Strangers and Couches

I will tell you, up front, that I am venting a bit in this post.  I have just arrived at a conference, which I will be attending for the next three days.  And there are two things which bother me about the room arrangement, provided by my employer.

First, in order to try to save money amidst tight budgets, two people are sleeping in each room.  I understand this.  Getting each person a private room would be expensive.  My problem is that this isn't necessarily bad when you know the person you are going to be sharing a room with.  My roommate is someone that I have met ... we have conversed on two prior occasions, if I remember correctly ... but is, otherwise, a complete stranger to me.

I don't know that I'll be spending a great deal of time in the room.  But that is where I'll sleep, change clothes, shower, attend my daily constitutional (does anyone still use that phrase?) ... things that I normally don't do near strangers.  I wonder how many other companies require employees to room together like this when traveling.  In my (admittedly limited) experience, upscale companies don't.

Second, when my stranger-roommate and I checked in, we found that the room has a queen-size bed and a sleeper sofa.  Really?  I mean ... really?  Two professionals are traveling to a conference, and one of them gets the pleasure of sleeping on a fold-out couch?  (Either that, or the two have to become fast friends and share a queen-sized bed.  But that's not going to happen.  Trust me.)

Part of the problem with the sleeper sofa is that it just seems ... cheap.  The company is not only failing to provide employees with a bit of privacy.  They are making it worse by not providing adequate bedding.  Yes, we are staying in a nice hotel.  Everything else is nice (although not lavish) ... there is nothing "cheap" about the hotel itself.  But the sleeping arrangements leave something to be desired.

The other part of this problem is that I have back problems.  If I sleep on a pull-out sleeper, I may not be able to walk in the morning.  And, while my stranger-roommate graciously offered to sleep on the couch before I even suggested flipping coins, the fact is that I feel guilty.  I wish my back wasn't messed up.  I wish, even more, that my back did not cause inconveniences for others.

Some people might say that I should count my blessings.  After all, we are staying in a nice hotel, and I get the bed.  To top it off, the trip is being paid for by the company, so it isn't costing me a dime.  So maybe they are right ... I don't have that much to complain about.  It still strikes me as being less than what I would have expected for traveling professionals.