The University’s existing policy on payments/reimbursements for travel cancellations remains in effect, with one policy exception noted below due to the unusual circumstances of COVID-19.
Per existing policy, travelers who have purchased tickets or incurred expenses for travel events which are subsequently canceled are encouraged to rebook unused airfare and cancel lodging reservations and conference bookings, whenever possible. Credits from canceled flights booked through TravelND (Anthony Travel or the Concur Booking Tool) will be tracked by the University.
If an individual paid for a flight personally that was subsequently canceled due to COVID-19, reimbursement can be requested even though the flight was not taken. This policy departure is allowed for COVID-19 related cancellations with the understanding that the airline ticket will be reused for University purposes in the future. The employee and/or their department will be responsible for keeping track of the unused flight ticket and ensuring it is used at a later point in time for University purposes.
To request reimbursement for canceled travel, the traveler will file an expense report and document that the flight/conference/trip was canceled due to COVID-19 and therefore the ticket could not be used. Please fully document the issue and utilize the activity code 11019 “COVID-19 Related Costs”, which the University has established for tracking purposes.
Once the ticket credit is finally used, the employee will include the previous reimbursement when documenting the “full trip” on the future trip expense report. Any change fees associated with rebooked flights will be reimbursed, regardless of booking method.
Any remaining out of pocket expenses incurred for travel cancellations will be reimbursed at the discretion of the department. Please be sure to use activity code 11019 “COVID-19 Related Costs”, when applicable.
Note that refunds received by a traveler (in the form of credits issued or cash reimbursements) for other University prepaid travel items (e.g., conference fees), whether paid by the University directly to the vendor or via reimbursement to the employee, are to be repaid to the University when received by the traveler. If this step is not followed, the budget unit may incur double costs and the traveler receives double reimbursement.
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