Verification of Corporate Rates
 

Hi everyone,

Long time follower, first time poster :) I wanted to hear your thoughts about the following; I used to work for a large multi-national corporation which had negotiated rates with most hotels. I booked a room in a certain hotel which usually asks to make the booking through our company's travel desk.

My question is: will the hotel actually verify my employment status with my ex-employer or will they simply take my business card for their records?

Would really appreciate everyone's insight on this!

Welcome to Flyertalk, pasadenian.
I believe that your thread is best suited for TravelBuzz.
Obscure2k
Moderator
Luxury Hotels

Usually the cards will work, but you'll want to make certain your use does not contravene any agreements you had with your employer.

We work for clients who have rates at hotels worldwide. On the few times I have been asked, I just tell them that we are working for the client. Knowing the address of the client was certainly helpful. But I have never been denied the rate.

I've had it both ways, where they do not care, anybody can stay at any rate if you ask, and I've also had them check with the contact at the company for verification.

It may also be possible the rate is only for bookings made through the travel desk.

You will probably have no problems at all doing it, but it's also possible you will be caught. Not really sure I'd want that to happen, I wouldn't do it.

the biggest question is just how good is the rate, especially at REAL luxury hotels like four seasons etc.

(for probability of ID verification)

some have said ABA hotels dont always check for that ($150/yr for nonlawyers IIRC)

Technically, claiming your former employer's rate is fraud. Practically, since you are spending your own money, you should be using Priceline.

if the rate is only made via the travel desk (our corp rates all have codes for use on the hotels websites) then it is a moot point b/c he can't book it online. Now I suppose he could call and ask for it (we do that too) but then again if he just calls and says can I get the XYZ corp rate and they say yes.. I don't see any fraud unless they ask "are you an employee" or similar.

As with anything in life I'm sure there are properties somewhere, some place who will verify that you work for the company or otherwise are eligible for this rate but IMHO 98+% of the hotels out there (esp in the USA) will accept the business card or other information as acceptable.

personally, I wouldn't worry about it and would do it in a heartbeat. If it really does bother you, just have a back up cancellable plan

I just have to :rolleyes: at the people who make this statement everytime this question is asked

yeah op, you better be worried, there are vice squads in every city dedicated just to fraudsters like this *shaking my head*

I have often, and properly, taken advantage of negotiated local business rates when visiting clients. They'd say "tell them you're visiting us and ask them to give you our rate." I would.

Obviously, my employment with the client couldn't be verified because it didn't exist. I suppose they could have asked me for some indication that I was really visiting that company, but no hotel ever did, and I never thought to carry any sort of proof.

I also used a hotel rate for people visiting patients at a nearby hospital quite a few times in a two-month period. Over time the desk staff came to know who I was visiting and so on, but before then nobody ever asked me for the name of the patient or any other proof. (Fortunately, no need for expressions of sympathy here. It turned out well in the end.)

So, I think the risk in doing this is negligible. Whether or not it meets one's ethical criteria is another issue.

(In my experience, this sort of rate doesn't show up on hotel chain central booking engines. You have to phone or e-mail the hotel itself directly.)

Hotels often provide a report to the company with the corporate rate as to who used the rate and when. Your company may contact you about this. On the other hand, it is to their advantage for you to use the corporate rate, since the more use it gets, the better deal they get.

Technically, it is not. If they accept the reservation, do not specifically set the terms of those rates when you make the reservation, no contract with those terms has been made.
It may be unethical, but not fraudulent.

My law prof disagreed with you. Change the facts a little bit. You rent a car and tell the RAC you work for company X, when you don't. Company X's rate includes free collision damage waiver. You're in an accident, a serious one. A lawsuit is filed. Depositions are taken. Can you imagine the result?

lol, change the facts even a little bit in any event which has a resulting lawsuit and the results may be different as well

but lets play your hypothetical; I do rent a car, collision included, get in a wreck, its only an issue if I try to use that firms insurance, if I use my own insurance or even pay their collision etc.. then its a non issue

Definitely a good reason not to get in a wreck with your hotel room! ;)

In 20+ years of using corporate rates, about 1/3 of the time I've used a corporate rate number at the time of the reservation, the rest of the time it's been a mention of the client, also usually at the time the reservation is made.

I have, on occasion, used the corporate number for pleasure travel (oops), and have never been challenged.

This came up a little while ago and I asked my professor at that time. He basically stated that based on the legal definition of fraud in common law, doing this would likely constitute fraud (he was talking about different things that have to be the case for fraud to have existed, but I don't remember all of them-3 that I do remember are: the statement/representation is false, the person has to know it to be false, and the hotel has to believe it is true). But he also said that he's never done it so he doesn't know for sure whether the person using the corporate code has to accept something. He said that technically the person may be able to argue that he wasn't aware the rate is only for employees.
He also said that even if it was fraud, practically speaking, the worst thing that would happen is they charge you full price for the room. I tried to get more details from him about possibilities but he just didn't know enough about the hotel business/reservation process, etc...

Note that this information is not from my knowledge. It is from someone else who I spoke with a little over a year ago so you can make your own judgments about whether my brain has screwed with my memories :)