Yes, the company provides a hotel room in CVG between CD flights.
We fly our high speeds in 2 and 3 day cycles, with 2 to 3 days off in between. There is the odd 1 day trip, but they are uncommon. They do mess up the hotel deal however.
On a one day cycle, you report the first night, return the next morning and are released. The company doesn't give you a room in CVG.
On a two day cycle, you report the first night, return the next morning. The company provides you a room in CVG for that day to rest. You report the second night, return the next morning, and are released. The company does not provide a room.
On a three day cycle, you get a company room in CVG on your return from your first and second trips.
You don't get a room the day you commute in to start a cycle, you don't get a room the day you release from a cycle, and (important safety tip) you don't get a room if your trip is cancelled. So if you report in for a trip and you get cancelled, you are on your own until the following night when you report for the next trip in the cycle. Folks say this is uncommon, but I had four trips cancelled last month due to weather.
So depending how your line is written, you can get as many as 10 company provided rooms in CVG (a line with 5 three-day cycles) or as few as none (if all your trips are cancelled). The rest of the time you're on your own to find a room or a barcalounger in the sleep room. I'm still crunching the numbers and seeing if it pays for me to drop my crashpad.
The real reason the CD lines appeal to me as a New Orleans commuter, is that I can travel in on the afternoon of the first day of the cycle, and get home on the 0900 flight when I release. I average 17-18 nights at home a month, and have an additional 4-5 mornings with the family before I leave for a trip.
For your second question, in a nutshell, the commuter policy says that you have to try to get to work (list) on two flights departing at least 1 hour apart, either one of which will get you to CVG on time to check in. If you don't make it, and let the company know, you just lose pay, not your job. There are a bunch of OBTW rules concerning if you get back on to your pairing when you finally get to work, and how much pay you lose, but I haven't had to exercise any of them yet. I only travel on Delta or DCI to get to CVG, so I don't know how it would work on another carrier. Management can go into the travel records for Delta and DCI to confirm you listed and tried to board the flights. I'm trying to reduce the stress in my life, so I might leave a flight earlier than necessary if it means I'm more likely to get to work on the first try, but that's just me.
Good luck.
