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Only registration fees and lodging may be direct billed to the university. The University will not prepay lodging. Meal expenses, phone calls or any other expenses incurred during overnight travel cannot be direct billed to the University.

• Taxes and surcharges paid by the traveler for lodging.
• Business Telephone Calls, Telegram and Facsimiles made for official business purposes and paid for by the traveler may be claimed on the travel reimbursement voucher. A full explanation must be stated on the reimbursement voucher accompanied by supporting documentation. Individuals using personally owned cellular telephones may be reimbursed for business calls when shown to be cost beneficial or out of necessity. In this case, an itemized cell phone statement is required.  In the event that free minutes are used for business calls, reimbursement is not permitted.
• Tolls and parking fees are reimbursable when paid for by the traveler in the course of conducting official state business.  A receipt is required for reimbursement claims where each individual claim is greater than $10.  Reimbursement should be claimed as an “other expense” on the travel reimbursement voucher.

• Lost or stolen articles
• Alcoholic beverages
• Damage to personal vehicles, clothing, or other items
• Services to gain entry to a locked vehicle
• Movies charged to hotel bills
• All expenses related to the personal negligence of the traveler, such as fines
• Entertainment expenses
• Towing charges
• Expenses for children, spouses, and companions while on travel status

In addition to all other policies set forth in this travel policy, the following policies must be adhered to when using the Internet to purchase travel services.

Usage of the Internet to procure travel services is allowed. Use prudent judgment when choosing an Internet travel service site. The traveler must comply with procurement guidelines.

Suggested sites (no endorsement or affiliation is intended or implied):

• Priceline.com
• Expedia.com
• Orbitz.com
• Travelocity.com

When paying for services via the Internet, the following methods may be used:

• Travel Charge Card — may be used for all types of purchases (i.e., hotel, transportation tickets)
• Small Purchase Charge Card — may only be used for transportation tickets (i.e., rail, air, bus)
• Personal Credit Card

In addition to other documents required by policy, the following supplementary documents must be submitted with the Travel Expense Reimbursement Voucher when procuring services via the Internet:

• Hardcopy final page from Internet site showing total cost and confirmed service. Explain fully any unusual charges.
• Airline confirmation (either ticket stub or boarding pass) of the type of ticket purchased (e.g. coach, business).
• Boarding passes are required for all air and rail reimbursements made directly to employees.

When two or more people are traveling on official state business and staying in the same hotel room, the allowable lodging rate will be the lodging rate allowed in the area they are staying, plus the cost charged by the hotel for any additional persons in the room. Documentation from the hotel listing additional hotel charges for each additional person, per room must be provided.

Dividing the hotel rate by the number of persons staying in the room for purposes of justifying rates that exceed the lodging guidelines is not permitted. This regulation is not intended to discourage travelers from employing cost savings measures such as multiple travelers staying in the same room. However, do not diminish the overall savings that might otherwise be obtained by concurrently upgrading to luxury or premium accommodations.

Multiple Travelers

and

selecting a location for Conferences, Conventions, Seminars, and Training Workshops

Three or more employees:

To ensure all travel meets the test of necessity, travel involving more than three employees to a single travel destination must be approved in advance.

Where it is determined that a seminar, workshop or training program is essential to staff development for five or more employees, the agency shall investigate the option of bringing the trainer on-site instead of authorizing employees to travel to an off-site location. The agency shall document the comparative cost of an on-site session and retain such documentation on file with the agency travel records.

The agency must also explore the practicality of fulfilling the desired staff development goals through use of studio and video teleconferencing where these options may be more cost-effective.

In selecting locations for meetings, agencies shall give first preference to State-owned facilities. For meetings of policy, advisory, or supervisory boards, the selection of a meeting site should reflect the policy that a public body conducting public business shall take care that public funds are expended prudently.

The state's Department of General Services, Office of Fleet Management Services (OFMS), maintains a contract with Enterprise Leasing to provide vehicles for short term travel by state employees. See the Car Rentals section on the Transportation webpage for more details.

In planning for an agency-sponsored conference, the Lodging and M&IE guidelines in these regulations should be used as a measure of reasonableness. Agencies should be prudent in selecting the most cost beneficial option available to the Commonwealth. Agencies should follow the Department of General Services, Division of Purchases and Supply procurement guidelines. Documentation supporting the procurement must justify any costs in excess of the guidelines based on the overall conference procurement costs (i.e., free room space or other no- or low-cost amenities needed for meetings).

For reimbursements where these guidelines are used, “Cost based on Procurement Guidelines” must be clearly stated on the reimbursement voucher.