>>For comparison, what do I get if I travel overseas, arrange and pay for my own hotel and claim it back later, I bring back any reciept I have for legitimate expenses (meals and transport) and get reimbursed. No profit made.<<
With respect - and I obviously don't know your own job - cabin crew and pilots' allowances are a bit different to most employments' reimbursements.
If one is to spend a whole career basically living away from home when working, it only seems reasonable to me that the employer should not only pay for your hotel etc but also something towards leisure activities.
At home you can enjoy life at very little cost - as well as doing all the myriad things that are necessary such as decorating the house, cutting the grass etc. Being stuck in a hotel room - whatever the standard - would be a waste of a life if you didn't get out of it. And "getting out of it" is pretty expensive when you are away from home.
IMO over the years the allowance system has provided a quick and dirty way of giving crew sufficient "extra" to be able to actually do the things that most people take for granted.
I think you have a very twisted view as there are plenty of "Joe public" out there who find it hard to swallow that crew get to fly around the world, stay in luxury hotels, eat for free while on duty, get enormously discounted staff travel when they are off duty and then expect everyone to feel sorry for them when they have have to bear their share of the savings the company has to make if it is to remain solvent.
Sorry for the cliche but most people have to scrimp and save all year to do the things that crew seem to take for granted...