Greetings from Rome!!
If you follow me on social media you may have seen pictures of the sights I visited last night with a gracious co-worker.
She not only guided us to the Trevi Fountain but also a delicious dinner spot which will receive a dedicated post because it was amazing and a local spot! Win, win in my book.
Today during lunch with some colleagues and media partners we started talking about travel routines. I mentioned that I do my best to keep a similar workout routine when traveling which sometimes includes running outside in new cities, hotel gyms or if a else fails, hotel room workouts.
Two women stated that they didn’t want to workout at the hotel gym as it’s 25 euros and their company won’t cover the cost. As our hotel isn’t situated in a well lit or pedestrian friendly area running or walking outside is also difficult. I couldn’t help but challenge their company’s policy to not cover gym costs during travel.
Now, I know that I am blessed to work for an incredible company which often puts the employees first. But, when merely looking at the economics of this policy I believe that we as people who do not want to sacrifice health during business travel have a strong debate or point to make. Why can’t we choose how to spend our travel budget allocation?
When entertaining clients or at a company dinner, would your company pay for you to have a few cocktails or appetizer with dinner? Would your company pay for internet in order for you to do work in your hotel room? Would they pay the baggage few to check a bag?
If the answers to any of the above are yes, then shouldn’t they be willing to pay for you to use a hotel gym if they choose a hotel or conference facility which charges? Aren’t you more focused during the day if you feel good? Aren’t you more energized after a workout?
I’m not trying to be controversial here or make people question their company. I’m just opening the floor up for debate and input because I’m genuinely curious.
I’d love your input or thoughts based on your experience with your company or others!
Uff Da, I have to say no. You and other bloggers have posted enough “do it in your hotel room” workouts that people don’t need a machine or weights to get a workout in.
I wish it was “yes” but I just can’t justify making it mandatory.
I love the feedback Katie! Thanks! Agree this is why hotel room workouts like the one I did this AM help so much!
Companies have a lot of expense policies that don’t make sense. For example, my company does not allow me to expense groceries, which encourages me to eat at restaurants instead of staying at an extended stay hotel and cooking my own meals. This is definitely more expensive in both the short term (restaurant meals are way more expensive than groceries) and long term (eating unhealthy restaurant meals may cause health problems), but that doesn’t mean the policy is going to change.
Flyertalk has a great thread that you might find interesting: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/travelbuzz/1379785-ridiculous-things-your-company-has-done-reduce-travel-expenses.html. In light of many of those examples, not being able to expense gym fees seems pretty minor. However, since reading that thread, I’ve also learned that it’s really important to understand expense policies before accepting a job with a significant (75% or more) travel component, since that will significantly impact daily life.
Also agree with Katie that when traveling, it’s critical to have a library of no equipment workouts for your hotel room, some of which can be done with limited space. Even if a hotel has a free gym, you can’t guarantee that it’s going to have decent equipment, be open during your non-working hours, not be full, etc.
Agree Laura! There are some crazy policies! This morning I did a hotel room workout as the gym didn’t open early enoigh
Does your company pay for your gym membership at your home base? If not, then why should they foot the bill for one hour at a hotel gym, time which you will be taking away from work and which does not directly benefit the corporation like the cocktails and dinner you describe, which potentially could be for client development or team building.
And what was that economics argument you were referring to? I didn’t see it in your post, so really not much support for your argument other than you want to be able to “work out” while you’re traveling for work.
Just because someone is traveling for work doesn’t meant that they are expected to be working 24/7, right? I imagine most people who workout while traveling for business are still doing it before or after work hours, just like at home.
I’d also argue that even without a “direct benefit” to the company, the gym should be covered because travel for work is a disruption to your normal routine…they pay for your meals because you can’t cook at home, so why shouldn’t they pay for a hotel gym since you can’t work out at your home gym?
Sorry – not trying to pick a fight, just playing devil’s advocate. 🙂
No, they’re not expected to be working 24/7, but your company also isn’t expected to pay for all the activities you engage in outside of the business you’re there to do.
I’m not trying to pick a fight either, and I admire your rose-colored glasses for why you would LIKE your company to pay for your hotel gym for you, because of course I think most fit people would LIKE their companies to pay for those types of things for them, but the “economics” of the argument is that paying for employees’ hotel gyms provides a marginal benefit for any kind of employee productivity or loyalty. So, I can’t imagine it’s a very popular fringe benefit for corporations to offer employees because it’s just not that effective. Of course, you can strain to make non-economic arguments that paying for this type of thing is good for a corporation, but they’re just not winning arguments when the corporations’ ultimate duties are to their shareholders who really just care about profit.
