18 Responses to “Answers to tricky HR questions: Room-sharing travel policies”

1. Lynn Olson Says:
   May 27th, 2008 at 10:18 am

   Aren’t there other concerns (besides potential medical disclosure) over having a policy that requires employees to share rooms)? You have incompatability issues such as smokers/non-smokers, those who go to bed (or rise) early/late that affects whether or not the lights/TV are on, potential of putting people with different sexual orientation together inadvertently that may cause issues, and just the lack of privacy. My feeling is that if a company requires an employee to be away from their home, the least they can do is give them a private room to help make up for that. Are there many companies that have such policies of forcing employees to share rooms?

2. Rhonda Brown Says:
   June 16th, 2008 at 1:33 pm

   You don’t deal with the trickier issue. If you have 3 women and one man, is it discriminatory to provide the man a single room? And what are the issues if you don’t? And, how do you decide which woman gets a single?

3. Susan L Says:
   July 11th, 2008 at 4:13 pm

   I am the HR Admin for an electrical contractor that frequently has work out of town that requires a 2-man crew to share a hotel room that the company pays for. This expense is calculated in our bids and, to remain competitive, the crews must share a room to keep the costs down. This is a common practice with other contractors who are on the same sites that we are.

   All of our employees are aware of our room-sharing policy during the interview process and are also advised of the company’s expectations of each employee’s conduct and treatment of fellow employees.

   We have had issues of compatibility for a variety of reasons. To deal with this, we have changed crew members around to try to accommodate differences. In some cases, we will re-assign a crew that otherwise works well together to a job that does not require overnight stays.

   We have found that if there is a particular employee who has difficulty sharing a room with ANYONE also has difficulties working on jobsites with anyone. We will then try assigning that employee to 1-man jobs. We don’t have very many of these so this isn’t always an option.

   In some cases, despite every attempt to find a working solution, that employee eventually ends up being terminated.

4. Kristine Says:
   July 30th, 2008 at 4:33 pm

   I can’t imagine working for an employer who forces co-workers to share a room. I see it as an invasion of personal privacy to be expected to take care of personal hygiene, dress and sleep in the same room with someone who could be little more than an acquaintance. I’m going to a conference soon and while the idea of sharing a room came up, when I asked for my own room I received permission. I actually really like my co-workers, but I appreciate privacy for my morning religious and fitness routine. Plus I just like downtime by myself after the work day is done. Unless I’m being paid for it I don’t think I should be expected to be with a co-worker 24/7.

   I don’t know about legal issues, but private rooms equal happier and more productive employees. I was in the military so I know all about tight quarters, which is probably why I’m not interested in doing it anymore. I’m an adult working in a professional field, I feel I’m entitled to my own room if I’m asked to travel.

5. Susan L Says:
   July 31st, 2008 at 10:08 am

   If we only had a few employees occasionally needing to stay overnight somewhere for 1 or 2 nights, separate rooms probably wouldn’t be an issue. We have up to 10 crews (1 electrician, 1 apprentice each) staying out of town 4 nights per week for several MONTHS at a time. Separate rooms for each employee ranging from $70 to $150 per night, depending on the area and the time of year (we are in Florida), would be cost prohibitive. If we were to allow each employee to have his/her own room, one of two things would happen: 1) if we bid the projects with this additional cost included, we wouldn’t be getting anymore out of town work and we would eventually go out of business; or 2) we would be lose so much money on every project we worked on if it was not included and, in time, we would go out of business. As I said in my previous post, this is a common practice in the construction industry for exactly the reasons stated above.

   Also, as I said before, all applicants are made aware of this policy during the interview. If they would have an issue with sharing a room with another employee, they can decline to work here.

6. Susan L Says:
   July 31st, 2008 at 11:26 am

   Somehow, we have strayed from the issue about personal health issues when sharing a room. Gee, the last time I checked, hotel rooms have restrooms with doors that lock. If you need to take medication, orally or by injection, the availabilty of privacy is there. It may not be convenient (but since when has a hotel ever been!), but it is not unreasonable. As far as the meds themselves go, they can be kept them in a case or travel bag. If they are displayed on the counter, dresser, nightstand or whatever, as far as I’m concerned, that person’s privacy was voluntarily surrendered.

   re: Lynn’s post where she mentions sexual orientation – if someone makes an advance toward another employee, that’s sexual harassment. If one of the employees invites
   “entertainment” to the room, well, let’s not open that can of worms here. I don’t know of any company that would condone that type of behavior and if it does, perhaps it would be time to look for employment elsewhere.

   re: Rhonda’s post – in your scenario, I would hope whoever is in charge of making the hotel arrangements would have enough foresight to see a potential problem and would book separate rooms for each employee. If that is not financially feasible, then maybe different or fewer people should go – based on seniority and position within the company, of course.

