Sharing a room with coworkers?
 

My company is now requiring employees (primarily middle-aged adults) to share a room while traveling. Sometimes we'll be bunking in with coworkers we don't know or know slightly. Does anyone else's company have this policy? Any tips on ways to respect privacy/need for down time?

I second that message, I've been thinking about the same thing. Haven't had to travel for business til now but will be doing so this fall, and sharing a room. Input please. Thanks

My husband works for a small soft ware company and they ask if the employees wouldn't mind sharing a room. Never w/ someone they don't know.<BR>So far, no problems he reports. I think it is bizarre thiugh. I would hate it. When times are tough you have to do what you have to do.

I read somewhere that WalMart did this for years and at a senior level too. I know of two big hi-tech companies that do this as standard. Another reason to resist travel .. especially given the pitiful per diems these days.<BR>Sometimes cubes aren't so bad !

Yes, Walmart has had this practice for quite some time. And to make it even worse, they book their high end managers at Motel 6. They also eat boxed meals from McDonalds. Not my idea of a dream company to work for if you can help it. The saddest thing is that they also pick up the managers along the way on bus rather than let them fly into Arkansas!

When I first joined my company, I was able to stay in my own room. However, it wasn't long before it came to my having to share a room if I wanted to justify traveling for my job, since the travel is kind of optional.<BR><BR>I haven't had any problems so far in sharing a room; in fact, my roomies have been fun and we share the same interests so it has enhanced my travel more than it has inhibited it. But I may be just lucky.

The 'Suits" have tried to do that where I work also. Some of us more senior sales people have developed some pretty good pseudo medical conditions to combat the need to share rooms. I let everyone know I am a little gassy and it wouldnt be fair to a roommate to share a room with me.<BR><BR>Another method is to just reserve another room and then split the costs of it with your ex-roomie andthen make sure to make it up somewhere else on your expense report.

Our company recently made a policy that people had to share rooms, and it was received with mixed reviews. It only applies to large company events and conventions, however. Necessary business travel, such as sales trips or project work, still warrant a room to yourself due to the need to work in the rooms and to sometimes keep crazy hours when travelling.<BR><BR>Personally, it makes travel more stressful for me.

A lot of the less expensive "suites"-type motels (Residence Inn, etc.) have only one double or queen sized bed per room. You couldn't room with someone else (other than spouse or partner) if you wanted to. Maybe you can steer your company to these motels.

Absolutely not. My days of sharing a room with someone outside of my husband are long gone. My belief is after you get out of college, roomies should be a thing of the past.

xxx - <BR><BR>It sounds like you may be mixing apples and oranges. The issue is about being forced to room with someone else on a business trip, not ELECTING to have a roommate in a living situation.

I am all for cost cutting measures and am a go along type of person but I think this one is outrageous and I would refuse. I always have an adjustment time in a new place and bed, do not always sleep well on business trips and sometimes snore. Business trips are usually early morning to late night working events and I really need that hour or two of downtime alone before sleeping to get a decent nights sleep. Otherwise I am worthless the next day. I would offer some alternatives to my company like better negotiating for group hotel rates, using cheaper, but still safe, clean and convenient hotels, etc. Travel for work is often a hardship and this is an unreasonable burden to require of employees.

YYY, I was referring to having to share a room with a business associate and not having roomates that I live with. My opinion is this, if my company wants me to travel for work (which I do at least 20 weeks out of the year), I am not sharing a room with a co-worker. As the above poster stated, traveling for work is stressful enough without having to share a room with someone. Again, absolutely not.

To MakeMineASingle - <BR><BR>Is there any reason you pointed out the fact that most in your company are middle-aged?

My company seems to have policies that vary by division. I have never been asked to share a room. I travel 20+ times a year, always to major business cities. I have several friends who work in another division that are required to share a room.<BR>I WILL NEVER agree to such an invasion of my privacy. My time off is mine. Period. I will agree to saving my company money by searching for the best hotel rates and taking connections, or staying over a Saturday night.<BR>If they should make me share a room I will not take connections and/or stay over a Saturday night and each trip will cost 1000.00 + more!!!!<BR>Also, I will not fly more than 6 hours unless I am in business class AND I keep my frequent flyer miles! Wal-Mart and the Fed will not allow travelers to keep miles!<BR>Business travel is no longer fun for me and I will not let my company pretend it is a perk. I'm away from my family and they need me, miss me.<BR>I make the best of it and am rewarded for my sacrifice with enough air miles to pay for a week with my family each spring break in Hawaii.<BR><BR>

When my husband left his last job, one of the reasons was for this very same inane travel policy. He has enough trouble sleeping in a strange place (he has to have complete darkness and no noise) -- the idea of a co-worker roommate drove him nuts.

