Vendor Travel Reimbursement Policy

When, and only when, travel expenses are to be reimbursed, travel expenses must be submitted as a detailed line item and approved in written estimate, order form, Statement of Work, and/or Purchase Order, Cal Poly shall reimburse vendor for the following expense only:

1. Airfare or Train

   Reimbursement for airfare or train shall be actual. An itemized receipt is required.

   The university will not pay for any seat upgrades, including but not limited to paying additional fees for exit row, premium seats, business class or first class. In the event there are only paid seats available during your check-in, these fees shall remain un-reimbursable since the airline will assign you a seat at the airport.

   If travel will be same day, less than 24 hours with no overnight stay, University Traveler should travel basic economy (or “Group 9” for airfare) where traveler may only carry a personal bag/ backpack.

2. Lodging

   Reimbursement for lodging shall be actual. An itemized receipt is required.

   Cal Poly shall reimburse up to $275/ night before taxes and fees for domestic lodging.

   The International lodging nightly amounts are determined by the US Office of Allowances. For lodging nightly allowance, select the appropriate location and see the Maximum Lodging Rate column. Although the site references the amount as a per diem, this is a not-to-exceed amount. Cal Poly will reimburse the actual expense incurred.

   Lodging is the only expense you may share with another individual traveler. If you share lodging with another traveler, only one traveler can expense the cost of the shared hotel room.

   The cost of shared lodging must follow as such:

   • When sharing a hotel room, it shall not exceed the nightly hotel allowance.
   • When sharing an entire apartment or house (e.g. AirBnB) the entire rental cost, including all fees (service, cleaning, non-taxes, etc.) shall not exceed the nightly hotel allowance multiplied by the number of University Travelers. For further clarity, see the below calculation to determine the reimbursable amount:

   Number of Nights	X	Number of People	X	Nightly Allowance per Person ($)	=	Reimbursable Amount ($)

3. Car Rental

   Reimbursement for car rental shall be actual. An itemized receipt is required. Traveler shall be reimbursed for an intermediate car, equivalent, or below.

4. Gas for Car Rental

   Reimbursement for gas for car rental shall be actual. An itemized receipt is required at $75 or above. Cannot claim a gas expense when mileage is claimed for the same vehicle.

5. Mileage

   The current approved mileage rate can be found at https://afd.calpoly.edu/travel/policy/. Mileage is allowable:

   • for most direct routes,
   • when using a personal car, not for car rental, and
   • when approved by Cal Poly.

   Mileage should be reasonable and selected only after alternative modes of transportation have been considered (air, train, car rental, etc.)

6. Shared Ride Services (Uber/ Lyft)

   Reimbursement for shared ride services shall be actual. An itemized receipt is required at $75 or above. Premium rides are not allowed (i.e. Uber Black, Black, Black SUV, or the like).

7. Meals and Incidentals

   $59.00 daily per diem, with 75% of per diem for first and last day of travel. Receipts are not required.

8. Parking

   Reimbursement for parking shall be actual. Receipts are not required under $75.

9. Non-Reimbursable Expenses

   Various expenses not addressed elsewhere in this policy are not permitted using University funds. Non‐reimbursable expenditures can be characterized as those with a personal purpose and will not be reimbursed by the University. Per California Government Code § 8314 (b)(1), “’Personal purpose’ means those activities which are for personal enjoyment, private gain or advantage, or an outside endeavor not related to state business.”

   The following non‐reimbursable expenditures are only meant to provide examples of expenses that will not be reimbursed by the University. Such expenses include but are not limited to personal domestic ATM/credit card fees; fines/citations; clothing and accessories; frequent traveler program participation and points; account fees or deposits for FastTrack (or equivalent) that are not related to individual toll charges; club membership fees; luggage (lost luggage may be covered, see Personal Property or Baggage Loss); personal entertainment; personal care; and dependent/pet care.

   Any exceptions to the above must be approved in writing by the department’s Assoc. VP or Dean and must be submitted with the travel claim or expense report.

To get reimbursed, vendor must use the Cal Poly Vendor Travel Expense Form to claim their travel expenses and submit with invoice and appropriate receipts. Invoice must clearly line item travel expense total from the other fees. It should reference the attached form(s) and receipts. Please use one form per person. Travel invoice and form(s) must be submitted no more than 60 days from the end date of travel. If multiple trips, then vendor should submit after each trip, unless alternative timing is agreed to by both parties, but shall never be more than 60 days from the end date of last trip.

Cal Poly only reimburses travel to the same entity being paid for the good and/or services.