Traveling Employee Has Own Accomodations

MrCreosote

If an employee travels and has their own place to stay, making a hotel unnecessary, do you pay them anything for saving you the hotel cost?

deniseE

My company never has...

Although, I never asked either.

San Francisco

No. We are reimbursed for expenses incurred, only. Similarly, if we do not use the full per diem for meals, we are not reimbursed for the savings to the company. Per lodging, whenever this happens, the person is staying with a friend or family member so they can visit. It's the employee's choice and they benefit by the added perk of getting to see that friend or family member.

Elizabeth

System

I'm guessing that you pay for the meals as a business expense. You could allow reimbursement for a dinner guest. That's a compromise - makes everybody happy.

We don't have a practice that addresses that, but I would probably try to slide the extra dinner through Finance.

San Francisco

SMoll, we have never been able to pay for guests. The only time I have picked up the "tab" was when meeting with a clerk or cashier off site at a restraunt. My husband has traveled with me on occasion and I do not expense out any of his meals, only mine. In fairness, expense accounts were out of control here and monitoring them has been one of the cost savings to the company.

Elizabeth

System

Elizabeth,

I wasn't implying that the company pay for a companion (your husband)who was traveling with you. I was making a business decision about saving money. It works for Pork and DJ,Balloonman.

For me, I stay at mom's. The trade off is I get home-cooked, (whatever I want), my own room back, front porch swing, and I'm the special guest! Even if I don't get reimbursed, I take mom out.

Hatchetman

If it was the employee's decision not to use the hotel, and the emplyer has no cost as a result, then why should the employee be reimbursed? Althugh, some employers probalby have a travel allowance for hotels and meals, and if so, the allowance should be paid. But if the company pays the actual costs, since there are none in what you describe, the answer I think should be "no."

Balloonman

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 10-29-03 AT 11:40AM (CST)[/font][p]I had this come up once in the past............did a nice dinner and bottle of wine and we reimbursed that expense for the employee in lieu of the hotel stay. While it may not be required, saved us considerable $$ and made for a positive situation. I would not reimburse the employee directly though for the savings.
My $0.02 worth.
DJ The Balloonman

Pork

INTERESTING: I have a motorhome and I'm a top salesman that saves a lot of time & money, in the utilization of my motor home in the form of travel, lodging, and meeting rooms because I use my motor home. As a private business, I would think the company could, would, and should consider the expense savings and adjust my compensation package, accordingly. Mileage + perdiem would be the way to go. $100.00 per day for a high cost city perdiem rate is or was the rate paid + mileage was based on the allowed tax rate, which I believe is 36.5 cents per mile. The accountants can tell you what is allowed and that is what a caring company would do.

Don't let your personal thoughts get involved, pay the EE to the extent possible for saving the company expense money. I get to use my company car and I stay with relatives when I go to seminars. The company pays for the seminar, my meals, if I pay for my son & his spouse because we use their home my company is very willing to pay for dinner as an offset for the lodging cost, which starts at $59.00 and up depending on how costly you want to be while travelling.

PORK