   To those who don’t want to dress/undress in front of someone else, ditto on the restroom. You like to sleep nude? Well, sometimes small sacrifices have to be made.

   Now, if some company was to make you share the same bed – that would be going over the line…

7. tj bone Says:
   November 8th, 2008 at 6:37 am

   I use a C-Pap Machine to sleep at nights. It would be very embarrassing if my co-workers had to see this.

8. Susan Says:
   November 11th, 2008 at 11:41 am

   Re: tj bone – You may be covered under the ADA, where a separate room would be a reasonable accommodation. The potential of an ADA violation is mentioned in the story.
   I would think that if an employee had a medical condition that would unavoidably be disclosed to a co-worker by sharing a room, that person would talk to HR about a separate room. (Unless a medical condition is disclosed on a post-job medical questionnaire, medical exam, etc., the company cannot be expected to know about any and all medical conditions that may require an accommodation.) The company would probably be legally obligated to provide a separate room under the ADA.
   If an employee wanted a separate room based simply on personal preference, the company is under no legal obligation to do so.

9. kerry Says:
   December 23rd, 2008 at 3:43 pm

   Look, I think to make coworkers room together on trips that are not a common place (IE conferences) is fine. But to make and expect coworkers to room together in a hotel room is pathetic to squeeze a buck out. If you provide meals for these coworkers I am sure that they would gladly “bring” lunches to get this “luxury” of having their own private rooms. It’s bad enough to be away from their families almost 10 months out of the year-but making them room with someone…that sucks. The army makes you do that-but then YOU are considered GOVERNMENT property then. I think that a company that has no consideration for their coworkers in this sense will try to squeeze bucks out of other areas…let me guess they check your bags to make sure you didn’t accidently take a pen home with you…I think that simple things like having their own rooms make it better for the coworkers. To have to room with someone else especially in the oil field business is crappy. What if you room with an alcoholic…great now you do have privacy in the bathroom but who wants to deal with that?

10. Susan Says:
    December 29th, 2008 at 8:05 am

    Kerry – many companies that are requiring their employees to room together are not necessarily trying to “squeeze a buck out”. Your sarcasm screams that you are not an HR professional.
    Some companies may simply not be able to afford it; some companies, such as mine, it is necessary to remain competitive. We have as many as 10 2-man crews out of town Monday through Friday for several months at a time. The construction business in Florida is very competitive – to the point that it is becoming cutthroat. We absolutely must bid jobs as competitively as we can to get any work. Per Diem for meals and hotel rooms is included in these bids. Our crews must share a room. It’s not a matter of saving money – it’s a matter of getting the work and making at least some profit. As much as some people may not like to hear this, businesses are in business to make a profit. This is how they stay in business and their employees keep their jobs. Until you have owned your own business, you may not understand how hard it can be to do this. So don’t bash every employer for requiring their employees to share a room out of financial necessity for the few slimeball employers out there that are just being cheap!

11. Cynthia Says:
    January 14th, 2009 at 11:10 am

    This issue just came up at our company so I very much appreciate all of your insights and thoughts. We have never required room sharing in the past, but the current economic situation has caused our company to reconsider for an upcoming conference that we are hosting. Several staff members will have to be in attendance. I very much relate to the “loner.” I am an introvert and as host of the conference and on-stage moderator, the 12-14 hour days of being constantly “on” are inordinately draining for me. To have the privacy of my room in which to relax, meditate, practice my introductions out loud is a necessity for me. I have often shared hotel rooms with sisters, neices, and close girlfriends while on vacation. No problem with that because I didn’t have to prepare for anything. And while I respect the financial necessity in many of these situations, sharing a room in this situation is going to inhibit my ability to come to the work of the day spiritually and emotionally refreshed.

12. Maria Santos Says:
    April 13th, 2009 at 8:14 pm

    I am a small business owner and i would like to see more room sharing. I send two ladies out of town a lot and they stay in separate rooms.
    That makes me madd as hell. If they have a problem with sharing a room at least they should let me know before i make the reservations.

    Maria

13. Susan Reed Says:
    April 20th, 2009 at 10:16 am

    I just returned from a company conference at which I not only had to share a hotel room, but I had to share the same bed with a co-worker (of the same sex). The hotel had several months notice of our group reservation and the need for each room to have 2 beds; however, when I checked into the hotel, I was informed that they only had king rooms available, thus meaning that I would be sharing a BED with my so-worker. (I arrived at 10 am, so it wasn’t like I was a late arrival). I was VERY up-set and requested a private room at my own expense, but they said they were totally sold out. I’m not sure this was completely the hotels fault or if it was just sloppy planning on the companies part.
    I would have made a huge fuss and complained to whoever I could, but in this economy, I was afraid of losing my job.
    I was and still am very up-set and traumatized from the entire situation.
    Personaly I think this is completely unacceptable and should NEVER have been happened.

