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Lodging

For Texas State University Travelers

Texas State travelers may be reimbursed for lodging expenses incurred on days the traveler conducts university business outside their designated headquarters.


    • Must be a commercial lodging establishment
    • Must be outside of designated headquarters
    • Only for traveler’s own actual lodging expense
    • Requires an acceptable, original receipt with the name of the commercial lodging establishment, the name of the traveler, the single room rate, and daily and itemized charges
    • Maximum rates based on the location of the lodging establishment, not the duty point
  • Travelers will be reimbursed for actual hotel expenses not to exceed U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) per diem rates for in-state and out-of-state travel. Specific GSA maximum lodging rates are assigned to designated primary destinations within each state. Rates may vary between GSA primary destinations and even within the same primary destination based on seasonal adjustments. For cities and counties not listed as primary destinations, the standard GSA maximum lodging reimbursement rate, or the continental United States (CONUS) rate, will be the maximum rate. GSA rates are updated annually on October 1st.

    For foreign travel, including Mexico and Canada, travelers will be reimbursed for actual lodging expenses not to exceed the U.S. Department of State (DOS) foreign per diem rates. For areas not listed, refer to the country’s “Other” per diem rate. DOS rates are updated frequently.

    Account Managers may choose to apply more conservative lodging rates, and must notify travelers of such alternative rates prior to their departure on state business.

  • Travelers may be reimbursed for lodging in excess of the maximum GSA reimbursement rate with pre-approval from the appropriate cabinet officer or their authorized delegate. Excess lodging amounts are only reimbursable with local funds.

    Direct Billing

    For participating lodging establishments, lodging expenses may be direct billed through a purchase order to Texas State. Lodging maximum rates are still in effect. 

    Hotel Occupancy Taxes

    Travelers are exempt from State of Texas hotel occupancy taxes when traveling on official state business and must present the Texas Hotel Occupancy Tax Exemption Certificate to the lodging establishment at check-in. Texas hotel occupancy taxes inadvertently paid by travelers are not reimbursable.   
    All other taxes (e.g. county, city, municipal, out-of-state) or fees are reimbursable.
    Allowable hotel taxes and required fees are reimbursable proportionate to the lodging reimbursable room rate. For example, a traveler’s hotel expense is $100.00 for the room and $10.00 for reimbursable taxes and fees. If the traveler was only approved for $70.00 or 70% of the actual room rate, then only $7.00 in taxes and fees will be reimbursed. 
                    Calculate percentage of reimbursable room rate           $ 70.00 ÷ $ 100.00 = .70 or 70%
                    Calculate reimbursable amount of taxes and fees         $ 10.00 x .70 = $ 7.00
  • Reservations should be made through one of the State Travel Management hotel contracts, unless the traveler meets one of the state contract exceptions below.

    • Lodging expenses incurred the night before official business begins and the night after official business ends may be reimbursable if the expenses are incurred to qualify for discount airfare or if travel to or from duty point reasonably requires more than one day.
    • Cancellation charges (“no show” fees) may be reimbursable if the charge is incurred for an official business reason, natural disaster, illness, or personal emergency. A justification statement and approval by the account manager is required on the travel reimbursement.
    • Shared lodging between travelers is reimbursable to one of the travelers if it does not exceed the maximum reimbursement rate. If the room rate exceeds the maximum reimbursement rate, either excess lodging approval is required for one traveler to be reimbursed, or the cost must be split between the two or more travelers and individual requests for reimbursements must be submitted. Individual receipts showing the traveler’s pro-rata share of the costs will be required for each request for reimbursement.
      • Example 1: If two travelers share a room while attending a conference and the room rate is within the allowable maximum, one traveler may pay and be reimbursed for the entire lodging expenses.
      • Example 2: If two travelers share a room while attending a conference and the room rate exceeds the allowable maximum, one traveler must obtain excess lodging approval to be reimbursed for the entire lodging expense.
      • Example 3: If two travelers share a room while attending a conference and the room rate exceeds the allowable maximum, the two travelers must split the cost to be reimbursed individually and be within the allowable maximum. Each traveler must provide a receipt in his or her name showing his or her pro-rata share of the amount to be reimbursed.
    • Lodging expenses incurred while on foreign travel with a host or other non-commercial establishment and for which receipts are not available will require adequate justification and documentation with Account Manager approval.
    • For a faculty or staff sponsor traveling with a student group, refer to Student Group Travel Procedures for policies regarding group travel reimbursement.
    • Meals and Incidentals Expenses (M&IE) per diem rates may not be decreased to increase allowable lodging rates.
  • Hotel Virtual Credit Card FAQs

    • Virtual credit cards (virtual cards) are secure, unique, single-use payment cards that can only be used for a single hotel reservation. Each card has a 16-digit number which includes the cardholder’s name, an expiration date, and three-digit CVV or security code.

      • Travelers will book a hotel online via Concur or by calling Corporate Travel Planners (CTP), the university’s Travel Management Company (TMC).
      • A virtual card is created automatically when the Concur reservation is completed.
      • Conferma Pay, connected to CTP, automatically applies the parameters required for the virtual card, such as credit limit and validity dates based on the reservation details.
      • The credit card authorization form is securely emailed/faxed to the lodging merchant at the time of booking and again two days prior to check-in.
      • The merchant accepts the card number as a ‘Cardholder Not Present’ transaction.
      • Room, tax, and resort fees.
      • Allowed incidentals such as parking, internet, etc. up to $150.00 per day.
      • Allowance for two extra days' hotel stay if an extended stay situation arises.
      • Recommended for virtual card users for access to a copy of the virtual card.
      • Provides hotel booking information and allows travelers to re-send virtual card authorization forms to the hotel, if necessary.
      • Register for Conferma Pay with your Texas State email (NetID@txstate.edu) to automatically link Concur bookings to your Conferma Pay profile and utilize the above features. Review the Conferma Pay quick guide on the Assistance Apps page for setup assistance.
    • Two days prior to check-in, contact the hotel to confirm the card authorization for your stay is on file and if any further documentation will be required.

    • Card details are available during the stay through two days after the trip end date.

      • Use the Conferma Pay mobile app to provide a copy or re-send it to the hotel.
      • Should the hotel require their own authorization, use the Conferma Pay app to access card details to complete the form.
      • Contact CTP via the below CTP Assistance options to resolve the issue.
      • Yes, you will have to provide a personal card at check-in for incidentals that can billed to the room, such as entertainment and onsite market/dining purchases.
      • The hotel will process an authorization on the personal card provided, so it is best to supply a credit card as opposed to a debit card. Note: Debit cards typically have a higher authorization hold than credit cards.