Another personal incident....

A couple years ago, I called into the Marriott reservation line to make some vacation and work reservations at the same time. When we got to a vacation reservation for an international beach location, the reservationist pointed out our company rate was very good, and she did not see any restriction that would prohibit its use. We booked the rate.

Long story short: the hotel regularly lets the large facility my company has nearby know who is staying at the hotel so the company can coordinate travel, meals, etc. The facility, which is a manufacturing arm of the very, very large company I work for, and has nothing to do with the division I'm in, was confused why I was there. I said it was okay if they did not want me to use the rate, but they still let me use the rate. When I got back home, the travel office called me and explained I should not use that rate again. Most of the time, we can use the negotiated rate for vacation, but I do send an email now asking before using our rate at international properties.