sera

When a room price is advertised as "govt rate" does that mean you need a government ID to book at that rate? And thank you in advance for not mocking my question.

Mollie

Yes, government ID is required.

lmsa_mc

I've always wondered what kind of ID they required. Is it a federal ID or a military ID or does a state employee ID suffice?

nolists

... or if you can produce a company badge which does business with the govenment and your trip is related to government business. I would call first.

Strictly speaking thegovernment rate is NOT for pleasure travel.

sera

Thank you, all! I shall inquire.

Mollie

Federal, military or state govenment ID is required at check-in.

Mollie

The hotel government rate is usually the per diem rate allowed by the government for business travel in that particular location. Doing business with the govenment doesn't qualify you for a government rate. You must be a government employee.

mpmgm

I'm a teacher. and I've never had any problem getting a gov. rate by showing a business card with my name and the name of my school. I've only booked this way when attending a conference or something else school related.

Anonymous

Govt ID is NOT required -- I got govt rates when working for a private firm, on a govt contract, and provided a letter confirming that I was traveling on govt business even though not a govt employee.

rb_travelerxATyahoo

I used to work in hotels, and unless something has changed, the "government rate" was just a concession by the hotel to "pull in" business from travelers who wouldn't/couldn't pay more, as they wouldn't get reimbursed. Now, as an ex-hotel employee, I often ask what the government rate is, then ask for it. My reasoning? If they can still make a profit on a room w/ a govt employee in it, then they can with me in it too.
I'll walk if they won't give me the rate, unless I want THAT facility bad enough.

lcuy

I've never been asked to show my AAA card or Costco card after reserving a car or hotel room with their discounts.

Besides, I chip in a big part of my income to help pay for the Government, so I wouldn't feel dishonest claiming their discount.

Anyway, the AAA and gov't rates are almost always the same, so I've never had to try that argument on a desk clerk!

wolfshin

Regarding the AAA discount, some hotel chains are asking for the AAA number online when the reservation is made. I recently mistyped my number and a window popped up saying that the number that I submitted was not a valid number. I had to correct my number for the reservation to go through.

OliveOyl

Our gov't rate is considerably lower than the AAA rate and ID is required. As someone else said, it's not valid for leisure travel, but gov't business only.

sera

The reservation I want to make is for a business trip, but I work for a (private) university.

OliveOyl

You wouldn't qualify. Even the gov't rate has two tiers, state and federal, with federal rate being about $15 lower than state. Why not look into booking through Priceline instead?

Anonymous

Curiouser and curiouser . . . I think rb must have it right -- it's up to the hotel itself. The link below goes to Travelodge's policy, which includes both business and leisure travel and doesn't seem to differentiate (as OliveOyl's does) between feds and state. But even Travelodge's generous policy wouldn't have room for sera's trip unless she's got travel orders from a govt project.

http://www.travelodge.com/Travelodge/control/govt_rates

OliveOyl

From our website: Federal US Govt Employees Only With Active US Govt I.D. At Check-in. 1room Per Govt Employee. Rate: $95

Florida State Government Employees Only. Must Have Active Florida State Id at Check in Also Available For Government Contractors - Must Show Id or Papers Showing This Pty is A Government Contractor at Check in. Rate: $111

AAA promo rate: $179

Hyatt.com rate: (full prepayment) $189.

Standard rate: $199

Sr rate: 62 and older, ID presented at check-in. (haha...see we get carded again!). Rate $99.50

These rates are for a random June date, and as you can see, the rate difference is significant, not a concession to snag stragglers.

rb_travelerxATyahoo

Again, while I was in the business, the only thing about the government rate was that ALSO no sales tax was added on *IF* it was an official government charge, but if we gave the same rate to the public, we'd have to get the taxes too. The only reason for the gov't rate was that the employees weouldn't be reimbursed (or ourselves, if we accepted a "Voucher" for direct billing to NYS) for rates higher than "Govt". Well, many of those we housed would have gone somewhere else, so while we didn't make much money, we at least didn't lose customers to competition. There is NO law that prevents a hotel from charging as little as they'd like, but there are laws requiring the collection of taxes.

During periods of high occupancy we just "closed out" sales of anymore Govt rates. Again, just ask. Don't demand, and don't threaten to go elsewhere unless you're prepared to do so.

RufusTFirefly

The various government rates aren't necessarily bargains. Other promotional rates are often lower than any of the governments rates. Some hotels require a copy of your travel orders.

GoTravel

As a former hotel employee in South Carolina, in order not pay tax on the room, the government had to pay for the room directly, no reimbursement. The gov't issued credit cards start with unique 4 digit numbers. If payed by check, only a gov't account.