Travel Policy for ARIN Advisory Council Members

Updated as of January 2018

Expenses incurred by elected members of the ARIN Advisory Council (AC Member) are reimbursed to the AC Member upon request, if their company is not able to absorb the cost.

Travel must be approved by ARIN in advance in order to receive reimbursement.
All travel arrangements should be coordinated and booked through ARIN’s Executive Assistant.
Additionally, the President of ARIN must approve any single estimated expense exceeding $5,000.00 in advance in order to qualify for reimbursement for such expense.
Travel Expense Reports should be received by ARIN within thirty (30) days of the conclusion of the travel.
Travel Expense Reports submitted after sixty (60) days will be considered for reimbursement only if accompanied by a letter to the President of ARIN detailing the reason for the delay in submission. The President of ARIN will review the letter and will determine, based on the circumstances outlined, whether to approve the reimbursement.
Travel Expense Reports submitted after one hundred twenty (120) days must be accompanied by a letter to the Board of Trustees detailing the reason for the delay in submission. The Board will review the letter and will determine, based on the circumstances outlined, whether to approve the reimbursement.

Allowable Expenses

Air travel

Allowable expenses for round-trip travel will be based on 14-day advance purchase rates on Coach Class flights within North America, the Caribbean Islands, and other locations to be determined at ARIN’s discretion. In general, flights to meetings in and near our region will be Coach Class.

Business class flights will be made on most international flights in excess of seven (7) hours inclusive of stopovers and change of planes.

Making Air Travel Arrangements

It is preferred that airline tickets be purchased directly through ARIN. Please remember that this would not be a reimbursable expense, since ARIN is purchasing the ticket.

If the AC Member prefers to make his/her own arrangements, ARIN will provide a round-trip quote for airfare to the AC Member prior to the AC Member making his/her arrangements. This quote will be used as a budgetary ceiling for the AC Member to purchase his/her airline tickets.

Actual cost must be equal to, or less than, the budget provided for each trip.

Should an AC member purchase their own airline ticket, they will provide ARIN a copy of the ticket receipt including payment detail.

Any and all fees associated with changes to purchased itineraries will be paid by ARIN (or reimbursed to AC Member) only if said changes have been requested and authorized by ARIN.

If an AC member is reimbursed in advance of the travel dates for a ticket that they purchased and, for any reason, they do not travel using the ticket, the AC member will be financially responsible for reimbursing ARIN any refundable portion within 30 days after cancellation of their travel plans, and coordinating their use of non-refundable tickets for future ARIN travel.

Upgrading Airline Class of Service

Upgrades can be obtained upon request at time of booking, using the AC Member’s personal frequent flyer miles/certificates or, by the AC Member paying the difference between the fare that ARIN will provide and the cost of the fare for the class of service the AC Member wants.

Please remember: Every effort is made to ensure a flawless itinerary to include hotel accommodations. However, it is each AC member’s ultimate responsibility to make sure, prior to his or her approval of said itinerary, that it is accurate.

Lodging

Hotel rooms will be paid by ARIN on the Master Account for any ARIN Public Policy and Members Meetings, held either alone or jointly with another organization. All hotel reservations will be arranged directly through ARIN to include arrival one day prior to the meeting, departing the day after the meeting, or for a shorter stay of time if applicable.

If, for any reason, the member cannot stay in the venue hotel, (ex., venue hotel is sold out) the following applies: Reimbursement for lodging at another hotel will be based on published room rates for a standard room at that hotel. Rates in excess of the rate for a standard room must be approved in advance, or the excess will not be reimbursed.

All hotel in-room services are the responsibility of the individual - including, but not limited to: use of in-room phone, room service, laundry, movies, mini-bar (if available). When needed to perform work, travelers may submit in-room Internet access expenses.

In the event that an AC member reserves their own hotel room, ARIN will reimburse hotel costs no greater than the published, discounted group rate of the meeting.

Meals and Incidental Expenses

Expenses are covered one of two ways. Either:

100% per the current published U.S. Government standard per diem rates for meals and incidental expenses for domestic and international destinations; Or,
Keep all reasonable meal receipts (excluding alcohol), and be reimbursed for actual meal expenses.

The Executive Assistant will inform AC Members of the approved per diem rate for each destination. AC Members are entitled to full per diem reimbursement for each day on travel.

Conference Registration

AC Members are responsible for their own conference registration, except to RIR meetings where ARIN is given complimentary registrations. ARIN’s Executive Assistant will inform those traveling that they have been registered.

ARIN will not reimburse conference registration costs in excess of the conference “Early-bird Registration” rates. Registration should be done at the earliest possible date, as the price increases after the “Early-Bird’ rate cut-off.

Ground Transportation

Reimbursement will be made for reasonable ground transportation to and from the airport and hotel, and from hotel to conference location when applicable. If driving a personal vehicle to an ARIN event, tolls, parking, and mileage will be reimbursed, with the applicable receipts. If circumstances warrant renting a car, ARIN’s President must approve the request in advance.

Variable Expenses

ARIN will reimburse the following variable expenses; provided they are itemized on a signed (original signature or electronic) Travel Expense Report, and original or photocopied receipts for expenses greater than $25.00 are submitted with the report:

Reasonable cab fare for meeting-related transportation; and
Airport Transportation costs including: tolls, parking, cab fare, and the current published U.S. government per Diem rate for mileage when using a personal vehicle.
Airline Baggage Fees: 1 bag up to $35 USD per trip, for each leg of air travel.

Allowable Travel

All members of the ARIN AC are allowed travel reimbursement to:

The two ARIN Public Policy and Members Meetings per year, to include attendance at the NANOG meeting when held in conjunction with the ARIN meeting.
One member of the ARIN AC is allowed travel reimbursement to each stand-alone NANOG meeting per year.
Two members of the ARIN AC are allowed travel reimbursement to each of the other RIR’s meetings.
AC members, as determined, to attend ARIN Outreach events (i.e., ARIN on the Road, etc.)

* The ARIN President must approve all other travel separately and in advance.

Instructions and Information for Submitting Expense Reports

The Travel Expense Report must detail all travel-related expenses and the purpose of the trip, together with all supporting documentation. Individual expenses can be recorded daily. The Travel Expense Report must have an original or electronically inserted signature of the AC Member, in order for said Member to be reimbursed. AC Members may submit original or photocopied receipts with their Travel Expense Report.

The current published U.S. government per Diem rates for lodging and meals and incidental expenses will be obtained from the Executive Assistant. The current published U.S. government Mileage Reimbursement Rates for Privately Owned Vehicles (POV) can be obtained from the Executive Assistant.

Hotel lodging rates, or a link to the conference hotel’s website where hotel lodging rates can be found, are published on the website for each conference.

Reimbursements

For U.S. citizens: Reimbursements can be made by check or ACH in U.S. dollars
For Non-U.S. citizens: Reimbursements can be made by check in U.S. dollars; or, by wire in AC Member’s resident country’s currency (when permitted by resident country) in accordance with information supplied by the AC Member on their Travel Expense Report.

Submit the Travel Expense Report together with all supporting documentation to:

Director, HR/Administration
ARIN
P.O. Box 232290
Centreville, Virginia 20120 USA
Or send via email to the Executive Assistant.