ALPHA XI DELTA TRAVEL POLICIES JUNE 2008

Transcription

1 ALPHA XI DELTA TRAVEL POLICIES JUNE 2008 The purpose of these policies is to define Alpha Xi Delta s position on air travel, car rental, lodging, meals, and related issues as it applies to traveling on any Alpha Xi Delta business. This policy applies to all volunteers and staff of Alpha Xi Delta. It is the desire of Alpha Xi Delta that all staff and volunteers who must travel on Fraternity business do so in a safe and comfortable manner. At the same time, it is the responsibility of each traveler to control and minimize the cost of travel-related expenses. It is expected that anyone planning to travel on Alpha Xi Delta business fully familiarize themselves with these policies to ensure they are fully aware of the responsibilities and requirements for travel. You as the traveler will be most aware of which sections apply specifically to your situation. If you have questions or concerns about the anticipated expenses for the travel, do not hesitate to contact the person directing your travel who in most cases will be able to answer your questions. Certainly, if your contact is unable to provide an answer in regards to the travel policies, or is unavailable, please feel free to contact the Accounts Payable Clerk, the Director of Finance & Operations, or the Assistant Director of Alumnae Development at Fraternity Headquarters. We encourage travelers to ask questions before commencing a trip to ensure they have a complete understanding of any limitations imposed. Reimbursement for expenses Prepare your expense voucher within 2 weeks of your visit. Attach all receipts to the voucher. On the receipt, please note the date, amount, and a brief yet thorough expense description. Keep a copy of the voucher and of your receipts for your records. Expenses may not be reimbursed without a receipt. Expenses reported 60 days or longer after the expenses were incurred may not be reimbursed. If there are questions regarding any of the documentation, the purpose, or the approval of the expenses that would delay the issuance of payment, you will be contacted within two weeks of receipt of the request for reimbursement. If you have expenses prior to a meeting/visit and prepare your voucher in advance of the meeting/visit for expenses such as airfare, we will hold the voucher and reimburse for the expenses immediately following the meeting/visit date. Receipts Receipts must include the following information: name of vendor from whom services were obtained, date, an itemization of charges, a zero balance due or marked paid in full, and must not be altered in any way. If you lose your receipt, you should take the following steps to procure a receipt. Attempt to obtain a duplicate receipt by contacting the vendor. If that fails, write a memo explaining under what circumstances the receipt was lost. Reconstruct the information on the receipt including vendor s name, date of expense, itemization of expenses, and proof of payment. Meals The Fraternity does not reimburse for meals based on a per diem policy. However, the per-day allowance for meals is up to $50 for a full day of business (please do include the receipt for each meal though). If you are not traveling for a full day on Fraternity business, then the allowance per meal is $10 for breakfast, $15 for lunch, and $25 for dinner, including the gratuities. A 15-20% gratuity is acceptable depending on the service. Remember to tip on the meal total and not the taxed total. If you are staying at a hotel that includes breakfast in the room rate, like the Residence Inn, then the Fraternity will not reimburse for additional breakfast items or specialty coffees for that day s breakfast. If your meal expenses exceed the meal allowance and you are using your Alpha Xi Delta credit card, you are expected to either charge only the amount allowed under the meal policy to the credit card or charge the full amount and then attach with your receipts a check to cover the overages. For purchases not made with an Alpha Xi Delta credit card and a voucher for reimbursement is submitted, you should only voucher up to the amount of the allowance. Note: In either 1

