Reimbursements: Travel Arrangements

Travelers are expected to use the most economical mode of travel that is suited to the itinerary and the purpose of the trip.

The University offers a number of options for employees, faculty, staff, and students to minimize personal use of funds for travel expenses. For additional information see the Paying for Travel guide.

Option	How It Works	Faculty & Staff	Students	Non-Employees
Direct Billing	Use Deprez or Town & Country Travel to have airfare charged to the University’s Corporate card • Employees create a Workday Spend Authorization (SPA#) • Students/Non-Employees use the F2 Form
Group Travel Card	Covers all approved travel expenses for the group traveling with the cardholder • Hotel/lodging • Transportation To apply, contact Nathan Hodge, Pcard Administrator
Pre-Trip Reimbursement	If your Expense Report Approvers agree to reimbursement before the trip starts, then submit a Workday Expense Report to request reimbursement.
Pcard Exception for Travel expenses	To request a one-time exception to use your PCard for Travel expenses, contact the Pcard Administrator
American Express Corporate card	The intent of the UR AMEX Corporate Card is to facilitate business travel for current University employees. The card must be surrendered upon retirement or when no longer in an active position.
Cash Advance	AT LEAST one week prior to the start of travel, submit a Workday Spend Authorization Cash Advance request. Available for International travel only. Not available for Domestic travel

Conference Registration Fees

Conference registration fees are an allowable business expense. The preferred payment method is PCard. However, if the traveler pays the registration fee, they will be reimbursed when proper documentations and a business purpose is provided.

Airfare

Economy, tourist, coach, or standard accommodations for air travel are to be used whenever practicable. When possible, travelers should take advantage of discount rates. If first/business class travel is used instead of a less expensive alternative, additional supporting documentation/explanation must be provided, otherwise the reimbursed amount must be limited to the cost of the less expensive mode of travel. When booking international travel, the use of a US air carrier is preferred.

The University strongly recommends the use of our preferred travel agents to book Government-funded flights to ensure reservations comply with the Fly America Act.

For all other flights, use of the University’s travel agents is strongly recommended due to the benefits for both the traveler and the University.

Group travel services can be obtained through the University’s contracted travel agencies. Substantial discounts can be obtained when group travel is arranged, even if travelers utilize different travel times

Note that faculty/staff traveling abroad with students should not make travel-related bookings or arrangements prior to a program/trip review by the Office for Global Engagement or the Center for Education Abroad.

The University’s contracted travel agents provide the lowest changeable fare that will be charged to the University directly via our AMEX Business Travel Account (BTA), also known in Workday as the Central Travel Card (CTC). Both agents host online booking tools, providing independent searching within their tool on your own, or you can call or email an agent for assistance.

DePrez Travel Bureau, Inc.	Town & Country Travel, Inc.
145 Rue De Ville	732 Pittsford-Victor Rd
Rochester, NY 14618	Pittsford, NY 14534
585-442-8900 option 3	585-381-2850
UofRtravel@depreztravel.com	Classified as Woman-owned business
UofRgroups@depreztravel.com	travelinfo@towncountrytravel.com
www.deprezmeetings.com	www.towncountrytravel.com

Benefits of using our Travel Agencies:

Company paid Air and Rail; the traveler does not have to use their personal credit card.
A full range of bookings and information about carriers, schedules, accommodations, auto rentals, group travel arrangements, etc., that conforms to policy and federal regulations.
Access to discounts and preferential airline rates
Discounted hotel accommodations
Auto rentals utilizing UR’s contracted discounts
Easy access to supporting documentation for past travel as well as a range of reports such as air, car, hotel, and arrival/departure manifests for groups.
Agent assistance for requesting refunds from airline carrier
Agents track credits/vouchers received from airline carriers and can apply to future travel
After-hours services (cancellations, changes) some requests subject to additional service fee. All travel agencies charge a per transaction service fee for ticket issuance.

Air and Rail expenses charged to the BTA/CTC must be in accordance with the University Travel Policy and must meet one of the following criteria:

The Traveler is an Employee (Faculty or Staff): Reservations can be made at any time by submitting a Spend Authorization in Workday. Spend Authorization guide

Once the Workday Spend Authorization is approved, call, or email the travel agent, and provide:

Your approved Workday Spend Authorization number (SPA#, ex: SPA00001234)
Your Employee ID number (6 digits)
and your URID number (8 digits)

The travel agent will email you an itinerary that lists the amount charged to the University’s credit card. Save this document, it is the required backup to clear your airfare advance.

Online Booking Tools

Both agents host online booking tools, providing independent searching within their tool on your own. Employees must register (one-time setup) with Concur or ETTA/Deem and complete their profile information before a reservation can be made.

Online Booking Tool registration guide – how to register and complete your profile

Online Booking Tool reference guide – how to make reservations

The credit card charges will load to your Workday account within days of the reservation being booked in My Expense Transactions. Per the IRS, this is considered an advance to the employee traveler and must be accounted for (reconciled) within 60 days of returning from the trip to avoid being included in the employee’s taxable wages. See Central Travel Card transactions guide for information on steps to accomplish reconciliation.

