That's not the only downside. There's a freaking enormous downside for large corporations, and that's their inability to centrally manage vendor relationships

That's not the only downside. There's a freaking enormous downside for large corporations, and that's their inability to centrally manage vendor relationships with large chains. For example, my company spends about 2500 nights/yr here: http://www.itchotels.in/hotels/itcgrandchola.aspx http://www.itchotels.in/hotels/itcgrandchola.aspx As a result, we were able to negotiate a rate down from about 12,000INR/night to about 6500INR/night. The hotel is huge, has every amenity (in India, especially if you're flying solo, most business travelers are not likely to venture outside the hotel for dinner), is close to the office, and we're only paying about US$100/night. I think Manhattan may be one of the few cities where this legitimately makes sense (due to general lack of hotels, or price gouging). SF, perhaps, but it depends where you're going to be for work and whether there are any huge conferences going on at the same time. One year at Dreamforce I booked late and ended up in a shared room at a craptastic rundown place near the Embarcadero. Perhaps not typical, but it does happen.