[akhmatova]

If I’d spend my own money to stay at the Ritz-Carlton (I like nice places, I have the money to pay for it, etc.), then why does this make me a bad fit for GitLab?

Because you missed the crucial qualifying phrase, "every night".

The point of the policy wasn't that one should never, ever go out treat oneself to nice things. But that at some point, it get to be objectively (and grossly) inefficient and, to put it bluntly, reckless.

In fact, most people I know who in fact can afford to stay at the Ritz-Carlton every night (when traveling) don't, just as a matter of principle.

And yeah, they seem to also expect you to have a sense for what's called sound judgement, or shall we say business sense. That is, to know (at least approximately) where to draw the line, without an explicit policy for every last expense category.

And if you don't agree with this philosophy (or it isn't basically obvious to you) - then it would seem you probably aren't a good fit for GitLab.

(In the OP author's point of view, that is. The Ritz-Carlton analogy comes from them, not GitLab).

[eduction]

The more nights the company is asking you to travel away from home, the stronger the argument for the Ritz.

You seem to think more nights makes it a weaker case.

Travel is brutal, being away from home is brutal. The reason things like the Ritz and first class airline seats exist is that there are people who need to travel a lot and one way to keep them functioning at a high level despite the relentless pace is to provide superb comfort and service.

GitLab can decide to be that kind of company or not but when business travel becomes routine and frequent for one individual it’s dishonest to pretend they should scrimp like it’s their own much rarer leisure travel.

[akhmatova]

A quick search confirms that are -plenty- of nice, boutique hotels (in downtown areas of the usual fancy cities) offering perfectly decent rooms in the under $300/night range, even on short notice. The only reason we go for the Ritz's price range ($600-$900) is to tell ourselves (or others) that we stayed at the Ritz.

The ability to distinguish between the cost-value ratios of the two categories -- and to understand that yes, even for a large, successful company, unnecessary expenses of this sort do add up -- is precisely the sensibility that GitLab[*] is looking for.

[*] Again, a hypothetical GitLab - the Ritz-Carlton example comes from the blogpost author, and not from GitLab.

[nibbleshifter]

Yep, if the trips > 3 days, then facilities like fitness (a gym, etc) really become requirements as opposed to "nice to haves" at a hotel.