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Message |
    
shoshannah
Citizen
Username: Shoshannah
Post Number: 772
Registered: 7-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 9, 2005 - 9:58 am: | 
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Have you ever done this or heard of this practice? My husband's company is having a retreat next month. A memo went out asking everyone to pick a buddy to share a room with! I never heard of this before. My husband is not really friendly enough with anyone in the company who he'd want to bunk up with. Why should a grown man have to share a room with a stranger at a company retreat that he is required to attend??? |
Brett
Citizen
Username: Bmalibashksa
Post Number: 1511
Registered: 7-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 9, 2005 - 10:10 am: |
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I’ve done it quite a bit.
My girlfriend works for Acenture and they get two bedroom condos to stay in, sometimes they’re Coed
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Zoesky1
Citizen
Username: Zoesky1
Post Number: 710
Registered: 6-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 9, 2005 - 10:20 am: |
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Not that uncommon. I've personally never had to do it, but know of plenty of people who have. Last year my company held a sales retreat at the Mohonk Mountain House in the Catskills and made them double up. |
shoshannah
Citizen
Username: Shoshannah
Post Number: 774
Registered: 7-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 9, 2005 - 10:30 am: |
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A two-bedroom condo where each person has his/her own room is fine. But to share a double room and a bathroom, to me, is not fine. Also, my husband snores very loudly, so it will be quite embarassing for him. |
Bill P
Citizen
Username: Mrincredible
Post Number: 85
Registered: 1-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 9, 2005 - 10:55 am: |
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Yup, I've had to do that. Fortunately I know a few people in my company who I'm okay to share a room with, but it still is an inconvenience. Especially when I want to call home and chat with Mrs. Incredible. Hard to be lovey-dovey on the phone with a colleague right there. What I've found, though, is that I'm usually busy enough that I'm just in the room for sleeping.
Sorry your husband has to go through this. How long is the trip? The longest I've had to do is five nights.
Delicate question: has your husband ever tried Breathe Right strips? Supposedly they can work for some people's snoring. |
shh
Citizen
Username: Shh
Post Number: 2254
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 9, 2005 - 11:04 am: |
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I did, on my one and only business trip to a conference in Chicago. It was a small company, so they set it up with Girls' Rooms and Guys' Rooms. After I left, one of the women had a long night of partying and came back to the suite and crashed—in the nude. A co-worker who was deeply religious was offended and refused to go on another trip if she had to share a room. It was an eye-opener for me! |
greenetree
Supporter
Username: Greenetree
Post Number: 3974
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 9, 2005 - 11:14 am: |
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Apparently, this is common in companies with large sales forces who have big meetings. I.e., in Pharma, when the Sales meetings happen 2-4 times per year, there can be 1000 reps attending.
I was forced to attend at my last company (some crap about understanding my internal customer) but, not being part of the sales department, did not have to share a room.
All in all, seems like the reps are used to it. I was pretty disgusted at them all acting like college kids, running around looking for hook-ups & room swaps. At least half of the married reps were focused on drinking & the new, young female reps. I told my boss that if she wanted to improve my morale, that she should never make me go to one of those again.
Personally, sharing a bathroom with a stranger is what is unacceptable to me. |
shoshannah
Citizen
Username: Shoshannah
Post Number: 775
Registered: 7-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 9, 2005 - 11:26 am: |
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Do you think there is any way to delicately get out of it? |
mjc
Citizen
Username: Mjc
Post Number: 338
Registered: 10-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 9, 2005 - 11:32 am: |
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If he's really uncomfortable, he could ask the organizer if he could pay to have a single, citing light sleeper or whatever, or with no explanation except preference.
I've shared rooms on a variety of company outings for years (small companies), up to a week long, never had a problem, actually it was usually enjoyable. If my roomies had a problem, they didn't say.  |
greenetree
Supporter
Username: Greenetree
Post Number: 3976
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 9, 2005 - 11:44 am: |
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Tell him to explain that it would be unfair to other employees to have to share a room where he is changing his colostomy bag. |
mjc
Citizen
Username: Mjc
Post Number: 339
Registered: 10-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 9, 2005 - 11:50 am: |
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Greenetree comes through as usual.  |
Cathy
Supporter
Username: Clkelley
Post Number: 768
Registered: 6-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 9, 2005 - 12:07 pm: |
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Personally, I would quit my job rather than go through with this. One reason why I'm not a pharmaceutical sales rep I suppose. |
algebra2
Supporter
Username: Algebra2
Post Number: 3040
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 9, 2005 - 12:10 pm: |
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I'd most likely be the one who goes out partying, comes back, strips naked and passes out in the bathroom. That's the reason I've never been away on a business trip. That said, I would have no problem sharing a hotel room. |
sk8mom
Citizen
Username: Sk8mom
Post Number: 112
Registered: 11-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 9, 2005 - 12:36 pm: |
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Pajama parties with professional colleagues? Sounds really unprofessional.
