Room sharing on business trips

As many as 29 per cent of people on business trips have had to share a room with a colleague in the last 12 months, according to a survey. And 12 per cent of these have had to share a double bed, the poll of 1,290 people by Hotels.com found.

Of those working away from home, Northern Ireland residents are the most-frequent sharers (39 per cent) and Scots the least (23 per cent). The poll also found:

• 62 per cent of women, but only 51 per cent of men, feel it is inappropriate to share a room;

• 82 per cent of people would prefer to share with a colleague at the same work level, five per cent with a junior colleague and only three per cent with a senior colleague;

• 89 per cent of women would not share with someone of the opposite sex compared with 66 per cent of men;

• Getting changed in front of each other is the top worry for women sharers (24 per cent), while men are most concerned about snoring (22 per cent);

• 25 per cent of workers worry that sharing a room will have a direct impact on their reputation at work, rising to 33 per cent for 16- to 24-year-olds;

• 76 per cent of workers would tell their partner if they had to share a room with a co-worker, while 44 per cent of women would be upset if their partner shared.