The reason we were told, (30 years ago) that Delta doesn't pay for hotels for new hires was, you don't actually work for Delta until you complete and pass your new hire training checkride. Granted, few flunked out, but there was one guy in my new hire class who went on a bender one Tuesday night, missed class on Weds and was let go.

There was one other guy in my class who after 12 months, flunked his end of probation checkride, but he was already on thin ice and had been warned to get a new attitude twice before, by the ATL CPO. He got into a battle of egos with his check engineer, and lost.