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Has your employer ever forced you to share a hotel room?

Has your employer ever forced you to share a hotel room?

Old Feb 15, 2007, 9:31 am
  #76  
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Originally Posted by AAaLot
I WAS the employer and I DID force, including myself, everyone to share... Even though the managers were uncomfortable at first, everyone agreed that it does help long-term and that the down side is very low.
Strongly disagree. You may never have realized the actual downside in terms of employee mindset. I think the "company that sleeps together, works better together" mentality is somewhere between creepy and actionable.
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Old Feb 15, 2007, 9:56 am
  #77  
 
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Once - having a year end meeting with the Country Managers of my nordic organization in Kiruna - northern Sweden - I forced us all to share one room at the ICE HOTEL .

After a nice meal and some retreat at the Ice Bar - we had the family room with one large bed for the five of us.

Not to much bonding at -5 C and each one roled up in his sleeping bag on his reindeer skins.

Was a fun evening - but not part of the regular travel policy

Cheers

Thomas
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Old Feb 15, 2007, 10:00 am
  #78  
 
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Originally Posted by flygirl94
As a fa, I've never forced to share a hotel room, but I've got a good story...

When I was a new-hire, I had a layover in PDX, and when we arrived at our hotel they asked us if any of us wanted to share a room, as they were oversold. They were offering $50 to each of us. Luckily, I was flying w/ someone I had just gone through training with and knew well. I told the desk clerk to make it $100 each and he had a deal.

So, after 7 weeks of unpaid training, I took $100 cash to share a room w/ a friend. Win/Win
I think I saw this film
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Old Feb 15, 2007, 10:12 am
  #79  
 
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Originally Posted by stut
No, this has never happened to me. And I would flat out refuse.

It was asked of me. And I DID flat out refuse.

I spend all day working with my collegues - I don't want to spend my "down-time" with them as well. Besides, we would spend all of our time talking about work.
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Old Feb 15, 2007, 11:09 am
  #80  
 
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I do not see the big problem here. I have been traveling for over 5 years now and I have always shared a room with my managers or even counterparts when they travel with me. This has in no way bothered me in the least bit. I really do not understand what the big deal is here.
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Old Feb 15, 2007, 11:12 am
  #81  
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Originally Posted by ajnz
A colleague and I offered to share a 2 bedroom/2 bathroom suite a few months back and were given some seriously shocked looks - it would've been beneficial for the company (save $140/night), and for me (stop me having to walk 20 mins to the office).

I also recently travelled to a conference where there was accommodation available in University dorm rooms (conf. was at a University during summer break), and was given some very surprised feedback that I stayed in the $50/night dorm rather than the $150/night hotel.
Were they shocked / surprised in these cases because they were used to seeing employees trying to milk the company for excessively expensive hotel rooms (or subsidizing their airline mileage runs), instead of employees choosing less expensive travel?
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Old Feb 15, 2007, 11:18 am
  #82  
 
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Used to stay at one of the Sheratons in St Louis and Edward Jones had their...

...corporate training facility nearby...so it was always filled with brokers training or up-dating their skills. So one night at the bar I'm sitting with 3-4 guys in their 30's and 40's and they told me not only did they have to share rooms they had a $30/day per diem!!!
I was appalled that any corporation would treat there employees this way...needless to say one of the new hires told me if he could have changed his flight home he would have quit on the spot...but logic said he might as well finish the training.
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Old Feb 15, 2007, 11:30 am
  #83  
 
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An EU company that implements a policy based on sharing according to gender (being the same or otherwise) risks a discrimination action...

Originally Posted by WillTravel
Are you sure about this?

Many people would be unable to share a room with an opposite-gender person (to whom the person is not married) due to religious reasons.
Well.. risks an action, not sure if they would be successful. To take your example, what if your religion accepted same-sex marriage and prevented you from staying in the same room as a member of the same-sex? Then the policy would discriminate against your religion. (Not the purpose, but its the effect that matters.) The Catholic Church was recently in conflict with the UK government as it says its religious beliefs prevent it from offering adoption services to same-sex couples. The government is holding to the position that it would be discriminatory to allow a service provider to provide services only to heterosexual couples.