I agree with your points and the two in the above comments – expense policies are always wacky, and who knows where they really came from or why they are the way they are?! I have friends who work for companies who WILL NOT pay for individual hotel rooms when there is a team traveling (so they are forced to room with a co-worker), but when I mentioned this in front of my co-workers they were horrified as our company has never done that! But it would certainly save a lot of money!
An additional argument for paying the gym fees when staying at a hotel (which my company doesn’t) from an HR/benefits/wellness perspective – shouldn’t companies always offer incentive for employees to maintain their health? Between the savings in healthcare premiums and lost productivity due to sick days, it’s a pretty compelling argument! Even if the cost is covered only if traveling for a certain number of days (like my company’s laundry policy – if you’re staying 4 days, laundry is covered), it seems like the benefit for employees, and therefore the company, are obvious.
I think it should be covered. The travel requires you to be away from home which means you can’t workout in your usual gym or run/bike outside like normal. Just like paying for your meals while on the road…they don’t pay for your meals when you aren’t traveling so why not cover the cost of going to a gym when you aren’t home? It keeps you healthier in the long run which means less sick time, etc. as well.
Um, I enjoy a lot of things while at home that I can’t enjoy while traveling for work. I certainly don’t expect my company to compensate me for these activities. Eating and sleeping are essentials. Fancy workouts in hotel gyms are NOT essentials. Do some strength training, stretching or yoga in your hotel room and call it a day. Good Lord.
I used to work for a company that required people to share rooms when traveling. One time I had to share a room with my boss’ boss, which was awkward as hell. Things could be worse, Ashley.
The fact that a company is willing to pay for cocktails and lavish dinners is a privilege, not a right. They pay for things such as internet and client outings because they are work related. They pay for your personal meals because obviously you have to eat – a lot of companies have limits on the price of personal meals, but maybe yours does not. Wanting to keep up with your fitness routine is not work’s#1 priority, nor should it be their expense. When you take a job that requires travel, you should be aware that there are nuances that come along with travel.
Also, if you were at home and wanted to take a Barrys Boot camp, or pillates, etc, you’d pay $25 + to workout and wouldn’t submit a pay stub to your company, would you?
Good thing there are plenty of ways to stay fit while on the road! I truly wouldn’t have either thought to ask a company to pay for something like that- really.
I suppose coming from a hospital, I have quite a different view on this. We don’t get anything paid for! I’m amazed when I hear about how companies have a snack room or something…even coffee for the employees. One friend’s company provides breakfast, allows everyone to order lunch from Seamless, then has a soup/coffee bar in the afternoon. Not to mention you can expense dinner if you stay late. I see companies with all sorts of fancy events/food/amenities for employees, and I sometimes can’t even get working medical equipment. I’ll travel for a conference this year for, and not even the day at the conference will be paid for, let alone travel, hotel, meals, etc.
I understand being taken out of your routine/familiar lifestyle, but isn’t that part of accepting a job that requires travel? Or at least something that should be reviewed prior to accepting a job? It seems to me that it’s more of a luxury and unless someone is going somewhere crazy, there are ways to work out, even if you have to be a little bit creative.
My hospital doesn’t even give us support at gyms locally, and you would think a hospital of all places would give great wellness benefits. (I just want coffee!)
I work for a consulting company and we provide up to $25 a day for gym/yoga/etc. when traveling. Since our consultants are on the road 4-5 days a week this encourages them to stay active and healthy. It’s actually not used as often as I would think, but many hotels have gyms too.
My question is — what hotels charge for gym use? Is this a European or US thing? I live in Canada and have never encountered a hotel wanting to charge more for use of their gym facilities.
Very few that I’ve seen do – it’s typically resort properties. Most Vegas hotels charge for gyms, and I’ve also seen a lot of Caribbean hotels with gym fees.
Why are hotels even charging for gym access? (I do actually know the answer to my own question, but it still drives me nuts). Gym access is right up there with free wi-fi as two things that I think any respectable business hotel should offer. I think they’re both essential to business travel, and a business hotel loses major points with me when it treats these things as optional add-ons.