Expectation that colleagues should share a hotel room?

[CGaus]

Just that really, AIBU to think that professionals on business trips should not be expected to share hotel rooms to cut costs?

For context, I am a professional in the public sector. I live in Australia, and work in a large government department. It is not an entry level position, and both colleagues are female. The business trip is to carry out essential work (not optional training) and we would be staying in a hotel for just one night. We will be driving for several hours interstate to a regional town.

The colleague I’ve been asked to share with is lovely, but I haven’t known her very long and don’t feel comfortable sharing a room with her. A senior manager booked the room for both of us, I only realised he requested funding approval for one twin share room when I saw the email.

Thankfully I noticed this before we left, and was able to have a quick chat with my direct manager. I compromised by booking a family suite, so a small lounge area with two connecting but separate bedrooms and a shared bathroom at a small additional cost. My manager had not made the booking herself, and approved of the additional cost without hesitation.

My sister has had to share for work trips, one colleague decided to announce she always sleeps naked!!

As a teacher I frequently have to share accommodation with other staff members on residential trips.

Noooo. Happy memories of when my secretary booked me into a world famous posh hotel in error and not the knock off business hotel of the same name. Sadly the error was spotted !

I'm in similar employment to you OP, also in Australia, and no way do I share.

On school residentials staff often have to share rooms, as there are not enough staff rooms to accommodate the number of staff you need in single rooms.

Someone earlier mentioned the military. Yes, we were expected to share accommodation (at sea, bunks low enough to only just sleep on your side and six people in the size of a normal bedroom) but if we were sent anywhere where we had to stay in a hotel we were booked into individual rooms. Most barracks are now being changed into single ensuite rooms now too.

Depends on the job and reason for travelling. In universities it's common to share at conferences because travel grants are hard to come by and aren't generous, you can sometimes ask to share with a stranger even! This is for post docs, h had his own room once he had his own group mostly

I would prefer my own room. I don't think it is weird for a group of blokes doing manual work to share rooms but it does for professionals for some reason. I suppose it is because manual workers generally get paid more for being away from home so they benefit for the cost saving. It is a bit cheeky to expect professionals to be on duty 24 hrs a day without any extra money.

I have worked in the public and private sector and have never been expected to share a room while travelling. I shared an apartment with a female colleague in Spain but we had separate rooms and as I recall our own bathrooms.

I have worked on projects with other nationalities and I remember that Lithuanians shared rooms. I don't know if this was to save money for their organisation or to save something for themselves from the allowance they were given. They were also expected to save on travel costs and would travel across several countries in a minibus to attend project meetings. (Often a companied by quote a lot of vodka).

I wouldn’t feel comfortable sleeping in a room with someone I didn’t know extremely well. Does your employer think that only members of the opposite sex rape or assault each other?

Absolutely not: the right to privacy is absolutely basic.

I once worked somewhere where there was a (somewhat gruesome) Christmas party run from head office in the Midlands, and part of the deal was they they would pay for hotel rooms overnight. There was quite a lot of pressure to help them keep costs down by sharing, but I always made it clear that if I had to share I wasn't going: I know their intentions were good, but I just absolutely hated the thought. Once there was a cock-up as the booking for my room hadn't gone through, and the sharing idea came up again. I simply said I was happy to take the next train home if that was the only option. They decided that maybe it wasn't.

I work for a large Federal Government department in Australia also and I've never been asked to share. I'd check with your agency's travel team what the rules are.

This was "the done thing" in a lot of firms I knew in the wake of the 2008 crisis. Along with squeezing people onto Ryanair flights (and then complaining that they hadn't got any work done on the way) and banning taxis. Long over, thank goodness. When I travel for work - which happens to be quite a lot - I get my own room at a nice hotel and full expenses for food these days.

My current employer offers a lot of social event stuff, mind, during which non-executive staff will be asked to share. Skiing trips, city breaks combined with popular industry conferences, that kind of thing. They're very popular and people don't seem to mind - but they're pure perks as well as completely voluntary and fully paid, and everyone still gets to have a single room so long as they pay the price difference themselves. Not horribly unfair, IMO.

So I’ve just arrived at the (very shabby!) hotel and annoyingly it’s not even two separate bedrooms, it’s an awkward arrangement where there is one large room with bed, a seating area and kitchenette, and then a door leading to a bedroom with a window in the dividing wall. The window means that there is a direct line of sight between the two beds! So basically my colleague will be walking in through the area where I’m sleeping to use the bathroom anyway. At least there will be a wall between us, though still not as much privacy as I would like. I’m not sure if it’s worth complaining about all over again but I am annoyed that even after I refuse to share they’ve still not managed to just get me my own room!

Awful.
I don't even share rooms with close friends. I like privacy and peace.

Unacceptable to expect colleagues to share a room.

Speak to the hotel, they might be able to swap your suite for 2 singes??

At my most recent job - accountancy - 2 female colleagues needed to travel away to some management training thing, it was about 4-5 days long from memory. Both were initially surprised they were to share, but get on & thought to just get on. Upstairs though into the room, shock, horror etc - they both agreed the worst bit was the bathroom opening into their sleeping area, so while on the loo one could continue the chat about emerging management trends. Might be ok for a "couple" but not colleagues.
I know Accountants like to save $$$ but that seemed absurd !!

When I worked for government my superiors refused to allow anyone to share - even those that wanted to save costs and book a shared suite.

Although, there were various sexual incidence in our office so it was understandable in the circumstances.

Now I work in the public sector we would not be expected to share. When I worked in the private sector, rooms were booked and paid for as part of the Christmas party and we had to share (unless director level). A bit weird especially as some single colleagues had different ideas of how to finish the party!

This is very inappropriate. I also live in Australia, and it's definitely not ok. Regardless of gender, people have different sexual orientations, and if an assault were to occur..... the employer would be hugely scruitinised and put in the position where they could be sued I would imagine

I used to work for NSW Dept of Ed, so Gov't dept, and we were always expected to share rooms when on residential inservices.They even introduced a ruling that any residential inservice of more than 2 days had to have a weekend component so that we couldn't be seen as having a jolly - yeah, because inservices were such fun.

I don't know what the current situation is. Probably don't have residential inservices at all - which would be no loss.

"PinglePongle

This was the case for females but not males at my work until I put a stop to it."

My husband works for a big well known private company which is very well doing m and they are still asked to share and do so. At my work we are always booked single rooms.

Urgh, that's shit - my company provides a room each for travel. However, that's for ALL staff, regardless of place in the company. You seem to think a different policy should apply to you because you're senior? it should be one policy for all.