I'd love for the company to be frugal with everything that isn't related to my salary.
My salary? No, I don't want the feeling that they're going to knock me down to as low as I'll accept, I've worked hard to develop my skills and I deserve a paycheck. The OP's company could spend an extra 100 bucks per interview and have way higher odds of a good impression from the interviewee. It's like tipping really well when you order your first drink and getting good service for the rest of the night, first impressions matter.
The OP's company could spend an extra 100 bucks per interview and have
way higher odds of a good impression from the interviewee
If the startup you're interviewing at needs to make a good impression to be graced by your future employment, then your sense of entitlement is way to large.
I'd rather see them save 12*100 bucks, so they can buy me a decent chair when they hire me.
Meh, if they're already flying me out and putting me up, and skimp on the extra 100 bucks to put me in decent lodging, they're likely to cut corners other places as well.
The issue isn't even the 100 bucks, it's the fact that they're telegraphing that they don't know how important first impressions are, and they'll cheap out on me given the first opportunity.
As far as my sense of entitlement, well, what the market will bear and all that. It's not that I insist on 4-star lodging, it's that the company is sending a message by asking me to do AirBnB or couchsurfing or whatever. If this is a scrappy pre-funding startup with an awesome idea, ok, if I like the idea, I'll play ball. If it's a business that wants to hire me as an employee, that's different.
My salary? No, I don't want the feeling that they're going to knock me down to as low as I'll accept, I've worked hard to develop my skills and I deserve a paycheck. The OP's company could spend an extra 100 bucks per interview and have way higher odds of a good impression from the interviewee. It's like tipping really well when you order your first drink and getting good service for the rest of the night, first impressions matter.