The traveler is a Student (includes Grad Students): Reservations can be made at any time by submitting an approved F2 Airfare Request Form to the travel agent.

Call or email the Travel Agent to make the reservation
Email the approved F2 Airfare Request Form to the Travel Agent.

The traveler is a Non-Employee (visitor, prospect, recruit, or other business guest): A University employee must make reservations. Reservations can be made at any time by submitting an approved F2 Airfare Request Form to the travel agent.

Call or email the Travel Agent to make the reservation
Email the approved F2 Airfare Request Form to the Travel Agent.

Fly America Act

The Fly America Act is a federal regulation that requires the use of U.S. carriers for travel sponsored by the federal government. Domestic and International flights supported with government funds must be on U.S. airlines or a foreign air carrier that code shares with a U.S. carrier. Regardless of cost or convenience unless an exception, as listed in the Federal Travel Regulation (FTR) is authorized. Note that the same rules apply to a foreign visitor’s flights that are reimbursed by the University.

Code sharing is an arrangement between two or more airlines to use the same “code” on a flight operated by another airline. A U.S. airline may sell a seat on the plane of a foreign airline carrier. This seat is considered to be the same as a seat on a plane operated by a U.S. carrier. Compliance with the Fly America Act is satisfied when the U.S. air carrier’s designator code is present in the area next to the flight numbers on the airline ticket. For example, Delta has a code share agreement with Air France. If the ticket identifies the flight as DL####, it complies with the Federal Travel Regulation (FTR) even if the name on the plane is Air France. If the ticket identifies the flight as AF###, then the flight does not meet the requirements of the Federal Travel Regulations.

Although some federal agencies may treat travel to Canada and Mexico as domestic travel for award budgetary purposes, this treatment does not exempt travel to these countries from the Fly America Act. One exception to the Fly America Act are the Open Skies Agreements between the U.S. and certain countries (European Union, Australia, Switzerland, and Japan). These agreements allow qualifying travelers, whose travel is supported by federal funds, to travel on European Union, Australian, Swiss, Japanese airlines as well as specific US carriers. More information on Open Skies is available from the Department of State website. Any exceptions require the Fly America Act Exception Form to be completed and attached to the traveler’s Expense Report.

Lodging

The University will reimburse travelers for the cost of single occupancy accommodations and any applicable taxes and fees when traveling on approved University business. Travelers are permitted to use Airbnb for lodging. When using Airbnb, travelers must select an option that is comparable in cost to a reasonably priced hotel room with a single occupancy rate in the same locale. The Travel Agents can reserve hotels when you provide a personal credit card or Amex Corporate Card.

Ground Transportation

When University business travel requires the use of a rental vehicle or ride hailing service, such as Uber or Lyft, the least costly available arrangement which are suited to the trip are to be used, considering the number of passengers, luggage, or equipment, etc.

Vehicle Rental

Whenever practical, vehicles should be rented from agencies with which the University has negotiated corporate rates. The University’s preferred suppliers of car rental services are Enterprise Rent-A-Car and National Car Rental. The University’s discounts will be utilized if making the rental reservation through one of our travel agents. When renting from one of the listed agencies you should secure the vehicle under University’s Corporate Account number with the rental agent, and provide a personal credit card or Amex Corporate Card. Obtain this information in the UR Procurement Buying and Paying Guide, Commodity: Car Rental. If you have any questions, such as the University’s Corporate Acct number with the rental agency, contact the Car Rental Representative listed or the Purchasing Services team at 273-4465 for more information.

Auto Rental Insurance

Domestic Travel: Travelers must decline all additional insurance at the time of rental when travelling domestically on business
International Travel: Insurance laws vary outside the US. Because of this, the University recommends purchasing the liability and physical damage offered by the rental car agencies while traveling on international business. This does not apply to students traveling abroad unless they are traveling on business, and it has been approved.

For more information regarding the University’s insurances please contact the University’s Office of Counsel/Risk Management Senior Insurance Administrator at 585-758-7606.

Mileage

Employees may request reimbursement for mileage to/from the airport for travel that requires an overnight stay based on when and where the employee’s travel begins and ends.

Per Diem

In lieu of substantiating certain expenses with receipts and supporting documentation, federal per diem rates may be utilized when submitting for reimbursement of these expenses:

Meals and incidental expenses for individual travelers when overnight stay/travel is involved for domestic and international travel
- Includes meals and tips
- Does not include any expense where more than one person’s meal is being reimbursed
Lodging for international travel only

If a per diem is to be claimed, the traveler must select per diems for the duration of the trip (i.e., cannot alternate between per diem and actual receipts for the same day).

Miscellaneous Travel Expenses

In the course of travel, a traveler may incur additional expenses allowable as business expenses, when accompanied by supporting business explanation. These include:

Currency conversion, ATM, and foreign exchange transaction fees
Baggage handling and storage expenses
Excess baggage fee due to the size, weight, or number of bags
Reasonable and usual gratuities to porters, bellhops, and other service personnel
Vaccinations when traveling abroad on University business
Airport/Hotel parking fees
Toll fees