Try the snoring argument, offer to pay the difference for a single room, stay at the Motel 6 on your own dime.
To me this is all about employers saving a few bucks. |
redY67
Citizen
Username: Redy67
Post Number: 627
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 9, 2005 - 12:43 pm: |
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Every business trip I have always had to share a room. It was not as bad as it seems. The companies did always offer an out, if you paid for single upgrade. |
John Beltsos
Citizen
Username: Belts_boy
Post Number: 104
Registered: 4-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 9, 2005 - 1:15 pm: |
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I think sharing a room for a retreat is perfectly fine. Team building stuff. Business Trips is a different story.
Can't your hubby really not think of anybody (male!) he could share the room with? If not, is he really working for the right company? |
peteglider
Citizen
Username: Peteglider
Post Number: 966
Registered: 8-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 9, 2005 - 1:53 pm: |
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Not done so on a "business trip," but yes, asked to do so on a retreat, company ski trip, etc.
/p |
shoshannah
Citizen
Username: Shoshannah
Post Number: 777
Registered: 7-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 9, 2005 - 3:00 pm: |
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John: He has not been with the company very long. And he's not a pharma sales rep, either. |
greenetree
Supporter
Username: Greenetree
Post Number: 3979
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 9, 2005 - 3:07 pm: |
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Yikes. He might have to suck it up on this one. Especially since it's a "retreat". But, odds are that everyone feels the same way on some level.
Maybe he can try to think of it as a fond trip back in time to the dorms.
Of course, that wouldn't work for me, since my freshman year room mate made a wall of sheets around her bed and entertained male guests in her private boudoir at all times of day and night. No matter who was around. But, I digress....
I guess the next step would be to query the guys who've done this before as to what is and what is not acceptable "we aren't in a relationship" sleepwear.
I hate business "retreats". If I like you that well, I'll invite you over to dinner. |
Innisowen
Citizen
Username: Innisowen
Post Number: 612
Registered: 3-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 9, 2005 - 3:10 pm: |
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Those "one time a year" rah-rah get-togethers usually have two people bunking in the same room to stay within the budget allocated for the meeting.
On the other hand, if you are someone who travels either constantly or a lot ( as I have done, with 20 years worth of at least 150K miles per year), you don't share rooms with anyone, even at a sales meeting or convention. You're under enough travel and work pressure so that you have the right to de-compress in your own private room.
When I have had to share rooms with someone, at a meeting or convention, I didn't like it and found it unproductive for the work I needed to do when not taking part in a meeting session. Those were usually adequate grounds for getting a single at subsequent meetings. |
growler
Citizen
Username: Growler
Post Number: 450
Registered: 11-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 9, 2005 - 3:22 pm: |
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The last company I worked for did the same room sharing thing for a sales meeting. I was at the company for maybe 5 months at best. We had 3 coporate offices and I was supposed to bunk with someone from the West Coast office that I had never even had a conversation with. I asked my boss if there was any possible way to make an exception. Stated why I did not want to bunk with someone that I did't know for various reasons (snoring included...not on my part mind you...), even said I'd pay for the room and lo and behold, he honored my request. The sales meeting still sucked but at least it was my own room and bathroom at the end of the day. |
shoshannah
Citizen
Username: Shoshannah
Post Number: 778
Registered: 7-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 9, 2005 - 3:43 pm: |
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Growler, how did you know that he snored if you had never met him? |
Carrie Avery
Citizen
Username: Carrie33
Post Number: 185
Registered: 1-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 9, 2005 - 4:04 pm: |
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Gee, that's a tough one.Seeing as I do not travel for business, and my hubby has not, so I would venture to guess that I would not approve -if he did.Reading this post definately keeps me informed, but if I have any questions, I also know where to go. Hey, thanks.
