Hotel Government Rates

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Isn't the discount based on an agreement between the private entity and the government for "official use only"? Wouldn't an abuse of that agreement cost the hotel in terms of less revenue (i.e. can't charge more rack rates)? Doesn't less revenue equate to less tax dollars for the municipality? Wouldn't that translate to more taxes on the rest of the municipality due to less revenue?

I'd hazard a guess and say the ones (which are probably the bulk of them out there) being spoken about where "being on official business" isn't a requirement but a means of qualifying for the rate presented, just offer it as a means to entice people to stay.

Similarly discounts for military members (active or otherwise) don't mean you're there on military business but rather "hey stay here versus over there" kind of thing. I doubt you'd find many ones where the hotel is actually being reimbursed by the government in exchange for the rate presented thus I don't see how taxpayer dollars would be utilized.

You'll probably find ones here and there that are strictly meant for xyz but that's not likely to be the base norm.

 

[kiddo76]

This isn't that difficult.

Rate advertised as government employee leisure rate = you can use it for leisure travel

Rate advertised as government employee official business rate = don't use for leisure travel

Wording unclear = call hotel and ask if it's a leisure rate
Hotel says yes = you can use it for leisure travel
Hotel says no = don't use for leisure travel

 

[js]

We always used the State/Gov't rate for our vacation travel. The only thing my dh had to show was ID.

 

[mikehn]

We always used the State/Gov't rate for our vacation travel. The only thing my dh had to show was ID.

Same here. I've been booking this rate for my leisure travels forever. Never been asked for a thing outside the normal checkin procedures. Maybe I've been lucky all these decades.

 

[china mom]

I have been using the government rate for personal travel for more than 30 years (not as often now as when I was younger just because it doesn't come up often anymore). I have been asked to show my government employee ID on a rare occasion. I have never been asked for any other documentation.

In my current position, I book government travel and I have never sent my employees along with any type of travel paperwork.

 

[kiddo76]

I have been using the government rate for personal travel for more than 30 years (not as often now as when I was younger just because it doesn't come up often anymore). I have been asked to show my government employee ID on a rare occasion. I have never been asked for any other documentation.

In my current position, I book government travel and I have never sent my employees along with any type of travel paperwork.

Travel orders would come from the supervisor. My DH's does them for his employees all the time. The orders outline the dates of travel, which is especially important for the union employees. They can be on travel for months at a time. If he needs them to stay on travel longer, he has to do update the travel orders and the employee can claim a hardship or file a grievance with the union. Kind of a PITA for him sometime. Although, when he has to send them to Pearl Harbor, they are usually willing to stay.

 

[china mom]

Travel orders would come from the supervisor.

In my small government agency, I would be the one to produce a document like this and we have not needed one yet. We are not union. Our travel is never longer than a week at a time and is usually for much sought after training. I am glad we don't have that hassle.

 

[spiders]

The main thing is the taxes.

You need to make sure you are charged the appropriate taxes if you use a government rate for personal use.

Some government rates, when used for official travel, remove certain taxes.

 

[DisneyHardin]

Agreed. If a 3rd party is going to give a discount to a certain group (whether it be military, AAA, AARP, whatever), that's totally up to them. BUT, if that discount is tied to your employer, it's a good idea to check with your employer and make sure they're ok with you using that discount.

I'm sorry, but that seems silly. For example, J. Crew gives (or at least used to give) a 10% discount to teachers. I am not going to call my school district and check to make sure that it is okay that I use it.

 

[kiddo76]

I'm sorry, but that seems silly. For example, J. Crew gives (or at least used to give) a 10% discount to teachers. I am not going to call my school district and check to make sure that it is okay that I use it.

It's not silly if your department has a policy against receiving discounts using your government position, especially if your employment is dependent upon security clearance.

When it comes to employment, I would rather ask for permission than forgiveness.

 

[okeydokey]

The main thing is the taxes.

