17.11.6 Commercial Lodging

When out of town business travel requires an overnight stay, the preferred lodging is with personal or College friends and Christian families in the travel area. This affords an opportunity to broaden the College’s public relations and allows for personal communication with RC’s constituency. When personal lodging is unavailable or impractical, commercial lodging will be reimbursed if pre-approved by the supervising administrator. Selected lodging and meals must follow the guidelines set below for either an advance or reimbursement. Unreasonable personal luxury is unacceptable and unnecessary expenditures will not be reimbursed.

All cash advances (i.e. per diem) must be accounted for by providing expense receipts with the exception of incidentals less than $5.00 per day.

All cash advances must be approved by the supervisor and submitted for payment one week prior to travel via check request. Check request is to include the per diem allowance printed from the website (http://www.gsa.gov/portal/content/104877), number of days (full and partial), and location of the conference (city and state).

Any Cash advance funds that are not spent or that do not have the proper receipt (with the exception of $5.00/day incidentals) must be returned to the finance office within 3 business days following travel. If receipts are not provided within 2 weeks after travel, a final accounting will be prepared and any overage may be deducted from the next payroll check.

The following business expenses are eligible:

• Travel Expense
• Automobile Mileage (based on MapQuest document, less normal commute) NOTE: if round trip mileage is over 150 miles, a rental vehicle must be requested.
• Parking/Tolls
• Lodging
• Tips
• Business Meals (in accordance with our per diem rates; room service excluded)

Exception: Those employees who have credit cards issued to them are not eligible for a cash advance; these individuals must use their credit card for business travel/incidentals and submit receipts for each charge. All other requirements listed above apply.