The University of Colorado policies and State of Colorado Fiscal Rules chapter 5 states that employees authorized to travel shall be reimbursed the actual cost of reasonable accommodations. In addition to following all other requirements of the Procurement Service Center Travel Office, the following guidelines should be considered by departments to determine "reasonable accommodations" when making lodging arrangements for travel under sponsored projects.

 

• The State of Colorado Statewide Travel Management Program provides negotiated hotel rates, primarily in-state with some out-of-state and international listings. Travelers should use these rates as an initial benchmark.
  
  
• If a state negotiated hotel is unavailable, use the federal lodging per diems for that location as an initial benchmark. An additional benchmark is to use Travelocity or another web-based search engine to estimate the average price of accommodations in the area.
  
  
• Travelers attending conventions (conferences) may need to pay convention rates to receive all convention benefits. Typically, the rates negotiated by conference sponsors are acceptable.
  
  
• The need for accommodations costing substantially more than those found using the above guidelines should be documented on the travel voucher or other procurement document.
  
  
• Other considerations: In some circumstances, accommodations will be required that meet the particular business needs of the trip, e.g. renting a suite in lieu of a conference room, or renting a room close to the place of business. Always request the education or state government rate. If one of these rates are not available, then always request the least expensive commercial rate.