When I first transitioned to my first front desk role with Ritz Carlton, I was faced daily with an overwhelming majority of reservations booked under corporate discounts and, of course, the government rate. It was a no brainer that when someone handed you a Wells Fargo corporate credit card or Merrill Lynch credit card, it was obvious that they were an employee of those respective companies and thus qualified under their corporate rates. On the other hand, when someone had that government rate, often the cheapest rate in the system, some qualifying questions needed to be asked.As one who was recruited into the federal government for a variety of skills not related to hospitality, I had unique skills in making quick, informative, and predictive behavioral decisions of people based on several visual and audible indicators. I had an advantage over my coworkers in identifying and qualifying people (very crucial in for various rates, especially the government rate). For this story, I'll abbreviate with GOV throughout. A few ways to qualify this rate are non-person emails, government credit cards (GSA SmartPay2 logos), and even a uniform. The GOV rate requires Government IDs (Federal, State, Local, Municipal, etc) or government travel orders (no one carries those). Most people who work for the government are happy to have credentials ready upon check in and some happy go lucky local police or firefighters often just love to show the badge right off the bat.
I had a guest check (referred to as Tyrone in one Friday after lunch. He was not in any kind of uniform, had a consulting.com email address, and had no badge. Per my FOM, I requested his GOV ID. He responded that as platinum member, no one has ever asked him for his ID. I replied that since this was his first stay at our Ritz, he was required to show to us and we could document for future reference. Tyrone again deflected and refused to provide. I noted that it was required for the rate but also an ID, .GOV email address, or even the GSA credit card would suffice. I did note that his consulting email address meant he was likely working as a contractor but not the government itself. We went back and forth two more times before he requested my manager. She came out and explained that we had been taken advantage of in the past and Marriott had requested that we be very strict with the policy. Tyrone still provided no supporting documents to earn the rate but she offered it to him as a one time courtesy and noted in his Mystique profile for future hotels to hedge against this type of behavior. He checked out on Sunday and wrote a letter to my GM complaining how he felt and thought that as a platinum he should be exempt from this type of treatment. I was called in and we examined future ways to handle this situation and no action towards me was taken.
Since that interaction I saw it happen many more times like most in the industry. When I went to my next hotel, it happened even more as that hotel was almost exclusively business. Once I noted its occurrence I proposed a contractor rate that we could use. The purpose was that when this occurred and someone was identified as using a rate they were not eligible for, we could offer a different rate but not one so high that it would cause them to cancel and go somewhere else. Although at that point, if they chose to cancel and leave, they would be charged for the cancelation and the room would be resold as well. We also used this new rate for veterans and then local government employees who didn't qualify for the Per Diem rate. Having family members who served in Normandy and Vietnam along with countless friends serving since Desert Storm, I wanted to make sure we could still show appreciation but not have such a low ADR due to advantageous bookings on the GOV rate. The contractor rate was usually $10-$20 higher than the GOV rate. Almost every time this occurred, it was met with slight opposition but the steps to "recover" the customer were executed and received favorably.
The rate is reserved for government employees and active duty service members for business only. I do believe that as Americans we should show appreciation to our veterans and active duty service members on vacation with a discounted rate. I realize that at the end of the day, the Per Diem GOV rate, brings in tens of millions of dollars to our respective hotels and parent companies. However, it should not be available to non- employees seeking to keep expenses down on hotels so that they can spend money on other aspects of travel for themselves. If you or someone you work with needs assistance on this topic or wants to further brainstorm ways to approach the topic, please email me at jasonjaylynch@gmail.com or connect with me on LinkedIn.
