Overview
The purpose of the CIRES policy on personal travel is to ensure federally funded travel is (a) compliant with the terms and conditions of the award and (b) consistent with the federal government's travel regulations for federal employees and the university's travel policies.
For travel supported by funds for which personal travel is not permitted by the government or funding entity, such as a contract, no personal component will be permitted.
When traveling for university and CIRES business, it may be allowable to combine business travel with personal travel. The purpose of travel must be to conduct university and CIRES business. The personal aspect of the travel cannot be a more substantial component of the trip than the business aspect. There cannot be any appearance that the reason for the business trip is simply accommodating the related personal travel. Travelers are not guaranteed the option to include personal travel as an employee entitlement; travelers may be prohibited from including personal travel by their supervisor and/or CIRES Director for any reason at any time.
For travel supported by funds for which personal travel is permitted, a CIRES employee may include personal travel as long as he or she can demonstrate that the personal travel does not result in increased costs to the supporting grant, CIRES, state of Colorado, or other funding source. CIRES funds may only be used to support approved costs that directly relate to the business aspects of the travel; the traveler must pay for personal travel costs. The personal travel can include such elements as:
- Extending his/her stay at the travel location for personal reasons.
- Traveling to or from the business travel location via a different route than the most direct one to or from the place of business, and including a stopover at some location for personal reasons.
- Traveling with an additional person who shares accommodations.
Travelers are expected to follow the policy discussed below when including personal travel.
Policy
It may be allowable to include personal travel when traveling for university or CIRES business. If the funding source allows for the inclusion of personal travel, CIRES employees may include personal travel as long as he or she can demonstrate that the personal travel does not result in increased costs to the grant, CIRES, state of Colorado, or other funding source, and when the personal component of such travel does not create the appearance of being the dominant aspect of the trip. CIRES funds may only be used to support approved business travel costs; the traveler must pay for personal travel costs. Travelers are responsible for ensuring their personal travel is reasonable and aligns with the expectation of the CIRES personal travel policy.
For cases in which personal travel time exceeds that required for the business portion of the trip, the majority of the trip ultimately serves a personal purpose and becomes the dominant/majority aspect of the travel. In these instances, CIRES funds may only be used to support approved business travel costs during the business portion of the trip. Such costs can include per-diem, local transportation, lodging, etc., but CIRES will not cover airfare to or from the location of the business activity; these costs are the responsibility of the traveler.
The personal travel can include:
- Extending the duration of a stay at the travel location for personal reasons.
- Traveling to or from the business travel location via a different route than the route that would have been taken for business travel only.
- Including a stopover at a non-business location en route to or from the business destination.
Travelers wishing to include personal travel in their work-related trip are responsible for notifying CIRES Travel, as part of their trip request, of their intention to include personal travel. As part of the trip request, the traveler must provide CIRES Travel with the dates and destination(s) that are considered personal.
Travelers will not receive reimbursement for costs incurred as a result of personal travel, such as:
- Per diem, lodging, ground transportation or other travel costs incurred during personal travel days.
- Airfare costs resulting from the inclusion of personal travel.
Requesting Trip Approval
Prepare and submit your travel request through the CIRES Online Travel Submission system and ensure the following information is captured on the request:
- Traveler's Information Page: Answer "Yes" to the question "Is personal travel included?"
- Destination Page: List the dates that are personal travel dates.
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Airfare Page: Attach quotes from either Concur or CBT for the intended trip including personal time and for the business only travel.
- These quotes should show the route that would have been taken with business-only and no personal time versus the route actually planned.
- These quotes do not need to include the same connecting airports or have the same departure/arrival times. However, the business-only quote should reasonably reflect the route that would have been taken if personal travel was not included.
- Travelers wishing to purchase their airfare using an external internet site will be required to provide a third comparison quote, showing the fare available from the internet site. The internet quote must be identical to the quote for the travel route that is actually planned. Per PSC Policy, travelers are only permitted to purchase airfare from an external site if identical quotes demonstrate that the internet site fares are lower than the fares available through Concur or CBT. This requirement applies even when travelers are required to purchase their airfare on a personal credit card because of their inclusion of personal time.
Process - Airfare Quotes and Reimbursement
Airfare quotes should show the route that would have been taken with business-only and no personal time versus the route actually planned. These quotes do not need to include the same connecting airports or have the same departure/arrival times. However, the business quote should reasonably reflect the most economical airfare option for completing the business travel if personal travel was not included.
If the inclusion of personal travel results in more costly airfare than the quote for business-only travel, the difference in cost will be marked as a personal travel expense on the final travel report. In cases where the inclusion of personal travel results in more costly airfare than business-only travel, travelers should still purchase their airfare in Concur or with Christopherson Business Travel (CBT).