My company just informed us that going forward we must use a bartering service for all of our travel arrangments. The company is called ICON travel.

Most of my co-workers who have already used the service do not like it. ICON deals with Best Western, Amerisuites, Wellesley, Westin, Sheraton and W Hotels. The problem is that it seems to be a hassle to book through them and the worst part is that we will not be able to accumulate points for our stays.

Does anyone have any experiences or thoughts on this company or any other bartering services?

Sounds like you have some half wits for management. Sorry.

If you are talking about Icon international out of Connecticut , I have dealt with them, for me they wer'e pretty good, believe it or not!

Yes, it is ICON out of Conn. Basically, we have been told we are still "trying it out" with this service. So far, it seems to be a huge hassle and the rates are way more expensive than what we would find on our own. We are trying to convince management that this service seems not to be cost-effecient or convenient so we can make our own travel arrangements.

Reasons why we don't like this service (so far):
-We have to call over a week in advance to make arrangements
-We have to use Sheraton, Westin, Best Western, Amerisuites, Wellesley, or W Hotels (it is fine if you are traveling to an area that has W Hotels or Westins but otherwise...)
-Rates given are usually Rack Rate
-No frequent stay upgrades are applicable
-If you need to change your itinerary it seems as it would be a hassle
-The biggie-NO POINTS for frequent stay programs

Can anyone else add to my list (or give a different perspective for that matter)? Thanks

I once worked for a country that tried this. It lasted a month.