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• Government rates must be requested by all travelers and confirmed at the time the reservations are made and during check-in.
• When making hotel reservations using yourÌýCorporate Travel Card, you must ask the hotel not to charge your card for a one-night deposit, if your travel is scheduled far in the future. Instead of charging the card, ask the hotel to bill the University directly. If a payment is required immediately, prepare a prepayment purchase order for the one-night deposit.
• Guaranteed Hotel Reservations - Hotel industry practice has changed and many hotels are charging credit cards a one-night deposit at the time the reservation is made.

• Since hotels charge for non-cancelled reservations, changes in travel plans must be communicated to the hotel or travel agent, if applicable.
• Cancellation charges willÌýnotÌýbe reimbursed if the traveler has been negligent in canceling reservations.

• SpringHill Suites - (located on Hampton Boulevard) has agreed to offer a lodging rate of $89 per night for Â鶹´«Ã½ guests.
• In addition to the cost of nightly lodging, there will be an additional Guest Amenities Surcharge of $25 per room/day and the appropriate taxes, which is permissible under Commonwealth guidelines. This rate is only available to guests of the University who are not Government employees and have their charges billed directly to a University budget. The Guest Amenities Surcharge is waived for Government employees, but these charges may not be billed to the University.
• University employees are bound by the Commonwealth guidelines but are not required to obtain pre-approval for overnight travel in the United States. University employees are only required to submit a Pre-approval Request in Chrome River to obtain authorization to travel to international destinations. Travel guidelines established by the University departments may require pre-approval for other trips.
• An Expense Report must be submitted in Chrome River with supporting documentation to request reimbursement after the travel has been completed.

• When lodging in dwellings other than hotels or motels, a comparison statement,Ìýincluding authorization by the University President or his designeeÌýmust be submitted with the Expense Report. The comparison statement should show the total cost for using the alternate accommodation, length of contract, the cost of the usual accommodations and the net savings, e.g. Apartments.
• Reimbursement for the use of AirBnB or similar lodging alternatives for official business travel is not permitted.

When two or more people traveling on official state business stay in the same hotel room, the lodging rate applicable for the hotel location plus the cost charged by the hotel for any additional persons in the room will apply. Documentation from the hotel listing additional hotel charges for each additional person, per room, must be provided. This regulation is not intended to discourage agencies from employing cost savings measures such as multiple travelers lodging in the same room. However, do not diminish the overall savings that might otherwise be obtained by concurrently upgrading to luxury or premium accommodations.

If the actual hotel rate exceeds the allowable guidelines, the Budget Unit Director's (BUD) approval of the Expense Report will authorize reimbursement of the excess lodging up to 100% above the guidelines after the trip is completed. The Assistant Vice President for Finance/University Controller will review the excess lodging justification, if the hotel rate is more than 100% above the allowable guidelines.

The traveler is responsible for obtaining the single rate and the costs for additional persons in the room. This documentation must be attached to the Expense Report when submitted. If this amount exceeds the allowable guidelines, justification for the excess lodging rate must be recorded in the Comments section of the Expense Report. Justification for Excess Lodging conference hotel no other hotel rooms available within reasonable distance conference hotel booked Other (provide explanation) When the Expense Report is submitted in Chrome River, it will automatically be routed to the BUD and the Assistant Vice President for Finance/University Controller for excess lodging approval, as required.

• For non-luxury, conference hotels the agency fiscal officer MAY approve lodging rates that are less than the lodging guideline applicable to the travel destination multiplied by the number of official business travelers in the room.
• SeeÌýTwo or More Travelers
• SeeÌýExcess Lodging

• Advance Payments - Advance payments for direct billed hotel/motel expenses are discouraged. Use of the Travel Charge Card is encouraged to secure room confirmations. Actual advance payments using the travel charge card program will not be reimbursed prior to the trip.
• If circumstances make advance payments a necessity, the traveler may request a direct billing from the vendor, and the University may process a payment before the trip to prepay costs for one night of lodging to cover the hotel deposit.

• Direct billing - Direct agency billing of lodging expenses (rates, taxes, and surcharges only) incurred during overnight travel is permitted. Direct bill charges, however, are still considered travel expenditures and are governed by these travel policies and should be included with the estimated costs of the trip, if applicable. A copy of the PreApproval request should be included with the vendor payment for international travel only. Documentation supporting direct bills must include: name of traveler, dates, purpose of travel, and the Pre-Approval request number, if applicable. Direct agency billing must be supported by a purchase order, or may be submitted on an Authorization for Purchase form if paying a government agency or if less than $500. Those employees who do not have the Corporate Travel Card should generally use this process.
• Direct agency billing of meal expenses incurred during overnight travel, including charging meals to direct-billed hotel rooms, is not permitted.