Standard business practice??

is it standard business practice to get a hotel room for "bonding" with your workmates, i.e., dinner and drinks? I find this to be a little odd and suspicious. Someone tell me if I'm wrong to feel that way.

 

Thanks!

I've never heard of that...like everyone has their own room and there's a communal room?

I'd be suspicious, too -- would assume my workmates are a bunch of drunks or swingers!   

this is regarding my brit bf's work and workmates, not mine...he tells me it's normal over there, so I'm trying to see how "normal" this really is 

Well, still haven't heard of it.  I'd be suspicious if DH told me that when we were dating.  Doesn't mean anything bad would go on, but I would feel weird about it.  Like, WHY do they need an additional room?  Surely if everyone wanted to hang out, they could just hang out in someone's room. 

Now I'm going into suspicious mode -- sounds like a hook-up room to me.  But maybe I'm too suspicious -- I'm the queen of trust issues!   

He is staying in a hotel after dinner/drinks...I'm not sure of the whole setup, but he reminded me this morning in an email that he'll not be at home, but in a hotel. I just thought - that's odd, you could just take a cab home. I started asking questions and he said, it's common here as a business practice and I thought...hmmm...let me consult some sources to see how common this is. It's like me saying it's common to surf the web at work as much as you want when I know many other amer. friends that don't have that privelige like I do at work.

ok, that's strange!!!!!  i've never heard of that here.

how far does he live from the place???!!!!!

Are all the people attending local, or are some from out of town?  If they're from out of town and staying at the hotel, maybe he just wants to hang out longer.

My husband's company does this, certainly with courses.  They've put him up in London when attending meetings when he'd rather do the hour train journey back home.

Um, let me clarify that they do this with social events too.  No all of them, but some like awards dinners and the like.

but she's saying he can take a cab...i mean, how far is this?

if it's an offsite bonding thing like cait is saying....well, that's different!  they do those frequently here

I'm reading this as if he's going for a night out w/ the workmates (to pubs and whatnot) and then going back to a hotel room with them.  That seems weird.  Why not go to someone's house?  And if he's within cab distance, why the need to stay in a hotel at all?

20minute cab ride home - we've gone out before in leeds for a night of drinking til 1am or so and taken a cab home, no problem. I just angry that he hides behind the fact that it's "standard" there and since i'm in america - it makes me question it. I know that it could be the case here, but not likely a company would pay if you live so close to stay in a hotel. I don't want to be irrational or blow this out of proportion, but I am sick of being told that it's what they do there and I just don't get it.

Is the company paying for the room or all they all pooling together?  Do any of the workmates live far away enough to necessitate a hotel room?

I have no idea. He said he'll call from the hotel when he checks in about 2hrs from now. I asked for the hotel name and number and his room number. As far as I know the company is paying for it and he put it all together. I still don't get the reasoning for it - he called it work bonding b/c he's on this big project. He hasn't given much detail.

He has also told me it's pretty common for spouses to stay home on business trips (you know how in the US wives/husbands come along for the big, nice ones?). I found that odd too.

oh no, that i can see (the business trip thing).  traveling is different here, at least how i see it.  all my colleagues who travel often don't have their spouses join them....if so, it's rare.

i might join the hubs just to see the different cities.....but not be involved at all with work.  no wifey parties or anything