Probably some employers will just be defensive and go for a "non-sharing" policy unless staff particularly request/volunteer otherwise.

Originally Posted by AX9465
that would be extreme and not very wise application of non-descrimination directive. next step would be attempt to desegregate lavatories, as (usually) there is a policy regarding them which is "based on sharing according to gender"
AX
I'm sure all the consequences haven't been thought through - the law is relatively new and no doubt there will be attempts to push the limits.
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Old Feb 15, 2007, 11:46 am
  #84  
 
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I do mind sharing a room, but it's more out of compassion for my potential roommate as I tend to saw logs when I sleep.
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Old Feb 15, 2007, 12:25 pm
  #85  
 
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Originally Posted by etch5895
Who wants to use the bathroom after someone you don't really know has stunk it up?
No problem for me, as long as they light a match! As a matter of fact, for this very reason, I always try to have a book of matches in my hotel bathroom, since not every hotel has adequate exhaust fans.
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Old Feb 15, 2007, 12:28 pm
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Originally Posted by drbond
I have travelled and shared a room and don't have a problem with it. I have shared barracks and tents too in the military and the scouts. I have not had the opportunity to share a room with an unknown female, but if she was attractive or at least not ugly, I could get used to it. I also don't think it unreasonable to set a per deim or require sharing of rooms. If you don't want to share, get your own room and pay the difference would be reasonable. I would think anyway. YMMV
Currently suspended after 5K posts? Was this post the cause? I can see how this post would be offensive to some, but hardly to the level of earning a suspension.
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Old Feb 15, 2007, 12:36 pm
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Once

This happened to me once.

I work in the financial services industry, and there were times when inclement weather would result in my employer making last minute decisions to put up several staff members in hotels in order to insure that we would be able to report to the office the next day.

Once, four of us (all males) bunked together in one room with two double beds. This was in the company's conference center, which is attached to the office. We were all in our early to mid 20's, so none of us had a problem with it, but thinking back on it now, it was a bit cramped.
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Old Feb 15, 2007, 12:53 pm
  #88  
 
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Last edited by nd_eric_77; Feb 15, 2007 at 1:57 pm Reason: decided to remove what i wrote
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Old Feb 15, 2007, 1:04 pm
  #89  
 
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Originally Posted by SomeGuy
I've been stuffed five in a normal double/double room before for work. On some occasions, but only with people I know, I have been forced to share with members of the opposite sex.
I don't know about Europe but in the USA, this would be incredibly stupid as company policy due to the opening it would create with Sexual Harrassment claims - true or not!

I worked for a small startup where we shared rooms. That was OK because we all knew we were running on a shoestring and the money spent on another hotel room was money we could use to pay salaries! I have also shared rooms a few times over the years for a variety of reasons but it was never company policy. I don't mind it if there is good reason but not as a general policy.
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Old Feb 15, 2007, 1:19 pm
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I had to a few times, mostly earlier in my career (and it was interesting that only the women were asked to share a room...) and will never do so again. I don't even share a room anymore with friends when on a "girlfriends" weekend trip -- unless it's a 2/2 suite

On two of the occasions when i had to share a room, I was stunned by the lack of consideration of my "roommate." The first time, the gal I had to share with got roaring drunk every night and would stumble in around 3 am. To make matters worse, on the last night, apparently she was buying drinks for everyone in the bar and charging them to the room -- which was in my name -- and I was asked to explain the bar charges on my expense report!

The second time was actually worse -- and more recent, only around 5-6 years ago. I had just joined a new company and when i arrived at my room for a company retreat, was stunned to walk in and find the company President (also a female) in the room. They had not even done me the courtesy to let me know the two of us would have to share. Moreover, she was a heavy smoker and I am violently allergic. But the worst of it was that she was on the phone till around 2 am, and sending files through dial-up modem till around 3. I got zero sleep and found the entire situation very uncomfortable.

And you know something -- looking back,there was a correlation between the overall business practices and employee treatment at those two companies.

I agree 100% with the earlier poster who indicated it is an unreasonable invasion of privacy and totally crosses the boundaries of what should be considered appropriate to ask of employees as a cost-cutting measure. There is a huge difference between setting limits on hotel class/rate vs. expecting you to dress/undress and sleep in a room with a co-worker.
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