Personally, I don't think mixing "business and pleasure" has ever been a professional way of doing business anywhere. |
growler
Citizen
Username: Growler
Post Number: 451
Registered: 11-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 9, 2005 - 4:19 pm: |
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shoshannah - I didn't. I just made the arguement that if he did then I would not be as productive during the meeting due to the lack of sleep it would be getting. |
Cato Nova
Citizen
Username: Cato_nova
Post Number: 519
Registered: 12-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 9, 2005 - 4:30 pm: |
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My second wife used to go on these business trips where she would share a room. She told me it was company policy. I later found out that this was not the case, but by then she had left me for her executive secretary. Ah, the pleasures of marrying a high-powered female executive. Nice living while it lasted, until I got traded in for a younger, much more handsome, but dare I say, far dumber model. I guess that answers the questions from the 70's about how women would behave when they reached corporate pinnacles. As if Indira Gandhi left any doubt . . . |
Earlster
Supporter
Username: Earlster
Post Number: 1017
Registered: 8-2003
| | Posted on Friday, March 11, 2005 - 12:57 pm: |
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I worked for a startup for a few years. Budgets were tight, so we did it a lot especially at trade shows, when rooms are booked and high priced.
Once we even had three guys stay in one room in Vegas, with a roll in bed. Wasn't a problem, since at least one of us was partying hard enough every night that he would just pass out wherever anyway.
Also some of sales guys occasionally doubled up in order to stay in a nice hotel in a good area, versus in a crappy hotel in a removed area.
Only thing to avoid was to get in the same room with our CEO, he was a total workaholic and would work through most nights with only very little sleep, definetly no fun. |
Lydia
Supporter
Username: Lydial
Post Number: 979
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Friday, March 11, 2005 - 7:44 pm: |
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Like Algebra, I don't think I'd mind sharing a room with a co-worker.
Try to make it fun. Instead of dwelling on the injustice of doubling up for a few nights on a business trip, tell your husband to pretend he's 18 and this is his orientation to his new college.
Not a state college with cinderblock walls and bookshelves everywhere. This is a special college. This college encourages watching TV and drinking and thoughtfully provides a bar (in-room or lobby), cable, and "Where" magazine (woo hoo!)
The dorm has wall-to-wall carpeting, framed posters, clean sheets every day, and NO pesky RA's. At night the halls are lined with platters with rolls butter pats, sometimes desserts - all free.
Your husband can pretend the roommate is his bodyguard and gently insist he taste everything first for poison. That's just good advice anytime you're traveling.
Plus this college has no tuition, they pay you.
Makes me want to get a job.
Have fun!
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Case
Citizen
Username: Case
Post Number: 14
Registered: 2-2005
| | Posted on Sunday, March 13, 2005 - 9:50 pm: |
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It depends on how far you're willing to go... but personally I'd have NO problem telling my immediate manager that I was bisexual, and that I'd hate to open the company up to any problems.
Embarassing? Sure... but it'll save me from sharing a room! |
Jgberkeley
Citizen
Username: Jgberkeley
Post Number: 4204
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Monday, March 14, 2005 - 10:49 pm: |
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A few years back, I worked for a Department of Defence contract company on the design of submarines.
I had to share a room on business trips, and was taken a back to find that I had to share a qween size bed with a fellow guy employee.
That was really strange, and this whole thread brought back some repressed memories.
Later,
George |
Rastro
Citizen
Username: Rastro
Post Number: 755
Registered: 5-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 15, 2005 - 3:55 pm: |
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Um, George... I don't think that was company policy, I think someone was telling you you've gota nice •••  |
Analog01
Citizen
Username: Analog01
Post Number: 54
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 15, 2005 - 9:55 pm: |
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I refuse to share a room with a colleague. I think it is unprofessional for a company to require it. My feeling is that I am an adult, so I should be treated like one. My current employer does not require it, however I have worked at other companies that did. What was interesting is that they never made VPs, GMs or Presidents share rooms with anyone. |
dacar
Citizen
Username: Dacar
Post Number: 149
Registered: 6-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, March 19, 2005 - 1:53 pm: |
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It is a policy at Wal-Mart for every level of associate to share rooms - budget rooms at that |
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