travelnews: TRAVELTIPS - Conference and Meeting Reimbursements

[BAO news for travel administrators]

Here are some tips for processing your Conference and Meeting travel reimbursements:

Conference Registration - If your traveler personally pays for their registration, it can be reimbursed only after travel has been completed.  Account codes for registration and membership are entered into the Duckweb form:


*         28601 for Conference Registration

*         28901 for Membership Fees
Recreational and social activities are generally not reimbursed unless there is a specific business purpose tie-in.

Conference/Meeting Agenda - Please print a copy of the meeting agenda, a conference "Agenda at a Glance", or the traveler's personal schedule to satisfy IRS requirements for documentation.  Many conferences offer an online "personal scheduler" that allows a conference attendee select the sessions they will attend.  This information pulls into a printed schedule to help the attendee know where to be and when.

Please do not send the conference book!  Everyone wants the travel office to go faster to process payments.  Sending us your book to sift through to find and print the agenda can easily slow us down by 2-3 reimbursement reviews.  Not to mention it is back breaking for campus mail personnel!


Hotel - Most conference documentation includes a list of hotels with negotiated pricing.  Check your traveler's receipt to be sure the hotel is on the list and that the price matches.  If the conference hotel was sold out, we can reimburse for an alternate hotel, up to the conference price.  The receipt should show paid in full.



Book early to assure you are confirmed at the conference (reimburse-able) rate.  You can always cancel or change your room reservation if travel plans change.  We recommend booking through the conference planners for your hotel space.  Conference organizers make their best guess as to how many rooms they need well in advance of the conference.  It is important that they sell their room block in order to negotiate for the lowest rates for the following year.  Also, meeting room space is also negotiated based on the number of sleeping room nights purchased.  Using the room block helps keep conference costs lower.  Often conferences use a reservation service that may offer more flexibility to change or cancel your reservation versus reservations made directly through the hotel or an online booking site.


Filling in the Duckweb form:  Check the Conference Hotel box to allow for an amount that is over High/Low City per diem.  Be sure to include the tax in your nightly total.

Meals - Check the conference/meeting agenda for hosted meals and banquets.  These cannot be claimed if they are offered by the conference.  If there is an additional charge for a meal, it is reported under Other Expenses on the duckweb form and should be removed from the meal per diem.

UO travel policy related to Conferences/Meetings:  http://ba.uoregon.edu/content/travel-reimbursement#-span-conferences-meetings-span-


Laurie Jacoby, CTC
Travel Manager
Business Affairs Office
University of Oregon
lajacoby at uoregon.edu<mailto:lajacoby at uoregon.edu>
541-346-3158 - Voice
541-346-8078 - Travel Fax

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