darthbimmer

I'm glad such breakfasts work for you but the selection of foods you've listed literally are not acceptable on my diet plan regardless of how high quality they are-- and frequently they happen to be very low quality, to boot. I.e., I'd likely pass anyway even with a more permissive diet. If my employer docked my normal meal expense or per diem allowance as a function of the presence of cheap, unacceptable food that would certainly be a Dumb Thing on their part.

jrl767

I've been very fortunate to work for companies with travel policies that generally conformed to Govt per diem guidelines ... that said, there were a few managers who asked a few questions of a few travelers; said travelers quickly changed their hotel preferences from Fairfield Inn or Residence Inn to Courtyard -- basically the same price point, but no complimentary breakfast -- and made the same drive-thru stop on the way to the day's meetings

RichMSN

I stayed at a Candlewood Suites last weekend as part of a softball stay-and-play thing.

Breakfast was a stale bowl of cereal, a pop-tart, and a voucher for a container of milk.

I'm guessing that there are employers who would consider this acceptable and would not allow an expense for breakfast.

I will never understand employers who look for any reason to make life worse for traveling employees.

Often1

Either they overpay the market in salary and other benefits, the employee is based in a location with 50% unemployment in his profession, or they are stuck with the dregs because the performing employees have gone to work for the competition where nobody counts how many muffins they eat for breakfast.

jrl767

I wouldn't be surprised if, in more than a few instances, employers have not updated policies in 15 (or 25, or 35) years, and that many staff who cut their professional teeth on reviewing expense reports for discrepant minutiae are still doing essentially the same jobs, if they're actually not in supervisory or managerial roles

could it instead be that they have not consciously chosen to make policy align with contemporary standards and expectations? clearly we can debate whether that's the same as have consciously chosen not to" (i.e., "look for any reason to make life worse")

darthbimmer

I, too, have never worked in a situation where my manager or the finance office questioned breakfast charges when I stayed at a hotel with inclusive breakfast. Upon seeing it in this thread I immediately conducted a thought experiment, "What would I do if...?" It took only a moment to determine that my first step would be to immediately cease booking hotels that bundle low-quality breakfast with the basic room rate.

It's worth emphasizing that low-quality is the issue here. There is enormous range in the quality of breakfast offerings bundled in with basic room rates. While in European countries it is common for even mid-range hotels to offer huge, delicious breakfast spreads like dangerhsun shared pictures of above, in the US it is typical for mid-range hotels to offer powdered eggs, sausage that's been sitting out too long at a cool temperature, rock-hard biscuits, and an assortment of prepackaged sugary crap. Oh, and occasionally a waffle maker. Awesome if you're a waffle fan, worthless if you don't want (or can't eat) all carbohydrates and added sugar.

CO-PLAT

My former employer wouldn't reimburse us for a pay-per-view movie watched in our room, however you could sit in the bar all night and get sh*tfaced and they would reimburse that.

roberino

Badenoch

Candlewood Suites? I've stayed at a couple and neither offered the typical breakfast buffet. What they did provide however was a kitchenette in each suite to make your own food.

But how dare anyone even question the right of privileged professionals to satisfy their pampered palates with smoked salmon, caviar and free-range coddled eggs at the expense of their employer. It is outright oppression for them to be expected to stick a hand in their own pocket or endure the agonies of the pedestrian swill the rest of the world survives on.

I will never understand employees who look for any reason to live high on the hog at the expense of their employer.

bergamini

Putting a bottle of Dom Perignon on the expense report is living high on the hog. Making my own choices about what type of protein sources I put in my body, and expensing a $12 breakfast when I do it, is not living high on the hog. I eat no better on the road than when I'm home, but I'm certainly not going to eat any worse either. All the meat and eggs in my home are pasture raised and I do my best to maintain that on the road, even though sometimes it means going to Whole Foods and cooking in my Residence Inn. But sometimes it means eating breakfast off-site of the hotel. Fortunately I have an employer (and always will) that trusts me to make my own food decisions. Eating animal proteins sourced from methods in which you agree is not living high on the hog. It's how it used to be!

Badenoch

That falls into the same category as any other upgrade whether it is a hotel, rental car or flight. Either pay for it yourself or negotiate your designer breakfasts beforehand.

Every company I've worked for has always had "that guy" who can only fly business, chafes if the sheets aren't 1,000 count, despairs when sharing a cab with a co-worker, has a receipt for every tiny thing and believe it's his absolute right to gourmand dining when traveling. When I'm traveling I try not to be "that guy." YMMV.

RichMSN

Excuse me for thinking that a $10 to $15 breakfast is not living high on the hog.

I will never understand employers who expect employees to travel on company business and then try to nickel and dime them out of what most would consider reasonable expenses.

emma69

I operate under what I consider 'reasonable' and how I would eat if I was spending my own money - I shouldn't have a worse experience while travelling than I would have on a regular work day. However, I have no qualms about eating the type of meal I would have if I were at home, in a manner that does not inconvenience me / affect work - what that often means is room service meals, which I think are extortionately expensive, especially in higher end cities in higher end properties. I recall one meal that I ordered to the room last year - it was a basic pizza and side salad and a diet coke. Each item, including the coke, had a separate delivery charge on top of the inflated prices, I believe the coke alone ended up at around 20 euro. I would never had ordered those items on a vacation, I would have gone for food outside the hotel. However that hour I was able to work while food was prepped delivered and then eating, I could spend working which, in pure dollar terms, justified the meal to me and, if anyone questioned it, I would be confident in defending it.

bergamini

I don't believe it's my right. I believe it's my choice and I also think it's my choice in terms of whether I work for an employer who doesn't bat an eye at me eating breakfast where I want and respects my choices to eat only organic/pasture animal proteins. I certainly wouldn't want to be the guy who judges how other people eat.

Kevin AA

If your employer doesn't pay for your expensive breakfast at home, why should your employer pay for your expensive breakfast on the road? Pay for it yourself.