Originally Posted by bankingconsultant
Whoa, the tone got nasty kind of quickly. You obviously noticed my pun on your original misuse of the word "principle" when you meant "principal," since you saw fit to go back and edit it.
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I didn't mean for the tone to be nasty. It was intended as amusement and bewilderment.
Originally Posted by bankingconsultant
My point is that in Ohio, my father was employed by the local board of education, as I believe is the case in California as well, and to call him an employee of a local government is a tenuous stretch to me. It's just a difference of opinion -- you feel that it's reasonable to assume he's entitled to a government rate, and I don't. Even when we lived in NC and my wife was employed by the state to teach 4th grade, we wouldn't have used the "government" rate. We just disagree on this one -- and that's ok.
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The reasoning and logic continues to escape me. If your wife is employed by the government, and is traveling on government business, why wouldn't she use the government rate. It seems tailor made for her circumstances.
As far as whether your father was an employee of a local government or not is a purely factual question which can be resolved with 100 percent certainty one way or the other. The easiest way would be to see who operates his retirement.
In California, public school teachers are employed by the local school district and are indisputably government workers. They receive the benefits of being government workers including membership in the government employees credit union and participation the the public employees retirement system.
Originally Posted by bankingconsultant
The fact that you would ask for a "one time exception" if he was challenged and your use of the term "error" to describe the use of the GOV rate leads me to believe that you don't really think it's 100% kosher yourself. .
On the contrary. I believe it is 110% Kosher, Halal, and Sanctified. I would have been stunned if a front desk clerk suggested that a public school teacher is not a government employee and would have argued the point on behalf of my parents. However, if the clerk is being obstinant, asking for a one time exception is a practical and kind way of ending a stalement and letting the clerk save face without embaressing the clerk by calling for his/her manager.
We do however agree that people should not book rates that they are not entitled to. If you have any hesitation about your eligibility, you should contact the hotel directly or the 800 number to resolve this issue before arrival. In my own case, my alma mater has great rates at both the local Ritz Carlton and Westin. I called both hotels and they informed me that merely being an alum was sufficient to take advantage of the collegiate rate.