging is a dollar less in your dividend check. For this sizable cohort, overspending on lodging to earn points of much-diminished value as a "personal kickback" is an increasingly indefensible or nonsensical practice.

Originally Posted by hamptoninnsider

Just because someone works in the hotel, doesn't make them a corporate shill. The big brands are mostly run by corporate, most of the smaller are independent franchises. So as an independent hotel, we work for ourselves, not the corporation. In fact, my hotel's biggest competitor is another Hampton down the road. We don't get paid by corporate. We don't get bonuses if the chain or Hilton family makes money. The price to attend the brand conference this year actually increased.

Yes, the devaluation sucks. But we employees do work harder to make customers happy. Many of are customers focus on price and since we're not going crazy lowering prices like our neighbors we have to give better service. And better service does matter, I've seen the online reviews, surveys, letters and even a letter in the newspaper that a guest sent in.

I can also say that most guests don't just get a key and go to their room. I have guests who will stand at the guest for 30 min or more talking to the clerks. I have guests who go out to eat and then come back to tell us about it. We have guests bring us food from their dinner. Guests who bring candy each time they stay. At my place, that is the rule, not the exception.