Travel for two conferences

[d...@umn.edu]

Has anyone had a person travel to one city to two conferences but there is one day in between the conferences.  Since it would probably cost more to return home at the end of the first conference only to fly out the next day to attend the second conference, can we pay for the extra day of hotel?  If so, what would be the best way to document?  Can this extra day also be charged to a grant since the individual is traveling two both conferences to present research data from the grant?

[Andrew Carlson]

Your rationale is sound regarding travel where there is a day or two between direct business purposes. Document through airfare comparisons that traveling back and forth from the traveler's home location and the business trip destinations would exceed the cost of merely staying in the area and incurring an additional night of lodging. 

[d...@umn.edu]

When should one do the airfare comparisons?

[Andrew Carlson]

Good question! The comparisons should be completed at the time of purchasing the airfare. However, comparisons can be completed after the travel has occurred. I have my personal disagreements with this practice, but I did get confirmation about doing after-travel comparisons from the Controller's Help Desk. Document reasons for completing an after-travel comparison and make sure care is taken to match up the comparison with parameters similar to what the traveler experienced.