You need to make sure you are charged the appropriate taxes if you use a government rate for personal use.

Some government rates, when used for official travel, remove certain taxes.

In Florida, state employees are only tax exempt when paying with a state credit card. We always pay taxes when using a personal card for reimbursement when on work business.

I book travel all the time for work for myself and my office. We use government rate if available and if it says state govt rate. We cannot use federal or military rates.

 

[Cindy's Mom]

I love those chiming in who don't even have a dog in the race or a clue how this works. The question posed was for leisure travel - consider it a group rate, equivalent to AARP, AAA or your union. No one is charging their gov't credit card for this. No one is NOT paying taxes. If the rate specifies that you need travel orders, just don't book it for a leisure trip.

 

[spiders]

I love those chiming in who don't even have a dog in the race or a clue how this works. The question posed was for leisure travel - consider it a group rate, equivalent to AARP, AAA or your union. No one is charging their gov't credit card for this. No one is NOT paying taxes. If the rate specifies that you need travel orders, just don't book it for a leisure trip.

You can be allowed to use it for personal travel but the hotel can still bill it incorrectly as official and exempt taxes. At that point, you need to correct the error.

 

[disneychrista]

You can be allowed to use it for personal travel but the hotel can still bill it incorrectly as official and exempt taxes. At that point, you need to correct the error.

In my experience it takes more to get it tax exempt then booking the rate. I go to a conference and rooms are “blocked” for it. You’d think they be exempt automatically. Nope. You have to fill out extra paperwork and sign stating it is for official purposes.

 

[Cindy's Mom]

You can be allowed to use it for personal travel but the hotel can still bill it incorrectly as official and exempt taxes. At that point, you need to correct the error.

They would need the tax exempt ID number.. I've been using the state rate for 30 years at LEAST 10-15 times a year and never once have I not been charged tax.

 

[Kestryl]

It's not silly if your department has a policy against receiving discounts using your government position, especially if your employment is dependent upon security clearance.

When it comes to employment, I would rather ask for permission than forgiveness.

This. Maybe it’s cause I’m technically a contractor, but my ID is not supposed to be used outside of official work.

 

[kiddo76]

This. Maybe it’s cause I’m technically a contractor, but my ID is not supposed to be used outside of official work.

My DH is a DoD employee and says the same thing. He won't even use his work ID for TSA precheck when on personal travel.

 

[DLgal]

This. Maybe it’s cause I’m technically a contractor, but my ID is not supposed to be used outside of official work.

You're not a government employee. You work for your contracting company as their employee. As such, you are not entitled to use a Government employee rate at a hotel for leisure travel.

 

[kiddo76]

You're not a government employee. You work for your contracting company as their employee. As such, you are not entitled to use a Government employee rate at a hotel for leisure travel.

As a contractor she could have a CAC card. The guidelines for CAC use is the same no matter who holds it. DH is of the opinion that he and his employees should only display their CAC cards while on official business. If he sees someone outside of work and they still have their lanyard on with their CAC card he reminds them to put it away.

Many hotels do have Government Contractor rate. Most of the Contractors DH works with are former/retired DoD Civilians and the only difference in their IDs is that now they have a colored stripe on it (I think green).

 

[DLgal]

As a contractor she could have a CAC card. The guidelines for CAC use is the same no matter who holds it. DH is of the opinion that he and his employees should only display their CAC cards while on official business. If he sees someone outside of work and they still have their lanyard on with their CAC card he reminds them to put it away.

Many hotels do have Government Contractor rate. Most of the Contractors DH works with are former/retired DoD Civilians and the only difference in their IDs is that now they have a colored stripe on it (I think green).

There are 4 different types of CAC (cards). They vary in their level of access and are not all the same thing. My husband is active duty military and he can use his CAC as ID for boarding flights and gets free PreCheck by using his ID number as his KTN. He shows it at airports all the time. His CAC identifies him as a member of the armed services, not an affiliate of the government, as contractor CACs do.