2 situation Alpha Xi Delta will not pay for amounts that exceed the meal allowance. These overages will be your responsibility. Documentation for each meal should include not only a credit card receipt, but also the itemized meal receipt, and the number of people that are included in the meal. If the itemized receipt is not available, please note on the credit receipt what items were purchased. Alpha Xi Delta Fraternity does not pay for alcohol. If you choose to have a drink with your meal, you must pay for the alcohol charges. Hotel Hotel rooms for volunteers will be arranged for meetings held by Alpha Xi Delta Fraternity by the Fraternity Headquarters staff. We typically book double rooms at each event. If you choose a single room, then you must reimburse the Fraternity for one-half of the double room rate. If you are traveling for a function not arranged by Fraternity Headquarters, you should find hotel accommodations that are clean and safe, but rates should be considered at all times. A reasonable rate is $100 per night for 2 double beds. Remember to ask for corporate discounts when booking hotel arrangements. You should also feel free to use online services such as Priceline.com, Orbitz, Travelocity, Hotwire or Hotels.com to locate hotels in your destination city. If you are booking hotel rooms using any of the online service companies, please be sure to find out if the room is refundable if cancelled. We have found that many of these services are now offering nonrefundable rooms and thus if you are unable to make your stay, the room and funds are lost. Be sure to select a room that is able to be cancelled and refunded if needed to avoid the loss of funds. Also when booking hotel rooms using these online companies, find out how to handle cancellations should that become necessary. We have found that you may need to cancel at both the hotel and the online company to receive a refund for cancellation. It seems that canceling with one of the online booking services or the hotel only is not sufficient to truly cancel the reservation. If you prefer to use the Fraternity s travel agency, please contact Duffy Teague at or duffyteague@comcast.net. When/if a friend, relative, another associate, local alumna, or a business acquaintance provides free lodging to you, a gift of appreciation for the host or hostess is appropriate. Expenditures for a gift of appreciation for your host will be reimbursed up to $50. The receipt for the gift or meal, along with an explanation for the charge, must accompany your expense report for reimbursement. This expense is in lieu of a lodging charge. Rental Cars Plan your trip in advance in order to shop around for the best rates. We expect you to secure the lowest rate possible with a reputable company. A reasonable rate for a rental car can be $40 - $45 per day with unlimited miles. We recommend that you rent a compact car unless there are more than 2 traveling. Be sure to check the refueling price that the rental car company chooses and determine the best option for refueling the car. Typically the refueling by the rental car company is more expensive, but it is best to compare to local prices to determine the best option. If you have an Alpha Xi Delta MasterCard for business, use the MasterCard when paying. By using the business MasterCard, in the event of an accident, it is more evident that you are a volunteer or staff member of Alpha Xi Delta on Alpha Xi Delta business and the Master Insurance Program will need to respond to and cover the losses. Remember to ask for corporate rates and discounts when renting a car. Alpha Xi Delta does have a corporate account with Avis and Enterprise. The corporate account number for Avis is B and for Enterprise is NA08M06. These corporate accounts allow volunteers and staff members that are under the age of 25 to rent cars (must be at least 21 to rent with Enterprise) without incurring the typical, and very expensive, under 25 surcharge. If you are over the age of 25 and find a better rate with another carrier or without using the corporate rates with Avis or Enterprise, please use the least expensive agency option. You should also feel free to use online services such as Priceline.com, Orbitz, Travelocity, Hotwire or Priceline.com to locate rental car options. If you are booking a car using any of the online service companies, please be sure to find out if 2

3 the rate is refundable if cancelled. We have found that many of these services are now offering non-refundable options and thus if you are unable to make your reservation, the funds are lost. Travelers for Alpha Xi Delta should deny all of the insurance made available by the rental car company. Fraternity Headquarters can provide you with the non-owned and hired automobile coverage card provided by our carrier through the Master Insurance Program that you can use as proof of coverage. When signing the rental contract, be sure to sign this way: Alpha Xi Delta Fraternity, Inc., by (your name). Ground Transportation When coming to Indianapolis, Fraternity Headquarters usually uses Carey Indiana Limousine Service. At Carey Indiana, a gratuity of 20% is included in the fee. There is no need to tip when using Carey Indiana. If you are using other companies, remember to ask if the gratuity is included in the charge. Rental cars should not be used for ground transportation when a shuttle service is available or when taking a taxi would be less expensive. Many hotels provide free limousine or shuttle service to and from the airport. The traveler should use the least expensive means of ground transportation as long as it does not interfere with the efficient conduct of Fraternity business. Parking The expectation is that you park in long-term economy parking whenever possible. Feel free to pursue the least expensive parking option such as economy, long-term, park-ride-fly companies, and corporate rates. It is our expectation that this should not exceed $20 per day. Airport parking exceeding this amount may not be reimbursed if less expensive alternatives are available. Travel Notification, Schedules and Evaluations In order to meet the needs of our chapters and associations when making a visit, two reports must be completed: Travel Notification Form and Visit Report. Two weeks prior to your visit, a Travel Notification Form needs to be completed and ed to the Associate Director of Member Services (AD) for the territory. The visit will be noted in the Fraternity travel calendar. Once you have completed the visit, a Visit Report needs to be completed and sent to the AD for the territory. The purpose of this report is to inform all parties on the progress and next steps for a chapter or association. Both forms can be found in The Blue Room of Air Travel Plan your trip in advance in order to shop around for the best rates. If you find a good deal on a discount travel site, such as Orbitz or Expedia, attempt first to book that ticket with the airline directly instead of with the discount travel site. In many cases, you can secure the same price with less risk and expense should the ticket need to be cancelled. Class of Service All travelers are expected to book travel in coach class. Lowest Available Airfare All airline tickets must be booked at the lowest fare available and at least 14 days in advance of the scheduled business. A day advance ticket is expected unless it is an emergency visit situation. If the ticket is not purchased with the 14-day advance notice, the volunteer may be asked to pay the difference in price. If you prefer to use a travel agency for booking air travel, please contact Duffy Teague at or duffyteague@comcast.net. When using the travel agency, the charges can be direct billed to the Fraternity s account. 3

