Aibu to think work should pay for hotels?

[Lochnessgiraffe]

I have to go up to the office for work approx once a month. I know I'm very lucky to not need to go up more often.
If its a day thing I'll travel up the night before and stay in a Premier Inn. It takes me 4 hours to get to work. So I'm OK to pay for it myself.
Now we had an away day last month where we all had to stay if needed at a particular hotel. All fine I offered to book it myself but it had already been organised. If I'd booked it myself it would have been £90. Them booking it cost me £150 for the same room.
Now I'll get the money back on expenses this month so it ok. But they paid for some people outright which was frustrating.
My aibu. We have a 3 day training this month so everyone needs to stay at least 2 nights. Again I've been told they'll book the room but I'm concerned if it's £150 again that means I need to come up with £450 just for the hotel plus dinner out.
Should I push for them paying it upfront or just suck it up and claim it back? I think they should pay.

I don't expect them to pay if its a day in the office it's my fault for living so far away. But I do expect them to pay upfront if its compulsory. Especially if they do it for others.

I would prefer to pay it myself!! Get a credit card with cash back, airmailed or whatever you use most, charge all these costs to that card and you’re basically getting a free perk. Be careful though as above a certain amount you’ll have to declare the perk for tax purposes.

You couldn't get tax free reimbursement of hotel or travel to a normal place of work anyway - only MPs get that.

This has only been an issue once in my career. The long-haul week long trip was going to be about 5k and my credit card limit was lower than that since I was just out of school and had only been working a few weeks.

Every other business trip, I’ve just put on my credit card and then filed an expense report. Without fail, the company has reimbursed me before the credit card bill was due. I would then pay off the credit card in full and get the points. I ended up with an excellent credit rating and a very high credit limit.

If it’s a problem for you and you travel regularly, you could ask to be issued a corporate credit card.

We have been fighting through the union to get our hotels pre-payed. Not everyone can get a credit card - and that was their solution. Travel was paid up front by the booking agency but hotels had to be claimed and sometimes expenses were turned around so slowly that 8 weeks was not unusual and incurred interest. Some of my visits can be 2-5 weeks so hotels are VERY expensive. Finally we have won and hotels will now be paid by the booking agency. It is worth speaking to your employer. Another option is getting salary advance - this is another avenue open to me so I can request the cost of my hotel in advance and this is then reclaimed from my expenses when I put in my claim. Again - worth a discussion with your HR/Payroll dept about options.

A corporate credit card that is paid off by your expenses claim is good practice. You shouldnt be having to combine personal and business expenses, in fact from a tax pov it would be unwise

Get an (amex) card and collect points/cashback. Also make sure to use a cashback site when booking and join the hotel reward scheme.

Thanks I'm going to look at getting a card

@darlingdodo

It seems a bit odd that work book it but you pay for it. Surely they book and pay via corporate agent, or pay themselves when they booked. Think it's strange the hotel actually allowed them to book but expect 3rd party to pay - not how it usually works.

That's simply not true.

This is a very common corporate arrangement.

You don't tell them you can't afford it - they will then have to pay up front for you, give you a cash advance or give you a. Company credit card.

@TheRealBoswell

All fine I offered to book it myself but it had already been organised. If I'd booked it myself it would have been £90. Them booking it cost me £150 for the same room.

This part from the OP’s first post stands out to me. Fair enough, they will cover your expenses afterwards, but I can understand it can be frustrating pay it out of pocket when you could have gotten a cheaper rate if you just booked it by yourself. I’m confused as to why the company doesn’t get a corporate rate, it doesn’t make sense for it to be more costly if they booked it for you.

Our company outsources travel and accommodation to a 3rd party company. Some hotels/travel will cost more and others significantly less due to various factors, but overall the costs are less than everyone booking everything independently.

I travelled globally for my job before retirement. A major international company
All my bills were paid by me . I had a company credit card, but I had to claim expenses, that was paid monthly into my personal bank account and then I paid the credit card via my own bank account.
So my own bank acting as a clearing for my corporate spends. And a company credit card charged to my personal bank account
I complained numerous times, but it was absolutely standard practice at the time for international companies. The argument was that you were responsible for the spending and for settling expenses correctly, no one else. If you were late doing that and missed a payment then the card company were correctly holding you accountable
Only in my last 4 years ( e.g 7 years ago): did the credit card company and my company make changes so that the company settled the credit card bill direct.
At times I had to settle bills of £3-5k through my personal account- it was a pain
So you are unreasonable in thinking a company will pay your hotel bill direct . As much as anything* if you run up additional charges like food or drink in your room, you need to explain that and itemize it. Bear in mind the company can tax exempt SOME items you spend and not others- only you can describe what they were and sign for this for the company to claim it.

They are paying so the title is misleading.

The stuff about you staying at a premier inn through choice is completely irrelevant.

If you want then to pay upfront, ask.

@CuteOrangeElephant

Get an (amex) card and collect points/cashback. Also make sure to use a cashback site when booking and join the hotel reward scheme.

^^^^ This I got over £600 in JL vouchers from a hotel loyalty card, plus I use a cash back c card, that doesn't give a lot but worth £100 a year.

All declared of course

I've just been sent a link to the hotel we are staying at and it looks more like £800-1k for the 3 nights. I've emailed the organiser to ask if they are paying for it or if I will be and claiming back.