Originally Posted by
Xu Guan
I have been staying recently in Florida and am on a government project where we are told we have to book the government rate. We have written authorization for this rate as it is a long term project and have had to hop around hotels to whoever is offering the government rate for the week.
I have been working on this project for the last 6 months and show my government ID at check-in to verify eligibility. Over the past few weeks, I have been asked if I had a tax exempt form for my stay and I informed the person checking me in that my stay is not tax exempt to please charge me the taxes. I found this strange to ask but maybe someone wanted to make sure that I had the best rate. This is happening at both legacy SPG and Marriott properties.
Fast forward to two days ago and I tried to check in and then I was told I HAD to have a government-issued credit card in order to check in using the government rate and that the only way to have a tax-exempt stay would be to use this credit card. I told the check in person that I did not need a tax-exempt stay so that was not necessary. The check-in person apologized for the inconvenience but said they had a big meeting the day before I checked in and were given a new directive to only accept check-ins booked under the government rate with a government-issued ID card. They did not allow me to check in under that rate and said I could just cancel the reservation. I told them that was fine and walked my Lifetime Titanium Elite self (Over 2000 nights) to the Hyatt a couple of blocks away where the rest of the team stays on the government rate and that was pretty much the final nail in the coffin for me for Bonvoy. (The Hyatt is brand new construction and goes out of their way to have our team stay there on the government rate.)
Has anyone else run into this issue or is this the new way that Bonvoy trying to say Bon Voyage to more customers?
Seems to me you're mixing issues
1. Military and federal civilian employees don't need a government credit card to use the government rate but that is one way of proving eligibility. Historically, Marriott government rates were at the per diem rate and didn't require the guest to be on official business. Some Starwood hotels, however, charged government rates higher than per diem and required the guest to be on official business. Marriott has allowed hotels to follow the Starwood policies. Hilton almost always follows the official business requirement but II've never had it enforced.
2. Some locales allow official stays to be tax exempt. The requirements of that vary from locale to locale but at least a couple of places in my experience require the use of a government credit card under the theory that the federal government is paying directly.
But ... since you're working on a government project with a letter ... sounds like you are not a federal employee, notwithstanding that you may have an access card. Cost reimburseable government contractors aren't eligible for the Marriott governem
Some hotels, however, are perfectly happy to allow government contractors to use the government rate even though they aren't technically eligible. I'm attaching the link to the official rules which look to be the same as always (other than allowing hotels to follow the legacy Starwood policy if they want to)
https://www.marriott.com/File%20Bloc...eals/chart.htm
And ... if there are several of you, why not just speak to the GM at the property you want to stay at? Tell the GM that there are X of you staying in the area for Y weeks and that you need a rate at or below the federal per diem rate. While you're at it, ask if they can throw in breakfast and parking. A few people on a several week long project have negotiating power. Like airlines, hotels watch their rates and stop offering government rates when they are full. But, I've had at least a couple of hotels over the years override that restriction when they know I'm a regular guest.
As this applies to government contractors seeking to use the government rate, this is a topic brought up several times over the years
No more government rate for contractors
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/marriott-rewards/1616969-federal-gov-rate-being-enforced-more-strongly-now-starting-oct-2014-a.html
I acknowledge this can be frustrating. Government contractors are required to use the government rate but many hotels don't offer it to government contractors. It's all about the GM ....