4 Frequent Flyer Programs/Airline Membership Programs Fraternity travelers may retain frequent flyer program benefits; however, participation in these programs must not result in any additional cost to the Fraternity. Travelers involved in such programs are required to obtain the lowest available airfare as previously defined. The tracking of frequent flyer programs is the sole responsibility of the traveler. Travelers are encouraged to use frequent flyer awards for purchase of Fraternity travel. However, Alpha Xi Delta allows travelers to use travel vouchers which are awarded in conjunction with a frequent flyer program and travel passes given in exchange for flight delays, cancellations, inconveniences, or promotion of the airlines for personal travel. Alternate Travel Arrangements The Fraternity will pay for 1 booking for air travel and hotels for staff and volunteer travel. If you make any changes to that original booking, any applicable late, change, airfare differences, re-booking fees, or cancellation fees will be the responsibility of the traveler unless the change was necessary for an Alpha Xi Delta business purpose. If additional travel arrangements (air, hotel, car, etc.) are made, over and above what Alpha Xi Delta has approved or arranged in advance, approval for changes must be obtained by the staff member responsible for coordinating the event before Alpha Xi Delta will pay the expenses. If you are desirous of alternate arrangements beyond Alpha Xi Delta s recommendations for personal reasons, then you are responsible for the difference in the cost between the two methods. For example, if the Fraternity arranges a shuttle service for ground transportation, but you decide to rent a car, then you will be responsible for the difference between the shuttle service and the cost of the rental car. Additionally, if changes must be made to travel for any reason after arrangements such as airfare have been booked and paid for, please make every effort to use the cancelled airline ticket as soon as possible. In most cases, you must cancel a ticket by the departure time on the departure date in order to retain any value of the ticket for future use. Additionally, you typically only have one year from the original date of booking to use a cancelled ticket. However, please be fiscally responsible when attempting to reuse a cancelled ticket. If it will cost the Fraternity more money in the long run to use a cancelled ticket than to secure a new booking, do not use the cancelled ticket until the total cost makes it reasonable to do so. You can also choose to purchase a cancelled ticket to use for personal travel. Phone Calls When staying in a hotel, check to see if and local calls are charged to the room. Sometimes you will be assessed an access charge. If necessary, use a pay phone for the and local calls. Personal calls and their access charge are at your own expense. Business phone calls charged to the hotel room must list the place and party called. If not, the charges will not be reimbursed. Cell phone charges will not be reimbursed unless you are using a cell phone issued by the Fraternity or you have the expenses pre-approved by the National Executive Director. Tipping Guidelines A tip of $1 per bag is acceptable for porters and bell staff; more if the bags are very heavy. Drivers: A tip of 10-15% of the fare for taxi and limo drivers; $1-2 for shuttle drivers. Housekeeping: $1-2 per day. If you have something delivered to your room, the appropriate tip is $1 per item. Mileage If using your own car, mileage is reimbursed at the rate of 40 cents per mile. Remember that when you are driving your own car for business, the Master Insurance Program doesn t cover any property losses in the event of an accident. You would need to look to your own policy for property damage coverage. 4

5 If a traveler elects to drive instead of fly, the mileage reimbursement is limited to the lesser of the mileage or airfare and other associated expenses. If you drive, please research and document the least expensive cost of a flight and include that documentation with your voucher for reimbursement of mileage expenses. Refer to MapQuest or similar websites to obtain an estimate of your mileage if you do not track the actual mileage. Parking Tickets Any parking tickets incurred will the sole responsibility of the traveler. Tickets should not be paid for with a Fraternity credit card or vouchered for reimbursement. Other If you are an extensive traveler outside of Alpha Xi Delta Fraternity and receive personal hotel and rental car vouchers, you can use these vouchers for business travel if you choose. For example, if the vouchers are about to expire, but you want to use it, you can use the voucher for Alpha Xi Delta business. However, there is no reimbursement for these vouchers. It may also be advantageous to use these vouchers for unexpected travel that does not receive the 21-day advance discount for air travel, or the weekend rate for rental cars, or the discounted rate for hotels. Alpha Xi Delta Fraternity will reimburse volunteers and staff for the above listed types of business expenses with the appropriate documentation and receipts. You can choose to make a donation to the Alpha Xi Delta Foundation or absorb the costs as a volunteer. To make a contribution to the Foundation for your reimbursable expenses, you prepare an expense voucher and submit it for payment to the Fraternity. At that time, you will also forward a check payable to the Foundation for the expenses on the voucher (or more or less). Upon receipt at Fraternity Headquarters and approval of the voucher, Fraternity Headquarters will issue a check to you within 2 weeks for the amount of the voucher. Medical Charge Medical expenses incurred while away from home on Fraternity business should be submitted to the traveler s personal health insurance provider. Loss of/damage to Personal Property The loss of or damage to personal property of the traveler while away from home on Fraternity business should be reported within 24 hours to the Director of Finance & Operations. Please submit this information with as much detail as possible. The Director of Finance & Operations will report this claim to the insurance company. Non-reimbursable expenses Alcoholic beverages Entertainment (e.g., movies, magazines) Travel insurance while traveling Parking fines or fees for traffic violations Expenses incurred in traveling by an indirect route for personal reasons Expenses submitted without receipts Personal use products 5