living near shamu

I need to book a stay of a few days at a Marriott (Renaissance) that is offering both the federal government rate and the state government rate. The fed rate offers free breakfast and free parking. The state rate offers nothing.

I work for a state entity that uses federal per diem guidelines for traveling. I've booked the federal rate at other Marriott hotels that didn't have the state rate and never been asked for federal ID. However, in this particular Renaissance hotel, the T&C for the fed rate with free breakfast and parking stimulate that an ID must be provided at check-in.

I really want the free breakfast and parking but I'm afraid when I get there that they will refuse the rate when they see the state ID. Has anyone been faced with this situation before?

worldtraveller73

Why not get a letter from your employer HR department stating that your "state" organization is entitled to the federal benefits per your travel policy?

Likely with them being in the hospitality industry, this with your ID should be sufficient.

iflyjetz

I've found hotels to be more hardcore on wanting to see federal ID in the last couple of years. And while you may be using the federal per diem tables, I think that they're going to want you to book under the state rate. You can feign ignorance but they're likely to not honor the federal rate for you.
Worst case is that they'll make you take the rack rate; do you have a backup hotel plan?

USirritated

And the average FDC might not even know the difference, or not be aware that there are multiple government rates, and furthermore, probably a significant minority, maybe one third of FDC's, will not ask for any identification at all!

TrojanHorse

No STATE agency is ENTITLED to federal benefits just b/c that is what they state in some travel policy. Just like no fed gov't contractor is entitled to "federal benefits" just b/c they are on a gov't contract that reimburses travel per the JTR.

Agree though about the other comment that FDC's are clueless when it comes to ID's

kbh1234

I have this same situation a lot (work for a state agency). I always try to book the state rate, but in some cases only a federal rate is offered. Then I will either email or call the manager of the hotel and ask if they will honor it for a state employee (email is better so that I have it in writing).

That said, some of my co-workers will book the federal rate without confirming that it will be honored. I only know of one situation where it was not honored, and that was at the Renaissance on Wacker in Chicago.

I noticed that you are a MR plat so you should get free breakfast anyways (assuming you are staying during the week).

living near shamu

Your comment hit close to home. The REN in question is in Chicago, although not the one you mentioned. This is the reason why I asked. Just because it's never happened doesn't mean it won't this time.

Often1

Be very careful. Hotels have become tough about this and may also be required to report attemted violations to the GSA Inspector General. You and your agency can wind up in a lot of hurt and spend a lot more than a couple of english muffins.

You also risk the more likely result which is that your rate is cancelled and you are stuck with the rack rate (3-4 x what anybody normally pays).

Needless to say, you might not get caught, but that doesn't make it worth it.

The Federal govt. rate is not merely for federal employees or entities, it is for a very specific category defined by contract between GSA and Marriott. For instance, it might include only Federal civilian as opposed to military, or only certain agencies (although unlikely). Whether your state agency has chosen as a matter of its discretion to adopt Federal travel guidelines does not make it a Federal agency or you a Federal employee.

All in - you are talking about a parking spot and an egg.

EricH

To clarify a little further, there need not be any contract between the federal or state government and any hotel. The government entity announces the rates that it is willing to pay and each hotel decides whether or not to offer rooms at that rate. The federal government is large enough (maybe too large, but that's for another discussion) that hotels pretty routinely include the GSA rates in their standard room rates, which may or may not be available for any given date. For states, the situation may be different. A hotel in Chicago may have standard rates for Illinois state employees, but probably doesn't include other states' rates on its website. That doesn't mean that it won't offer rooms at the Tennessee rate, but you'll have to speak to someone at the hotel to get a decision. "Extras" beyond a room may also be available, but the hotel may not want to list all of the combinations that would accumulate.

So, call the hotel and speak with someone with enough authority to make a decision.

VickiSoCal

There is no contract between the GSA and "Marriott". Each hotel chooses whether to offer a federal per diem rate, who they will offer it to, and how many rooms they will make available at that rate. My husband has worked on contracts for the GSA, the DOD and HUD. For each of those agenices he had letters from the agency stating that he was entitled to the federal rate and a CAC. Marriott refused to honor this letter or card since he is not a federal employee. And there's nothing the GSA Inspector General can do about that.

ohmark

Assuming the rates are the same (sometimes the rates are different, and the OP hasn't commented as to this), I would guess the hotel management wouldn't care. But I would absolutely call the hotel, get ahold of a manager (not a front desk clerk), and clear it in advance. If the rates are not the same, then the perks also may be different.
The Marriott government rate at individual properties (which is supposed to be pegged to federal per diem absent some type of mythical waiver) is as a result of Marriott policy, not a contract with GSA, as others have mentioned.

A private organization called fedrooms (fedrooms.com), which has some sort of relationship with GSA, does sign contracts with hotel chains and individual properties, but GSA is not party to such. Many Hiltons, Intercontinentals, and Starwood properties are in the Fedrooms program, but very, very, few Marriott properties.

socrates

Let me clear up a few things here before we get too far off

1) There is no contract between the Federal Government and MI - the GSA and their consultants (typically Smith Travel Research out of TN) come up with what Per Diem will be in each market...the GSA's point of view is if you want the governments business here's what we're going to pay, if you don't want to accept that rate you don't have to

2) there is no requirement that I've ever been made aware of requiring hotels to report any abuse of the per diem rate by a guest

3) State Agencies can make the claim they are eligible to receive $x.xx rate but since hotels are mostly private companies hotels are under no obligation to provide rooms at $x.xx rate (would be like Marriott telling Ford they must sell them airport vans at $yyy.yy...Ford will say, that's great, have a nice day, here's GM's phone number, next customer in line please!)

Now with the above said...MI has stated as a blanket policy any government employee is eligible to receive the government rate if available regardless of reason for the stay (ie it can be used for leisure stays) or which branch of the government they work for (State University versus City Manager...doesn't matter)....some hotels have made a state per diem rate available etc and you must always meet the rate rules for each rate (which are allowed to be more restrictive but just because the GSA says a contractor is able to use the per diem rate doesn't mean the hotel must honor the GSA's request)

USirritated

In some cities, parking can be as much as $46 per night (San Francisco, New York), and in some cities, breakfast can be as much as $27 per person (also San Francisco, New York, and Boston too), so a parking spot and an egg could cost as much as $73 per night/day, depending on what city the OP is talking about, and over a four day stay, that could add up to over $300 with taxes. Not exactly a minor consideration to most.

Often1

So - The question of whether OP ought to violate US law by impersonating a Federal officer comes down to how much the parking costs? Likelihood of getting caught is close to zero, but if I'm going to commit a felony, it's going to be for more than a couple of hundred bucks !

VickiSoCal

Your knowledge of laws regarding government rates seems fuzzy. Marriott offers government rates as a courtesy to government employees or as a marketing technique. If they choose to ask for an id at check-in and the guest cannot produce one, the worst thing that happens is that the guest pays a higher rate. The GSA does not send out the Inspector General and noone is accused of impersonating a federal officer. It's like signing up for the AAA rate and not having an AAA card when you show up. I don't recommend it- you may end up paying far more, but it is not breaking the law.