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.

New system wide travel agency

The University has entered into a new contract with Collegiate Travel Partners (CTP) for travel agency services. A link to CTP’s online booking tool, Lightning, is available at MyU > Key Links > U Travel/Chrome River. CTP’s agents, as well as the Lightning system, are prepared to assist with making policy compliant travel arrangements. Service fees for working with the Travel Agency are an allowable travel expense.

University travel policies

Many ASR staff have recently traveled or will be in the near future, please take a few moments to review tips, policies and resources in the Travel Policy Refresher posted to the News & Notes blog. In order to receive reimbursement for travel, receipts are required and booking policies must be followed -- for example, if you use Kayak or Orbitz you need to have itemized receipts that keep hotel and airfare separated.

Travel Policy refresher

With many ASR staff taking trips or attending conferences in the near future, Jeremy Schwanz and Debbie Henderson kindly compiled important information for University business travelers. This information includes a recap of recent changes to the University’s travel policy, helpful resources, and tips for reimbursements. The information is useful for seasoned, as well as first-time travelers.

Travel Policy Overview (view Google doc version)

The Traveling on University Business policy was updated in January 2015.  Some of the notable changes include:

• The deadline for requesting travel reimbursements has been extended to 60 days following the conclusion of travel.
• The language governing the handling of reimbursement requests has been updated to require denial of any request that does not meet documentation standards and/or is submitted after 60 days.  In the rare case of an exception to this rule, some reimbursements may become taxable to the individual under IRS guidelines.
• The definition of what qualifies as business mileage has been clarified.
• Routine updates of what travel expenses are considered reimbursable.

The University’s travel policies and resources are quite extensive, so it can be easy to overlook key components especially if you do not travel frequently or are a first-time traveler.  Some of the most common resources and policy components to be missed are:

• Resource: The University maintains many contracts for travel related services (e.g. airfare, car rentals, lodging, etc.).  For information on current contracts and how to use them, visit the Travel Services and UWide Contracts websites.  [Bonus Tip: Some of these contracts can be used for personal travel!]
• Policy: Lodging expenses not supported by a pre-negotiated conference rate are subject to per diem rules based on the travel destination.  If you are unable to make a reservation within the posted per diem, you are required to obtain an approved Request for Lodging Exception prior to travel, otherwise the reimbursement is limited to the maximum allowable per diem.
• Policy: If you travel by airline more than twice a year and earn frequent flier miles from flights paid for with University funds (including reimbursements), you are required by Minnesota State Statute 15.435 to track the accrual of miles from University business and only use those miles for future business travel.

Once travel is complete, we all want to be reimbursed for our out of pocket expenses.  Here are a few tips to help complete the Employee Expense Worksheet and get your reimbursement sooner rather than later:

• Always start with the most current version of the Employee Expense Worksheet available in the UWide Forms Library as Finance Form UM 1612.  This will ensure you have the most current mileage rates and are supplying the information required by current policy.
• Be sure to provide a detailed justification that meets the standards outlined in the Documenting Financial/Accounting Transactions policy.  A useful Justification Standards Job Aid was created to provide guidance on what information is required for each transaction type.
• Submit an itemized receipt (or invoice) for each expense over $25 (excluding meals covered by per diems).  General charge card transaction slips that only provide the total charge do not qualify as supporting documentation and will cause the request to be denied.
• Meal per diems have been setup for many of the common destinations to which we travel.  However, there are many examples where the exact city isn’t listed (e.g. the suburb of that major metropolitan center).  In these cases, look up the per diems based on the county before using the standard rate.  A city-county search is available on the National Association of Counties website to help identify the appropriate county.
• Be aware of what is and is not considered reimbursable.  Reimbursement requests that include many non-reimbursable expenses take longer to process because of follow-up questions and document corrections.
• Always remember to sign your Employee Expense Worksheet and to get your supervisor’s signature.  Reimbursement requests are considered incomplete until these required signatures are obtained.

Anyone who travels on behalf of the University is expected to be familiar with all current travel policies.  Questions regarding these policies can be directed to your unit preparer.