Shared Hotel Rooms for Work
- Thread starter throwittoblythe
- Start date
This reads to me like a company having financial issues. But i could be off base.
The direct correlation between becoming old and decrepit and wanting to walk around naked in a locker room naked as that day in the mid 1940s you were born never ceases to amaze me.
If you travel that much that rule is a bunch of crap. So here is what you do... don't do it.
Stop doubling up rooms and make the boss talk to YOU about it. And when that time comes then you have the green light to tell them that as much as you travel that you NEED that alone time to work. And since it's apparently ok to room alone when traveling alone then it should be ok to room alone the other small fraction of time. But make them come to you.
So you're pitching the cell phone and not working on the weekends?
I know every hotel room I've ever been in has had two desks/work stations, so at least that wouldn't be an issue.
I’m not sure I’ve been in a normal Hampton or Holiday Inn type room that has had two of them. Usually the dresser, desk, chair and bed/beds.
Lol, I was kidding. Just my lame attempt at pointing out, in addition to the other guy's list, that deciding who gets the desk would be another weird aspect of coworkers sharing a room.
Gotcha. I thought I might be in a bit of a different class when traveling. Lol
Employee - "can I use the desk so I can finish the presentation for tomorrow?"
Co-worker - "I need this desk so I can video chat with my friend" "Also, could you go to the hotel bar for a couple of hours?"
Ha, no. Most of the time I'd be traveling with a VP or a senior sales person and since they'd have traveled to the client a few times prior to my trip, they'd determine which hotel we'd stay at. Usually it was your standard Hampton, Holiday Inn Express type place. Bigger cities we'd get nicer hotels usually. But a few of the ones I worked with a lot were pretty cheap and as a result... well, I've stayed in some interesting places.
Luckily when I travel lately it’s by myself and I don’t have to worry about other people. If I’m staying for 4 or 5 days (which is only a couple times a year) I’ve been going the airbnb route which has been both ok and ****** depending on the area. The family will usually tag along for at least one of these trips so having the kitchen and bedrooms is nice.
Those were usually my favorite trips as well, partly because I'd then get to pick the hotel and up the game.
Our company still encourages sharing rooms. We only travel 2 -3 times a year and for a while I shared with the same co-worker, but he moved on. Since then I just make up an excuse to not share - not feeling well, snore, etc.
The old guys at the company talk about 4 people sharing rooms.
It really isn't appropriate for a company to ask this of their employees.
The old guys at the company talk about 4 people sharing rooms.
It really isn't appropriate for a company to ask this of their employees.
CON E here and work for a large scale GC. We don’t share rooms. If it gets to that I’m sure you can find a job within a week.
UPDATE
I broached the topic with my boss today. I started with "Can you fill me in on this hotel sharing thing? What do you think of all that?"
His response was "I'm a big proponent of this. I think it is critical to our culture. Nobody likes it, including me. But I never regret doing it." Ok - so everyone hates it but it's a critical part of our culture?!
I told him I'm an extremely light sleeper and would struggle to get good rest if I'm with someone who snores. He said "Yeah, there are certain exceptions and this isn't a hard and fast rule. Just use your best judgment."
Basically the way I read it is: if I'm doing every work travel, you can probably skirt by with separate rooms. But when we do larger company meetings or trainings, it would be hard to not bunk with someone unless you have a very specific issue with it.
If he wanted to shut you down, he would have put his foot down. It sounds like he knows your stance on it and probably won't do anything about it.
"Your best judgment" = separate rooms.
Through this thread I now have a personal investment in a topic that has nothing to do with me.
This is absolute ****. There's no way that sleeping in the same room improves work culture. Zero chance. If you really want to improve culture, give everyone a big ol' per diem to go out and enjoy themselves. Have a nice meal together. Have some drinks together. Go see a game together. But there is nothing about the act of sharing a sleeping space that makes anyone closer together from a work culture standpoint. Total BS and call a spade a spade-- you're trying to save a few bucks.
