Advice requested regarding check in experience
 

I checked into a Fairfield just moments ago. At check in I was asked to provide a govt ID due to the per diem rate. I offered to show my FFRDC ID and my govt contractor ID but the manager said that wasnt good enough. After pointing out Marriotts policy that FFRDC's are entitled to the govt rate she insisted it didnt matter because the hotel didnt need to honor it (nice to tell you after the reservation and an 11pm check in). She said she was going to let it stand this time, but it would not be honored again (I have stayed 4 weeks previously at this hotel and never had an issue).

My two questions are:

1) Is this correct that the individual hotels do not have to honor the per diem rate guidelines at their discretion?

2) During the check-in I was not asked for points or ammenities. I normally let it go and just ask for the points in the morning, but would like to enforce the Marriott policy due to my check in experience, how do I do this?

3) Is this something worth writing to Marriott about? Im not seeking points, I just want them to fix the issue so I dont experience it again.

Regards

Sorry I can't answer your questions, but I'm wondering what exactly is a FFRDC ID?
Perhaps others here will know more about this particular rate.

FFRDC is Federally Funded Research Development Corporation. Per Marriott rate guidelines it is entitled to govt rates.

In all likelihood, you just got an inexperienced night clerk. Happens sometimes. If that's the case, I'd probably just e-mail the GM for that property and explain the situation. Showing the contractor ID didn't help, since the clerk probably was trained that contractors are ineligible for gov't rates.

I am having problems too !! I am part of the IFFG-TPD and I can't seem to get the government rate honored either ? What's the deal :).

FYI-IFFG-TPD = I fund the federal government, tax payer division

Mo,

The clerk was deferring to someone who said they were the manager and went on to explain they are independantly owned and do not have to follow the marriott rules.

Hi OP!

As you can see from my profile, I am an Assistant Front Desk Manager at the Renaissance Washington DC Downtown Hotel. In terms of the rate, YES, your government rate should be honored! Sometimes when you stay at our lower end brands, the desk agent's aren't the best...

In terms of your platinum amenity, if we do not offer you points/amenity at check in, you are entitled to $100 from Marriott. In order to get this fixed, you would have to do it at the property! Bring up the fact you were not offered either to the manager and ask them for the $100.

PS - - If you are going to stay in DC anytime soon at my hotel, Renaissance Washington DC Downtown hotel, shoot me an email and I will be sure to take care of you! My email is: [email protected]

Hope this helps!

1) Yes - Marriott's policy is government rates are for government employees only (there is no law mandating hotels sell rooms at a set price anywhere in the US)

2) just let the front desk know you didn't receive your platinum arrival gift

3) no, the hotel was only following Marriott's policy

you would need to be employed by FFRDC to qualify for the the government rate - I'm certain producing two ID's with one saying your a contractor only confused the situation, if you are an employee of FFRDC you should have been given the government rate - if you are a contractor of FFRDC then you are not eligible for the government rate

@macdan911 Thank you for the information. I am sure I will be heading to DC at some point and may take you up on your offer.


@socrates To be clear, this was after the reservation was made at the rate and I was clear on the FFRDC vs contractor issue.

First of all welcome to FT. Secondly, I am a little confused by your statement above. Anyone can make a reservation at the Government rate. Its producing the Govt ID, Govt issued Credit Card or Travel Orders at check in that confirms whether you are entitled to the Gov't rate. There is a very long thread on this issue in the MR forum. As others have mentioned, showing you Contractor ID at check-in just confused the issue. The front desk clerks are trained to deny the govt rate to government contractors. Not sure if you get travel orders/authorizations through the Agency that sponsors your FFRDC, but in the future you may want to bring a copy of those to avoid any issues.

Regards,


RIP...

Sorry, I'm confused by this, too. Do you work for the FFRDC, or are you sub-contracted to it?

sorry I'm not exactly sure what you're trying to say but let me be clear on what MI's policy is, only employees of the government (which employees of FFRDC are) are eligible for the government rate regardless of the fact that they might have travel orders from FFRDC or might be sponsored by them - there is no law requiring hotels provide rooms to the government, nor are there laws requiring hotels to sell them to the government at a rate established by the government - hotel's are just like any other business and able to pick which guests they wish and which they dont (as long as they dont violate discrimination laws)

Addtionally while the government might tell a contractor they are eligible to use the Per Diem rates there is no law mandating what rates hotels may charge and who may or may not be eligible for Per Diem rates, these decisions are left to the business operator not the government - Most of the large hotel companies have decided contractors may not receive the per diem rates (local hotels do have the ability to create an LSOP that will vary though)

So simply put - if you're a contractor and the hotel does not have a LSOP you are not eligible for the government per diem rate, if you are an employee of the government and the hotel does not have an LSOP you are eligible for the government per diem rate (not sure why a hotel would have an LSOP excluding an agency of the government but it's possible)

I am employed directly by the FFRDC. When making the reservation online, I always check the eligibility for the govt rate. In this case, when I selected the govt rate it stated FFRDC ID was acceptable proof. What they were trying to do is say it was not acceptable and FFRDC did not qualify. Again, this was after the fact.

