Originally Posted by
CCIE_Flyer
I imagine that it's safe to say that you aren't traveling on official government business - this is generally part of the Ts&Cs of gov't rates.
This isn't true across the board. You need to check the T&Cs of the particular rates at the particular property. There are plenty of properties that allow government rate use by government travelers for non-official travel.
Originally Posted by
C17PSGR
Marriott definitely permits government employees to use government rates for personal travel. Hyatt does as well. Hilton can be more ambiguous.
I've almost never been asked for travel orders. In some states, if you are on orders, you can avoid paying taxes but that's a matter of state by state.
This is definitely not abuse unless the rate specifically says for official travel only.
+1
For the OP, unfortunately, you do need to be careful about rates that specify that they are for "US" government travelers. You could end up in a bad situation at check in.