Originally Posted by Eugene
I completely agree.
Unfortunately, there is no uniform rule (even within the same chain of hotels, be it Hampton Inn, Hilton, Sheraton, etc.) when it comes to eligibility for Government rates. Some properties allow government contractors to use government rates, some don't. Some allow government travel orders to be used as a substitute for a government employee ID, some (like that Hampton Inn in Bangor, ME) apparently don't. Some allow local government or foreign government employees use those rates, some don't.
You would think that Hampton would address this issue and create a uniform policy for their hotels. I don't know what the "right" answer is - but they should come up with one consistent answer that applies to all Hampton Inns.
FWIW, at Hampton Inns, this doesn't seem like that big of a deal. I threw in random dates for a couple of my favorite Hampton Inns and noticed gov't rates were only $5-10/nt. lower than the best available other rate. But I suppose in some markets this is a much bigger deal, particularly if that market hosts a high volume of gov't work.