deniah

Yep. Life is too short to hold so much grudge.

invisible

I purposely stay away from chain hotels to
minimze encounters with such audience even when I am on a business trip.

malikaimandhc

It is most common and you are really not alone. travelers are more than Headache.

mdkowals

I don't get the logic on this one, I'd view the time as more important than money for considering status at an individual travel (of course at the corporate level it's all about money). Nights in hotels are nights away from your family, flights are often during non-business hours. Or, even if during business hours, your productivity (if you choose to work) is much lower than at the office so you have to catch up at night anyway.

Remember, the advantages of status aren't independently great, they're just better the alternative. A 10 year old couch you find on the sidewalk is more comfortable than a domestic first class seat. And as fancy as lie-flat International J seats are, no one is trying to install one in their house as their primary bed. There is a difference between sucking up 10 hours in a economy seat once every three years so you can enjoy a 10 day vacation in an exotic land, and spending several weeks of your life every year engaging in air travel with an additional several months in hotel rooms.

rankourabu

Exactly, I have exactly 2 flights lifetime for work. Yet, I've had some sort of status since I found this site 17 years ago as a kid.

While I dont "hate" business travellers, I do feel sorry for them sometimes (well most of the time), especially the ones that are trying to make themselves look self-important as described in the OP, but in reality, are just making money for someone else while being away from their families and homes. I really dont see a glamorous lifestyle in staying in a shittysheraton 150 nights a year. Neither do I find glamour sitting in a United Club on a Sunday evening working on a power point so the boss man is happy at 9am tomorrow when I present it to a board of corporate drones.

Maybe its just me, but I prefer my work life to be restricted to time actually at work. When I close the door every day, I dont like to do work, or think about work.
I enjoy my 8-12 weeks vacation every year flying where we want to, sitting next to the poor sap heading to their next sales meeting while we are going to the beach.
I can guarantee you its not me who is "hating" at that time.


Points/miles earned while someone else is paying should be taxable, and/or points/miles should go to the entity paying. That would really thin the ranks of elites, while keeping the true business traveller (the one that owns their business) with status, as well as people who actually pay for it. Of course neither will happen.

and plastic tags hanging off your work bag.

PaxALotl

There are insufferable biz travellers but the vast majority of them are fine. There are insufferable casual/family travellers but the vast majority of them are fine.

So, I dismiss this whole debate just as I ignore it when I hear biz travelers complaining about screaming babies.

It makes me sad, though, that such strong words ​​would be part of the dialog in the first place. Hatred seems a bit over the top.

I spend a lot of time on airplanes, both business and family. We are all lucky to be on that flying tube. So much of the world's population can't even afford to experience it enough to care about these distinctions, if ever.

dulciusexasperis

LOL, you should take your act onto Saturday Night Live. A parody on DYKWIA if I ever saw one.

mikesyr18

Yes, that's exactly the point. The company creates loyalty programs so they can earn more money and advertise they actually care about loyal customers when they really don't. Loyalty programs create good PR and generate revenue.

Those who spend the most money earn statuses. Those who get reimbursed or have their airfare paid for through their company aren't providing the revenue for the airline or hotel... Their company is. Why should someone complain about not getting all of the status perks when they didn't pay a single dime towards a flight or room to get that status in the first place?

It's like a first class passenger complaining because they didn't get first pick on the meal being offered and the airline ran out of that option... "Oh, but I'm a platinum status frequent flyer, damn it!" Yeah... Too bad that $1,000,000 spend under your name was paid for by your company, not out of your pocket; thus, your special treatment is undeserved.

RichMSN

This is just complete hogwash.

As long as I have the choice where to spend the money, I've earned the perks.

ROCAT

I find business travelers worse offenders than leisure travelers on this one, as despite getting free checked luggage they cannot wait, everything is so important in the bag, etc, etc that they will bring a massive roll aboard plus a personal item that bigger then some suitcases. If they get challenged out comes the DYKWIM, and if just have a smallish backpack that you toss in the bin as you checked your suitcase (with money out of your pocket) it needs to be moved under the seat as neither of their bags will fit in the bin or under their seat.

mikesyr18

Right, as long as you've spent someone else's money, you've earned the perks. Those people who have spent their hard earned take home cash to earn perks through stays or flights should be treated the same as you.

RichMSN

Yes, exactly.

I have 100% choice who to fly and where to stay when I travel for business. I've chosen to fly/stay with the same airlines and hotel chains in order to collect those perks. I also tend to stay at those places when I travel for leisure (which seems to be about 75% of my travel these days).

Just cause you don't like it doesn't mean it's not proper.

mikesyr18

You don't understand sarcasm.

You're not spending your hard earned money, even if you choose to stay with a particular brand all the time. Loyalty programs are made to generate revenue... Not reward you because they're your first choice when your employer is paying for your room. The owner of your company should get the good treatment, not you.

The people who earn status through their hard earned paycheck deserve better treatment than you do, nor do you have the right to complain when your status perks aren't being utilized by the hotel or airline, since you didn't pay for them. All the airline or hotel cares about is money... They don't care about you... They just care about your company because they provide the hotel/airline with the revenue.

If you're fine with being a mooch to get status, don't complain when it isn't utilized up to your own standards.

RichMSN

I think you're the one who's unclear. The airline/hotel has no clue who's actually paying the bill. I book the room on my own, pay for it with my personal credit card, and get reimbursed later.

Mooch? Seriously? Are you this pleasant in real life?

PaxALotl

'earning' status is more than just paying for tickets. I work my ... off when I am on the road. Try doing 4 long hauls in 8 days, plus 5 hotels and constant meetings some time - even if you didn't pay for the tickets, it's not easy!