14. flowjoe64 Says:
    July 4th, 2009 at 11:13 am

    THIS IS RIDICULOUS. AN INVASION OF PERSONAL PRIVACY AND TRAVESTY. FOR A COMPANY TO DICTATE THAT YOUR PERSONAL AFTER HOURS SPACE AND BATHROOM MUST BE SHARED WITH EITHER A STRANGER< SOMEONE WHOS HYGIENCE YOU HAVE NO HISTORY OF,AND SOMEONE WHO’s MORNING RITUALS MAY PREVENT YOU FROM EVEN HAVING ACCESS TO A BATHROOM WHEN YOU DECIDE YOU NEED IT, OR WHEN NATURE CALLS. FORCING ME TO BE ON MY BEST BEHAVIOR< EVEN IN MY DOWN TIME< AND BEING AWOKEN IN THE MORNING BY ANOTHER PERSON IN MY ROOM< WHO MAY GET UP AT THE CRACK OF DAWN…MAY SNORE< KEEPING ME AWAKE…MAY FART ONGOINGLY… AND THEN THE MALE COUNTERPARTS, WHO ARE FEW, AND THE MANAGERS..GET THEIR OWN PERSONAL ROOMS??? WOW, THAT SHOWS A TOTAL LACK OF RESPECT FOR THE EMPLOYEE, AND WOULD ALSO SHOW YOU HOW LITTLE YOU ARE VALUED AS A PROFESSIONAL. I WILL PAY THE EXTRA $40 BUCKS A DAY OR WHATEVER THE MINISCULE DIFFERENCE IS, FOR ME TO HAVE MY OWN SPACE. NONE OF THESE HR PEOPLE WILL AGREE, AS THEY ARE PID BY THE COMPANY AND DO NOT CARE ABOUT HAIVNG A HAPPY EMPLOYEE. THEY ARE ALWAYS THERE T PROTECT THE COMPANYS INTEREST, NOT THE EMPLOYEES (UNLESS YOU FORCE THEM TO BY USING A LEGAL ISSUE THEY MIGHT BE COMPELLED TO HONOR)

    YOU HR PEOPLE ARE ALL COMPLETELY INSANE. COMPLETELY DISHONORABLE, POTENTIALLY DEMEANING THING TO REQUIRE OUT OF AN EMPLOYEE. WE ARE NOT YOUR SLAVES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

15. wshope Says:
    July 31st, 2009 at 9:09 pm

    What i really need to know is there a law stating that they can make me stay with another employee… If not I need some kind of publication stating so. Thank you

16. Kathy Says:
    October 22nd, 2009 at 1:33 pm

    flowjoe64 – I have no idea what would make you think that the concept of sharing a room is HR’s idea. For the most part, feedback on this site is contributed by HR professionals and frankly, I’m reading a whole lot of “no thanks to sharing”. So, we are not insane nor are we dishonorable. And I am so insulted by your last sentence, I can’t even bring myself to address it. Perhaps if you took some time to actually read through the comments, you would have understood the content.

    Three years ago, the entire eastern region of HR professionals were attending a company-required conference in Colorado. We were required to share rooms. However, if you were willing to pay the difference (and rooms were available), or if you had a medical reason for not sharing, you could have a private room. I was absolutely appalled at this policy. With so few private rooms available, I decided to save those for people who really needed them and just went with the program. I was fortunate to be roomed with a terrific HR buddy from another state. We had a lot in common and had a great time. But horror stories did abound, including the one who roomed with the guy who snored all night long.

    With the amazing array of electronic opportunities we have available to us, if a company can’t afford private rooms, then perhaps video conferencing is a better option.

17. RJ Says:
    October 26th, 2009 at 9:21 am

    I worked for the Prosecutors Office a few years back and every year for the annual conference, employees always had to double up on hotel rooms. Imagine my astonishment after being there only 1 1/2 weeks before the first conference I attended was to begin and being told I had to share a room with, at that time, a complete stranger! During the next few years, I never got used to it and never looked forward to attending the mandatory conferences. With such a young office, the comings and goings throughout the night were ridiculous! And, yes, each year during the weeks after the conference there were many “transfers”, “suspensions” and “resignations to pursue other endeavors.” I, for one, am not a big fan of sharing hotel rooms with co-workers.

18. Jim Says:
    November 17th, 2009 at 12:03 pm

    I work for a company that typically provides separate rooms for employees when they travel, but they have decided to change the rules for an upcoming conference. The reason given was to save money. I was never notified that this was going to be the case when I was asked if I wanted to go to this conference. In fact they are providing individual rooms for certain employees for a portion of the conference. Is there a tact full way of questioning this decision as they have established a precedent with previous business trips and is this legal?

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