Google is hoping to lure workers back to the office with a new on-site hotel special, but some workers aren’t convinced it’s a good deal.
The company said full-time employees can book a room at an on-campus hotel in Mountain View for $99 a night in what it’s deeming a “Summer Special,” according to materials viewed by CNBC. The description states that the special will run through Sept. 30 in hopes it’ll “make it easier for Googlers to transition to the hybrid workplace.”
‘Where I live is much better’
Some employees have commented on the hotel deal in internal discussion forums.
One highly rated meme showed movie clips that included a scene in the movie “Mean Girls,” where the main character played by Lindsey Lohan says “No, thank you.”
“Now I can give some of my pay back to Google,” another highly rated meme read.
Another meme joked that living on campus for the summer could disrupt “work-life balance.”
At $99 a night, the hotel would amount to roughly $3,000 a month, employees pointed out in internal discussions viewed by CNBC.
One employee pointed out that hotel amenities were not to be ignored. “I pay more and get a lot less in total for my apartment,” wrote one employee in a discussion thread. “Though admittedly where I live is much better.”
Another thought it was still too expensive. “If it was around $60 a night, that could be a fine-ish alternative to apartments, but $99? No thanks.”
“I would’ve totally done it, had it fit a certain profile: $3k rent all-in, fully-furnished, unlimited meals, paid utilities, plus housekeeping/cleaning every day,” another employee wrote.
Another hypothesized the move could be a way to reduce vacancy at the hotel after Google cut corporate travel budgets.
Google began bringing most employees back to physical offices three days a week last year, following several changes in its return-to-office plans that were complicated by spikes in Covid infection rates. However, attendance had been sparse in the months that followed mandatory RTO as workers pushed back, citing high housing costs near offices and higher productivity while working remotely, which corresponded with record profits for the company.
In June, the company became stricter, announcing new enforcements that included using office attendance in performance reviews and tracking badge data. The company’s HR chief even asked already approved remote workers to reconsider their status and rejoin their colleagues in office.
Source: CNBC
