It is always a struggle to get a workout in while traveling especially when you want TR’s AI system to know what you did.
I use PF for weights and when I travel. Today I tried connecting the TR app on my phone with one of the Matrix spin bikes. I’ve read this is possible and can confirm. On the bike, the settings menu has an option to connect the bike to your phone. It isn’t erg but it is nice to have power and HR (bring your strap) for your workout.
I’ve been a little under the weather so that might have been it but the power seemed a bit tough.
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I wouldn’t trust the power on a commercial gym spin bike to be close something like power meter pedals or a wahoo kickr.
I don’t have experience with those bikes so that’s just my personal feeling.
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This situation is a great argument for training with RPE which someone in another thread just suggested to me.
My previous Peloton bike (before I sold that ridiculous thing some years ago) showed 70-80W higher than reality!!! I was just getting into cycling and here I was thinking I just rolled up with an FTP of 330. Learned a hard lesson when the KICKR bike arrived 
But definitely be wary of commercial bike offerings and their accuracy!
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There’s been a guy posting his monster numbers on zwift using a peleton bike, and so many people are giving him crap for it.
I hate inflated numbers, and try and do all I can to avoid them lol.
Used to travel a ton. My solution RPE. I’d all out effort, sweet spot or ride endurance/recovery zone. The bikes vary too much bike to bike.
This is where power pedals can come into their own. Many gyms (that I have experienced) are happy for you to swap the pedals out on their bikes as long as you speak to them first to explain
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I used to use a Keiser spin bike with my garmin pedals on it. The pedals read around 200w and the bike close to 300w. Not every bike was so far off but they were all of enough that I wouldn’t even consider using the power data from the spin bike.
I usually find the temperature/ventilation in gyms is often not really appropriate either, so the RPE for a given power is higher than normal anyway, even if it was accurate.
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Yeah I had the same issue. I was failing sweet spot workouts because heart rate was getting so high. I started travelling with a small lasko fan s well as my pedals.
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I’ve done this in the past but was looking for something easier.
My experiences match your feelings about this…
In my experience, the power readings on commercial spin bikes at gyms are generally WAY off (easily 20% or more in either direction). I have found that to be the case for both Keiser and Matrix bikes. Not sure if this is due to them using “virtual power” instead of an actual physical power meter, due to lack of calibration, or both factors.
I can understand that - having to carry around (expensive) power pedals and tools, and having to negotiate with gym staff is a faff. Most gym bikes though are really erratic with their power reporting, and my experience is that there isn’t much consistency between bikes of the same type, even in the same gym, so you might have to rely on RPE a lot more.