I work for a government agency and we always have to share rooms when we are sent to conferences. Sometimes you room with someone you know and sometimes not. I find that co-workers hang out with their friends, rather than their roommates. Therefore, you don't have to feel that you must hang out with your roommate (unless they have no friends).<BR><BR>The only person I knew who had a problem had a roommate who snored so loud that this poor fella slept in a chair in someone else's room. I think loud snorers should have to disclose this prior to being paired up and they should be paired up with each other.<BR><BR>

Being expected to share quarters on a business trip is ridiculous. As a federal employee, I take all my flights in coach class and I am restricted to hotels that will offer a low-cost government rate. In addition, I often travel on evenings and weekends without overtime reimbursement. Until recently, I was not premitted to use frequent flier miles accumulated through business travel. These are all things I knew and accepted before taking my current position, but I draw the line at being forced to share a hotel room. There is a limit to how employers should expect to infringe upon our personal time. If I were you I'd be looking for another job.

Thanks everyone for the commiserating. <BR>Good idea, Havkhones, I think I will develop a particularly foul physical condition.<BR><BR>Wondering, I included the fact that we are middle-aged because some of our young associates, who are just a year or two out of college, seem more accustomed to sharing and it doesn't seem to bother them at all.

I can top all of these..........<BR><BR>A coworker and I had to double up in a room at one of the casinos in Atlantic City while we had to go to the Mailcom convention.<BR><BR>She masturbated noisily under the covers the first night while thinking I was asleep. I was mortified!! The next morning she had the nerve to tell me I snored - knowing I have severe sinus problems. I feigned ill the next day and went home.<BR><BR>

I can't even bear to share an office with the majority of them!

If I only traveled a couple times a year, I'd just suck it up. But it seems that you (and most of the other posters) travel frequently. That's too much of your private time that the company is taking from you.<BR><BR>The problem with rooming with someone, even someone you know and like, is that you never get any down time. That of course makes you tired, and less "on" when you're working. Companies forget this (or don't care) and only look to save money.<BR><BR>We used to share rooms, same sex of course, until we got purchased by an entertainment company. They immediately issued a new policy of no room sharing due to possible sexual harassment lawsuits. A senor executive said "but it's same sex sharing." To which the reply was "In this day and age, you think that's going to stop a possible sexual harassment lawsuit?"<BR><BR>As I had a roommate who asked me not to flush the toliet at night (and who kindly "returned" the favor), that was the happiest day of my life!

Once a year at our business convention we are required to share rooms with co-workers. It's a good way to get to know someone but it can be awkward if you have different sleep cycles. Twice I've been paired up with early sleepers, early riser so I either have to stay down in the lobby til I'm tired, keep my roommate up with the TV or lay in bed...I've suggested that we put in some preferences for next year. It's only a few days so I can live with it. Once I did have a roommate that would leave residue all over the sink after brushing her teeth. I can't imagine she does this at home and what a slob to leave it for housekeeping, much less a roommate. I won't room with her again. <BR><BR>Otherwise if more than one of us is traveling and one is doing a presentation they just say they need the quiet area to themselves to prepare and we get separate rooms. <BR><BR>Wonder if Enron, Adelphia, and the others booked anything but the penthouse suites...?<BR><BR>Now how far will you go adding expenses to your hotel room? Some of my co-workers insist on room service, which is highy over priced.<BR><BR>I'm travling with a limited budget for my next trip and have to figure out which items I put in the trip and which one's I can add to my normal expense report if I go over budget.<BR>

<BR>I've worked for a major corp as a sales rep for many years and we ALWAYS bunk with a roomie. <BR><BR>While its only quarterly for a couple nights each, it can be awkward and we all resent it. <BR><BR>But we're hoping we see the difference the company saves in our bonuses. <BR><BR>Yeah, right.

There are SO many ways that I can save my company money.<BR>Since I have a laptop attached to me at all times, I can work from just about anywhere. One sureshot way to save a bundle is to take a connection (I'm in DFW) via St Louis. Cuts my airfare to ORD by 3/4 for a two day buisness trip.<BR>Staying over a Saturday night is another way to save a huge sum!<BR>I am -over- eating out and try to swing by a grocery store to stock up on things I like that are healthy for me, which saves, too.<BR>I park in an off airport parking facility and use a coupon to further reduce the costs.<BR>NONE of this is mandated by my company... it's just my nature to save when feasible.<BR>The most sharing a room is going to save in today's environment is 100.00/night, and that's in just a few cities as we have excellent negotiated rates at hotels!

This happened to me twice, both in my 20's. The first time, my roommie screwed one of the sr. managers in the bathroom while i was trying to sleep. The second time, i had to share a room for a week with a snorer, who also chemically straightener her hair two nights during the 6 nights we were there. The stench of the chemicals and the hogging of the bathroom for 4 hours was enough for me. I returned to the office and told them i would never share a room again. They told me it was company policy, so, I quit. Ah, to be 25 and reckless again!

Ellen, you're lucky. Your roomate was very considerate. She could have done it on the bed next to you!

We have a room-sharing policy, but it's not much of an issue because it's rare that two employees are in the same place at the same time. However...<BR><BR>The one problem we have when there is room-sharing is that we have two male employees who are openly gay, and no men want to room with them. You might say, "Fine, let the two gay guys room together," but they're not always together on the same trip.<BR><BR>Anyone else have this problem?

Get your own room, and pay the difference - and then use that as a business expense deduction on schedule A. IRS would disallow it ony if your company was willing to give you a singel room. By the way, Walmart and the others are horrible if they make their own emplyoyees together. Is that Sam's policy?