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.

@MarieIVanArkleStinks What she said!

I'm also in Australia and travel extensively for work.. The situation would never ever happen where I work! Seperate rooms always, never heard of sharing with a colleague.. how bizarre

Years ago.in the Civil Service we got paid a flat rate for staying away . We would often share rooms in cheap hotels and keep the difference.

Dh had to share with his boss on recent trip. Not happy but one night so he just let it go. Private company booked two ones, one for males, one for females. His boss was male hence why he had to share with him. Yanbu. Dh hated it.

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

This is why I would never go on a residential that required this. Oddly, on students-based residential I've been on, all staff have had their own rooms. It was only on some professional development overnighter that the issue came up to share. I said no.

I suppose the answer is - if you're happy to get a lower rate of pay or a cheaper hotel so that everyone gets separate rooms then fair enough. Otherwise share. The money has to come out from somewhere. Personally I couldn't get too worked up about sharing for 1 night.

I too, would refuse to share, at any level, not sure what your pay band has to do with this issue.

YANBU. I travel quite a bit for work and it’s essential to have some personal space. I’ve only shared a room once in an emergency when I someone had forgotten to book a room on a foreign trip and a big event meant all nearby hotels were full.

I've travelled with colleagues with work. No way is sharing required unless it is a complete emergency.

I travelled extensively for a public service organisation and this never happened. If I were travelling with one or more female colleagues, we would sometimes book suites with two or more bedrooms.

In the public service regulations; state and federal, there are regulations for travel, including individual amounts allowed for accommodation, per state, per night. You could check the regulations to see if there are rules about sharing.

Sometimes finding accommodation, for the requisite rate, close to where you needed to be, in which case you only need to do, as you did, and request approval to spend more.

The point here is that the rates are for individuals. You should also have received a travel allowance for meals.

There is no context on earth where I would share a hotel room with another adult (apart from DW).

If that required a small payment to upgrade, so be it.

If it was some kind of suite, then maybe. But just Premier Inn type, No Way!

On school trips adults generally share, so I'm not sure. I'd prefer my own room though!

Happens to me in events. Longer stays are student accommodation so a room to ourselves. However short stays we share with a colleague but they usually put a dayshift and a nightshift worker together so the room is more or less your own. I dont mind that.

Never. I don't like sharing sleeping quarters, even with family. I want 8 hours of darkness and quiet, even the thought of someone reading or using their blue lit phone makes me quail.

Is wouldn't be that keen to share. Your hotel room is the only place you you can truly switch off on a work trip and obviously you can't completely relax if you are sharing with your colleagues.

I would however accept it in certain extenuating circumstances but I wouldn't want it as a general rule.

Yes. Frequently! And a male colleague too once...

I should add male colleague is gay so apparently that made it okay. I’ve also had to share a double bed with a female colleague I had known less than a week.

I would much rather have my own space. I hate sharing!

No, absolutely not in those circumstances!

The only “colleague” I will share a room with happens to be my mother, and even then it’s only because I have a back problem, and it’s easier having her to help me pick things up off the floor rather than carting my grab stick with me

I've shared rooms with colleagues before - all female and people I've known a long time and am very comfortable with. Perfectly reasonable not to want to do this though and I've had colleagues that have refused.

Public sector UK here - never had to share a room on business trips.

DH is in academia, and he has shared a room with about 4 people before - male and female - in USA, giant rooms, to keep costs down. I would have been very uncomfortable doing that. Mind you, we have also had to host the occasional academic visitor in our home as well for the same reason. (They get a room to themselves!)

I shared a lodge at Centre Parks with en-suite room and that was the very edge of my comfort zone. No way would I ever share a room. They are very unreasonable to consider it.

My bf was expected to do this recently and he works for a large household name employer. We were so shocked that they didn’t ask just told that some people would have to share. He outright refused, as would I.

Thirty something years ago staff shared rooms with children on trips. There was little alternative as the Youth hostels we stayed in were old style dorms.

I never really liked that as you were with them 24/7. This was in the age of innocence. The advantage was that the children got to sleep quicker - but you couldn’t talk with your, teacher, mates.

Later the hostels were renovated and so we, staff, stayed in double and triple rooms. Not really a problem as we were mates together and were happy in our own company.

Conversation next day... ‘Sir I heard you laughing in the night’

But on a business trip I’d want a separate room.

One of my friends pulled out of a trip with the Head - even though they had separate rooms because the thought of her company 24/7 - bedtime was too much!

I was once allocated to share a caravan with a man I'd never even met before. I was told I'd been lucky to get the caravan as everyone else was in tents.
As it was we got on like a house on fire, and then towards the end of the week it turned out that he was an acquaintance of my then boyfriend's ex........ And that's a whole new story.

I've only been on longer multi city trips (entertainment industry, doing tours of a show) and everyone tends to get their own room then, which is good because sometimes people's families join for a leg of the trip.

In Edinburgh I've shared rooms but that was a very small company and during the festival--I was ok with it in that instance.