Sorry if I missed this in the thread.
If the hotel is insisting that you made the booking then presumably if they accept that you do not work for Honeywell then as I understand it a valid booking never existed for the booking as the "person" ie "you" making it wasn't entitled to the Honeywell rate.
The hotel cannot have it both ways. Either you didn't make the booking or you did but weren't entitled to make it. Either way - there was no valid booking.
Have you tried insisting that IC invokes their own Ts&Cs and cancels the booking on the basis that you aren't entitled to the rate booked ie not an emplyee of Honeywell? This is something that needs the attention of the hotel manager as common sense needs to be applied! The other thing you might point out to him is that if you were entitled to the dicounted Honeywell booking rate then why hadn't it been used on any of your previous hotel bookings?
I'd also take exactly this point up with the credit card company.
Might this angle be the way through this?
I like the argument but think it might be more successful in the courtroom than trying to put it to IHG.
It did get me thinking though - if you make a reservation with a special corporate or government code the reservation usually states that you must present identification proving your right to use the code otherwise you will be charged the prevailing rate at time of check-in.If you turn up at check-in without the appropriate ID but after the cancellation deadline are refused the rate and decide to stay elsewhere is the hotel entitled to charge the cancellation fee of the rate you were not entitled to or have you agreed in the booking conditions to allow them to charge you a cancellation fee of the prevailing rate of the day? Would IHG in this case be able to say
Hey you weren't entitled to the Honeywell rate that we maintain you booked so we are going to charge you an extra E100 to make it up to the prevailing rate on the day you didn't show up That would be an interesting scenario