"From Fishbowl (professional network used heavily by Big 4 staff): "How do I use the Acc or E&Y codes at Marriott and get around the ID check piece?" — confirming that ID checks are a well-known friction point for consulting firm codes. The thread attracted replies suggesting telling the front desk "you're a contractor doing work for them." hotelcorporatecodes.com lists EYC with 10-18% discount and verification status "⚠️ Sometimes." FlyerTalk's Marriott enforcement thread confirms consulting firms get checked more often at full-service hotels, but select-service properties rarely verify. US domestic: ~10-20% of stays checked; Europe/Asia: significantly higher."

"I now always make it a matter of course to carry documents (business cards of my contacts, e-mails requesting my visit etc.) from my host company when I travel. This has always proven sufficient for the few times I've been challenged by the front desk clerk."

"I have a close friend who is a GM at a Marriott property in a fairly large US city (top 25 metro population). Their opinion is basically, "Hey, it's business. I'm not turning away a paying guest if they don't have the right ID." In this person's younger days as a front desk agent, they enjoyed catching people trying to use a corporate rate that the guest was not entitled to. As they became higher up and saw the books, occupancy rates, etc... Corp ID's became far less important than filling rooms."