The Daily Bulletin Archive

In our interest to remain compliant with the Office of the New York State Comptroller and SUNY’s rules and regulations, Buffalo State College requires the use of lodging per diem rates set by the U.S. General Services Administration when using Method 2 travel.

It is imperative to use lodging that is within the per diem rates, and every effort should be made to stay within them. Hotels will often agree to honor the national per diem rates when individuals call and identify themselves as government employees, even when the hotels do not advertise such a rate on the Internet or elsewhere.

Exceptions to the Lodging Per Diem Policy can arise, however. One exception in which the per diem rates do not apply to campus employees is when the lodging is in the same hotel that hosts the conference or event (no written exception is needed in this case; however, documentation that shows proof is required).

Another exception may exist when the conference or event is not held in a hotel (or the hosting hotel is booked), and no area hotels will honor the lodging per diem rates. If these two situations coincide, please research the rates of at least four area hotels and choose the lowest priced (unless it can be documented that additional costs beyond the hotel rate, such as travel, would cost more in total). Document the hotels you researched and the rates of each, indicate that you identified yourself to the hotels as a government employee requesting a per diem rate, and document any other pertinent information. Submit this documentation along with a written request for an exception to the Lodging Per Diem Policy to your supervisor and the Accounts Payable and Travel Services Office. This request must be approved by a supervisor and Travel Services. Again, the research documentation is crucial in this process, as it must be kept on file for possible audit testing.

If you have any questions concerning this policy or its exceptions, please call the Accounts Payable and Travel Services Office at ext. 4117.