Travel tip: Lodging

The Traveling on University Business policy addresses many aspects of travel as well as defining what is considered allowable expense. When arranging lodging, please be aware of the following:

• When submitting lodging expenses in Chrome River, always complete the “Allowable Total” field during the itemization so the correct policy rules are applied.
• A full itemized receipt/invoice from the hotel is always required for supporting lodging expenses regardless of how the reservation was made. Reservation confirmation notifications or cost estimates/summaries from third-party travel sites do not qualify as itemized receipts/invoices as they do not outline all of the charges.
• In most travel scenarios, the allowable expense is defined as 150% of the lodging per diem for the nightly rate (before taxes):
• Domestic per diem: US General Services Administration (GSA)
• Alaska/Hawaii per diem: US Department of Defense
• International per diem: US Department of State
• When traveling for a conference, the standard per diem limit may be exceeded when there is a documented conference negotiated rate. Be sure to check the Pre-Negotiated Conference Rate checkbox on the Chrome River lodging itemization. However, if the conference rooms are fully booked and/or unavailable, the standard 150% per diem rule applies even if the reservation is at the conference hotel.
• In the event that it is not possible to find a hotel within the per diem limit for the destination within a reasonable proximity, it is possible to request an exception to the per diem limit prior to making the reservation. Travelers can submit a Request for Lodging Exception to their supervisor outlining the circumstances and why the higher rate should be viewed as acceptable. If approved, the reservation can be made and the approved exception form attached to the Chrome River expense report along with the itemized receipt/invoice from the hotel.
• Use of vacation rental sites is permissible (but not necessarily preferred) if there is a cost savings over traditional lodging and other related travel expenses (e.g., car rental, ground transportation). However, the use of vacation rentals requires pre-approval via a Request for Lodging Exception. The 150% per diem rule still applies to the nightly cost. Additionally, any extra fees should be reviewed beforehand to ensure all of the extra costs are allowable within University policy.