"Alibaba's Marriott code A7A is for the Chinese e-commerce and technology giant. Alibaba employees primarily carry Chinese company-issued credentials which Western hotel front desk staff are less familiar with verifying. FlyerTalk's corporate code thread notes that Chinese tech company codes at US and European properties face a different verification challenge: staff may request proof but be unable to assess the validity of Chinese corporate ID cards. Marriott's rate desk has documented Alibaba as a monitored account given the company's rapid growth and high travel volume. High risk due to systematic verification challenges."

"I work for a large defense contractor. We are specifically told not to bring our badges on international trips due to various concerns about showing our affiliation around foreign national and had a nasty surprise at a JW Marriott insisting that without my badge they were going to raise my rate from $200gbp to $800gbp per night. That was a pretty stressful situation. You’d think they could have validated that the hotel was booked through my corporate partner."

"I do this frequently. They rarely ask for the ID, and when they do, I just provide my company badge. Never had any drama. Also, my wife works for the US Gov't and when travelling for leisure they often have a better rate than my corp. In those cases we book the Gov't rate and they always ask for ID on check in. She provides her ID and we get checked in."