Originally Posted by
lamphs
I am one of those (county) government employees who cares about the cost to taxpayers (although I am not sure anyone notices that I care). I have about 30 days of travel annually (and I am the 'cruise' director, so I am reserving rooms for multiple people, likely approaching 120-150 nights annually).
That said, I always book the state government rate when available (if less expensive than any other rate). I've never had an issue. There is rarely an ID check, but if asked, I show my ID card, and it has never been questioned. I only know of one property (and actually it is with another chain) where only the Federal rate is available and the property is strict about it. I've asked why this is and the property told me that the Federal rate is offered because it has to by contract; otherwise a premium rate can be commanded by that particular property. I had a project in July that would have funded 25 people nights, called to see if I could book at the Federal rate, agent checked with the manager, and it was a flat 'no'. I found it interesting in that I drove by the property and the normally full parking lot was about 25% full.
I can tell that wasn't a Hilton property. I've seen plenty of Hilton properties where the federal rate either wasn't offered because it was "sold out" or not available the entire time of my stay, or that they could make more money by not offering it because there was other business in town, like a convention, etc. Sometimes a call to the manager could help, especially if you've stayed there several times before.
I'd like to know of any properties where it specifically states that any government rate can be used for personal use. I am quite sure that if I booked a government rate for personal use, and the property actually checked with my jurisdiction, I'd be having a visit to the director's office!
I've been traveling on fed rates since 2004 both as a govie and a contractor. Hilton's always allowed it unless it specifically said otherwise, and then that's always been a specific property's decision. But even then, as a contractor, it's not like I get travel orders when my customer sends me anywhere. I can say that in over 15 years of fed travel, I can count on one hand how many times I've been carded.
Not sure if agencies vary, but the one I worked for/service specifically told us they didn't care if we used the government rate for personal travel. It was up to the property whether they wanted to allow it. I've been using it for years without issue. I book both business and personal stays on Hilton's site. The only difference is whether I use the company card or not.
As a contractor though, we don't get city pair access for flights.