I just booked a hotel online for my trip next week. This was on the Best Western website, which gives a drop-down menu for rate types. "Corporate Rate" was one of the offerings, for a price of $79 vs. about $105 under "Standard Rate." I selected it, figuring at some point they might ask me what corporation I worked for or something. But they didn't, and I booked the room and got a confirmation at that rate. So now I am slightly paranoid about why it was so easy to just say "yes please, I would rather pay 25% less."
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
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Most hotels have corporate rates as we all know. But whether they ask you for ID or anything? In my 7 years of booking 'corporate' rates, no one has asked me for ID at the hotel.
In fact, you can call a hotel directly, and negotiate a corporate rate for your project, stay, etc.
Same here. I used to go on business trips three times a week and my company always handled the travel itinary, which included hotel stays at the corporate rate. Now that i've switched over to the government sector, I won't get hotel stays paid for by the company but I still ask for the corporate rate when i'm making trip reservations by myself, since they simply don't check! Just to be safe, I still carry my old company business cards in case they ask! This is probably not an ethical thing to do *grins sheepishly*
Sometimes they do have a better Corporate rate for selected corporations (Verizon, IBM, and Computer Associates are examples).
The other, regular "Corporate Rate", they will give it to almost any corporation that have travel agents. Most big companies qualify for it. They have never asked me for an ID for those rates. Some of them have asked for the company where I work. Just tell them a big company name.
Money and Investing
I have been asked for ID while using an IBM rate - legitimately - and I suspect because it was so. incredibly. low.
The regular rate at this hotel that included breakfast was like $164 and IBM had negotiated a $59 rate.
Other than that...I've never been asked for corporate ID. But I have been asked to present my AAA card for the AAA rate!
Interestingly just last week i was told the story of a guy who upon checkin just asked "what corporate rates are available", the desk clerk found one and the guys response was a disappointed "oh, that's too high...my expense policy limit is xxxx" so the clerk found a cheaper rate. That's a keeper.
I travel quite a bit for my corporation and I'm frequently asked for my ID upon check-in. I noticed a lot of these posts are old, perhaps more hotels are asking for ID now that we're in a recession.
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