Emory Travel Policy and Service Provider Briefing Summary
Emory University underwent a comprehensive review of its travel policies and service providers, identifying areas for improvement. The major changes included policy consolidation to reduce confusion, emphasizing duty of care obligations, and enhancing fiscal accountability. The review highlighted the need for aligning policies with key tenets and streamlining processes for better traveler support. Emory is actively working on addressing gaps in the travel program to ensure compliance and a seamless travel experience.
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Travel Policy and Travel Service Provider Briefing November 16, 2018
Content Background pg 2 - 3 Policy Changes . pg 4 - 8 Policy Exceptions pg 9 Side-by-Side Changes Summary ..pg 10 11 Travel Service Provider Gap Analysis pg 13 - 14 Timeline pg 15 1
Travel Policy Review BPI led a review of existing travel polices and made recommendations to improve the policies; this was done in collaboration with Emory stakeholders. Travel Program Review Procurement, collaborating with Emory stakeholders, reviewed the current travel service provider s capabilities and identified gaps. Procurement is leading the go to market effort to address these gaps. 2
Travel Policy Findings (2013 version) There is significant confusion about the travel policies. Many policies did not relate to any of the three primary travel policy tenets. Duty of Care Compliance with Federal Rules, Regulations and Grant requirements Fiscal accountability There were certain policies in place that didn t relate to the three tenets and made sense to change to improve the travel experience. 3
Travel Policy Review: Summary of Changes
Policy Changes: Policy Consolidation Over time, eight separate travel policies were created with additional policies layered on at a business unit level; this caused a great deal of confusion. The policy has now been consolidated and simplified into one Travel & Expense policy. Language has been added to the policy which does not allow other policies to supersede the current policy. 5
Policy Changes: Duty of Care Lodging booked outside of the travel service provider is not automatically loaded into ISOS travel information. When booked outside of the provider, we recommend adding lodging data to your ISOS record so that Emory will have the ability to locate and take action to support travelers. If staying at a conference hotel, the traveler should book the pre- negotiated conference rate (if competitive), or if sold out at that rate, the next lowest available rate. Currently, the policy does not expressly provide an option to deny travel when required by Duty of Care obligations. required. A statement was added to allow travel requests to be denied when 6
Policy Changes: Fiscal Accountability Currently, direct billing is used to charge back departments for airfare. This practice carries significant risk of fraud as these charges are not pre- approved. Direct bill through the Travel Service provider will be phased out when there is a workable option AND the a new online travel booking tool is implemented. For the future roll out, travelers may add Corporate Card information to profiles for easy booking. Limits can be raised to accommodate any spending levels required. Use of personal credit cards will also continue to be an option. 7
Policy Changes: Common Sense Comfort Class permitted on flights longer than 4 hours (previously only on 6 + hours). Per diem allowed on domestic trips 6 nights or greater (per diem was previously only allowed for international travel). Allowable lodging charges may now include late check-out, early check-in, half-day rooms, and access to lounges or day rooms when trips involve limited airport access, 4hr+ layovers, or 6hr+ flights (previously not permitted). Alcohol may be expensed on grants, if allowable by the grant (previously not permitted). 8
Policy Exceptions Exceptions to the policy must be approved in advance by sending the exception request with business/medical reason to travel@emory.edu. The Strategic Procurement Services AVP or assigned designee is responsible for evaluating requests on a case by case basis for granting a one-time exception. (non-approved Emory vendor, flight change fees, seating upgrade, etc.) Request for ongoing exceptions should be submitted directly to the AVP and will require approval from the CFO. 9
Policy Summary 10 Full Travel Policy: https://emory.ellucid.com/documents/view/19638
Travel Service Provider: Current gaps
Lack of Transparency on Airfare Pricing Historically, all fares were presented to travelers. Travelers often selected fares unaware of the implications. Consolidator fares left travelers stranded in remote airports when flights were canceled, with little to no recourse. Some fare classes left travelers without seat assignments and were forced to check luggage due to last minute boarding. Travelers were frequently bumped from flights booked at lower price tiers with few/limited options provided by airlines for rebooking. Proposed booking tool will have ability to see hidden fares. 13
Additional Gaps Limited flexibility on blended travel (e.g., traveling with family). Affinity and rewards program benefits not seamless to travelers. Limited ability to provide competitive lodging rates booked together with airfare . Limited options to provide adequate direct bill safeguards. Limited options for sponsoring travel for non-Emory personnel. These issues will all be addressed with the new proposed technology. 14
Timing August Campus Wide Communication September Town Hall October Town Hall and Webinar November Town Hall and Department Meetings December Town Hall and Department Meetings January Town Hall and Department Meetings January 1, 2019 TBD* Policy changes go into effect Direct Billing Changes TBD* Online booking tool changes *Changes to service model are still pending we will be announcing changes as details are finalized. 15
THANK YOU Questions may be directed to travel@emory.edu
