Discrimination & Benefits

 

I just travelled to Miami for my birthday this past weekend and we had an amazing hotel all thanks to my amazing roommate! Our original reservation/booking was supposed to be until Sunday, and thanks to her discount it was at an incredibly discounted rate. After we realized that all flights to anywhere along the eastern seaboard were cancelled we returned to the hotel and tried to check back in [especially at the great rate we had]. Because my roommate herself was not around, we were told that we shouldn’t even have gotten the discount through her anyway because we are not her spouse, children or immediate family. I believe that to be a form of discrimination against one’s own employees. She works incredibly hard as I have born witness to her coming home with exhaust written all over her face and leaking out of her pores - I might as well be her spouse (isn't that what they do?!). Home girl works hard! Part of the benefits of working where she works is getting a discount to establishments of the brand/hotels all over the country/world. Now to say that the only people she can give/share her benefits to are her children or spouse when she has neither is discriminatory. She, as the employee, should have the right to use her benefits as she sees fit given her own individual family situation - in the traditional sense and not.

Needless to say, we ended up changing hotels completely where we stayed for the 4 additional nights we were stranded in South Beach. It was significantly cheaper than the original, but standardly pleasant.

If I worked my bottom off and was entitled to or accrued a certain amount of benefits that I can’t use just on myself - why should I not be able to give them to who I want to? Besides, for some people, especially immigrants or just out of towners, there is no “immediate family” close enough to share the said benefits with and friends sometimes are closer than family geographically and otherwise. It’s time the definition of family, whether immediate, nuclear or whatever limiting terms used to define it, was expanded.

Meanwhile, I personally have a travel/vacation addiction I can't afford since in a year i've already gotten myself into the red with vacation time :( ....Slowly earning it back, but I STAY browsing the internets for cheap tickets to sunny destinations and waterfront views. What gives?!