I understand no one can force them to give rooms for certain rates and I have no problem with that. What I have a problem with is them accepting the reservation clearly outlining FFRDC eligibility, then at a 11pm check-in changing the rules.

They are honoring the rate for this stay, correct?

In the future, if you need to stay at that hotel again, I would send an email to the GM in advance of the stay, asking to confirm that FFRDC employees are eligible for the government rate. Print that and bring it with you, in case the front desk employee has an issue with the rate.

If the rate rules for this particular stay at this particular property do say that FFRDC ID IS an acceptable ID for the rate & you are an employee of FFRDC, then that's it as far as I'm concerned.

If the property wants to exclude FFRDC, then it needs to change the rate rules/qualification on its website.

You can do as kipper suggests & contact the GM for clarification, especially since you've stayed there previously under the same rate & it wasn't an issue. Alternatively, if you stay there again, print out the rate rules & bring it with so if you get issued, you can provide documentation showing you qualified.

PS - If you're still at the property, then heck yes get your $25 (I think that's what it is for FFIs) for the failure to ask re: Plat gift.

Cheers.

So, do you guys get issued Government travel cards? If so, then Marriott considers it proof a elibility for the Government rate if you have your travel card number listed in your MR profile. Since I put mine in I have not been asked for a Government ID to verify elibility.

That is correct, if you put your travel card # in your profile MI has verified it with the GSA as an employees account and flags all of your reservations as being verified automatically, if someone does not have their GSA approved travel card in their profile (such as a state employee) they will need to provide ID at check-in

Clueless front desk clerk or manager (if that's what she was).

macdann 911, welcome and thanks for responding. Don't be a stranger.

OP still needs to clarify the distinction of whether he is an employee or contractor. He showed two ID's, hence the confusion.

If he is an employee and the hotel provides a rate for such employees, than he gets it. If he is a contractor, he only gets the rate if the hotel provides it to contractors.

Often1, there wasnt any confusion with the front desk on the fact that I was employeed directly by a FFRDC, althought my wording on here may have made it sound like that.


I stopped at the desk this morning to request my $100 for forgetting to ask about the arrival gift. She said she would make a note of it and talk to the manager. When I returned this afternoon to inquire, she produced a gift card for $25 which I politely declined. She said I would need to speak to the manager for anything else.

I am going to send an e-mail to the GM and assistant GM on the check in issue and the arrival gift . When I start to feel bad for pushing for the $100, I just remember how aggravated they had me last night.

The OP has made this crystal clear: "I am employed directly by the FFRDC."

let me put some mud in this discussion to make it clearer (yes poor attempt at humor)

US Postal Service Employees are employees of a government chartered agency but are not direct employees of the Federal Government and do not meet Marriott's requirements for ID

Mayor of the City of (fill in the blank) as a direct employee DOES qualify as a government employee

Employees of Purdue University also are eligible as employees of a governmental body BUT employees of companies Purdue has sponsored as part of their incubator are NOT as they are employees of a company sponsored by a governmental body but not direct employees of that governmental body (granted PU and their incubator companies often share employees - these employees would due to their employment by PU)

If the OP is a direct employee of a governmental body they qualify - if they work for a company sponsored by a governmental body they do not qualify - yes it's splitting hairs but there is a difference

You may want to read up on what you are entitled to as a result of no welcome gift.......

It's $25.00 at a FI.

longing, thank you for the clarification. After your post I was able to find the link at https://www.marriott.com/rewards/mem...s/guarantee.mi

As you can tell, this is the first time I have done this.


Regards

FFRDC's are non-profit organizations funded by the Federal Government. They include places like Sandia and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories. To the best of my knowledge, they have their own pay scale and are not technically Government employees. They do, however, enjoy a special relationship with the Government. According to this link

http://www.marriott.com/File%20Block...eals/chart.htm

Marriott considers them eligible for Federal Government rates. I suspect that they are subject to federal per diem reimbursement limits when they travel for business.

yes National Labs are treated like the Fed by Marriott (which by the way isn't subject to GSA limits) or CDC

BTW - it's $25 cash, not a gift card. Up to you on whether to accept the gift card or not. I'm assuming it was a Marriott gift card?

You definitely should contact the GM re: being told you weren't entitled to the rate you booked, even though you had the proper ID & their rate rules said that ID was ok. You don't want to have to go through this yes/no thing, based on which clerk you get.

Cheers.

Just wanted to follow up on this with an update. I wrote a polite e-mail to the GM of the hotel explaining the situation. We ended up talking about it later the next day. The thing that confuses me is she said she talked to the regional manner and got them to make an exception on the rate for me when I come back (still puzzled by this). I have checked into the hotel since then and havent had a problem.

To put further mud in this discussion, I traveled as a consultant working for USPS for 7 years. I never claimed the government rate (unless there was a government contractor rate, which some places do have). However, on a number of occasions I traveled with USPS employees who always used the government rate. They were never denied the rate and on the occasions that they were asked to show ID, their USPS ID was sufficient with no further questions.

FYI - GM's have complete responsibility for their hotel and are free to make any decisions they'd like (regardless if the hotel is MI managed or franchised)