We require the same four items for hotel expenses that we require from every other receipt: who you paid, how you paid, what you paid, and when you paid. With hotels, it is also very important that the expenses are itemized, as there are many expenses we do not cover that you can charge to the room (alcoholic beverages, food, toiletries, etc.). It's okay if you put these expenses on your bill; you just need to make sure you identify and subtract them.
Expense caps
If you are asking for reimbursement for lodging, we have limits on how much we reimburse. We will not reimburse you more than the “per-diem rate” the United States Government has set. Note that this rate takes into account the different costs of lodging in different cities, and potential differences in cost across different parts of the year. You can find these rates at the following link: Per diem rates | GSA Please be sure to select the location where you will travel, as there are different rates. These rates are per room, not per traveler. They apply regardless of where you stay, whether that is an Airbnb, a traditional hotel, or other type of accommodation.
If you would like to ask for an exception, such as if you are using a large house where many members of your organization can stay so that you can save money, please reach out to org.funding@umich.edu in advance.
Traditional hotels, booked directly
Traditional hotels usually provide you what is called a hotel folio on checkout. This will contain the name of the hotel, check in and check out dates (and usually times), a full itemized list of expenses, the payment method, and the total. This is the ideal proof of payment for any hotel expenses, as it meets all of our requirements and is quite standard across all hotels. See the attachments section of this article for an example, with the important parts highlighted and explained.
Airbnb
Many organizations use Airbnb if it better suits their needs. That's fine, but Airbnb receipts look a bit different and might not be sufficient if you aren't careful. See the attachments section for an example Airbnb receipt that would satisfy our requirements.
Be careful with aggregators
Use caution when booking hotels through aggregators like Expedia or Hotels.com. These often take payments directly through the website and transfer the payment to the hotel, leaving the hotel with no folio to give you because you made no payment, and the website's receipt not being sufficient.
Discounts and tax exemptions available through the University
Final notes: We encourage you to try booking through Collegiate Travel Planners (CTP), the University's travel booking partner, if you are a University employee. It has special negotiated rates with national hotel chains and the receipts are automatically saved to your U-M account so you can't lose them. You can use CTP for business, org, or personal travel. Find out more here.
Also, try getting your taxes waived if you are an SSO. Find out more information here, and contact your sponsoring department for more details: Forms and Certificates | University of Michigan Finance (umich.edu)