Travel Procedures

Updated as of January 2018

Overview

Travel expenses incurred by elected members of the ARIN Board of Trustees (Board Member) are reimbursed to the Board Member upon request, if their company or other organization does not reimburse them.
Travel must be approved by ARIN in advance in order to receive reimbursement.
All travel arrangements should be coordinated 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) business days of the conclusion of the travel.
Travel Expense Reports submitted after sixty (60) business days must be 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

ARIN recognizes that Board Member’s schedules can change, and sometimes last minute ticket purchases are often unavoidable. To the extent that schedules permit, 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. Whenever possible, ARIN looks for reduced-fare tickets, particularly for expensive overseas trips. However, upon request of the Board Member, ARIN will purchase a full-fare ticket in the applicable class of service.

Making Air Travel Arrangements

A) If made directly by the Board Member, ARIN will provide a round-trip airfare quote to the Board Member *prior* to said Member making his/her arrangements. This quote will be used as a budgetary ceiling for the Board Member to purchase his/her airline tickets. Actual cost must be equal to, or less than, the budget provided for each trip. The amount of reimbursement will be based on the cost of a 14-day advance purchase round-trip ticket from the member’s home location, or the actual cost of the ticket, whichever is less. Should a Board Member purchase their own airline ticket, they will provide ARIN a copy of the ticket receipt including payment detail.

If the itinerary should include flights to other locations, ARIN will reimburse the Board Member for the portion of the ticket that pertains only to the ARIN-related meeting that the Board Member is attending (again, round-trip quote).

If a Board 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 Board 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.

B) If made in coordination with the Executive Assistant, said Assistant will purchase the ticket for you. Please remember that this would not be a reimbursable expense.

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

Upgrading Airline Class of Service

The Executive Assistant can request upgrades at the time of booking, using the Board Member’s personal frequent flyer miles/certificates, or by the Board Member paying the difference between the fare that ARIN will provide, and the fare for the class of service the Board Member wants.

Lodging

Hotel reservations will be arranged directly through ARIN to include arrival one day prior to meetings, departing the day after the meeting, or for a shorter stay of time, if applicable.

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). For all other meetings, hotel reservations will be made by the Executive Assistant at the published group rate (when applicable) for the respective meeting. Payment for these reservations will be the responsibility of the Board Member upon check out of the hotel. If Board Member wishes to make his/her own reservations, please indicate that in advance to the Executive Assistant. Room rates in excess of the published discounted group rate of a standard room at a conference hotel must be approved in advance, or may not be considered an allowable expense.
Business-Related Expenses. ARIN will reimburse for necessary and reasonable, business-related expenses incurred by the Board Member as a result of performing ARIN duties including: telephone; facsimile; Internet access; and, teleconference calls. Any such expense expected to be greater than $100, must be pre-approved by the ARIN President.
Incidentals. Hotel in-room services are the responsibility of the Board Member, such as: room service; laundry; movies; and, mini-bar (if available).

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 Trustees of the approved per diem rate for each destination. Trustees are entitled to full per diem reimbursement for each day of ARIN-related travel.

Transportation

Reimbursement will be made for reasonable ground transportation to/from the airport and hotel, and from hotel to conference location when necessary. 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. Rental car costs, tolls, parking, and fuel purchases for rental cars will be reimbursed.

Variable Expenses

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

Conference registration fees, if required by the Board Member’s ARIN Board duties.
Reasonable cab fare, in and around the city for transportation.
Airport transportation costs (including tolls, parking, cab fare, and the current published U.S. Government rate for mileage when using a personal vehicle).

Allowable Travel

After selection for travel has been performed, per the Board’s ‘Procedures for ARIN Board Member Selection for ARIN-Related Travel’, Board members will attend ICANN, IGF, RIR, other Internet Governance or technical events as selected.

ARIN outreach activities or speaking engagements shall be attended with prior approval of the President.

This travel allows Board Members to be more informed of the Internet ecosystem in which ARIN operates, and thus improves Board decision-making.

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 Board Member, in order for said Member to be reimbursed. Board 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 Board Member’s resident country’s currency (when permitted by resident country) in accordance with information supplied by the Board Member on their Travel Expense Report.

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

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