Caltech LIGO P-Card Holders: 

• You should book your own travel in CardQuest. 

• Per LIGO Management, it is mandatory that travel is preapproved by submitting a travel request.

  • No travel request is needed if the meeting is hosted at your site. Still submit a travel expense report for any paid registration fees after the event. 

  • Combining personal and business travel: 

    • If you are combining personal travel with your trip, a detailed cost comparison of the business dates is required. 

    • This comparison must be generated in CardQuest on the same day you book your travel. The lower of the two costs will serve as the maximum amount LIGO will reimburse. 

    • Be sure to save a screenshot of the comparison—it is required for processing any reimbursement requests involving mixed personal and business travel. 

Caltech LIGO Employees who are Non-P-Card Holders:  

• All travel should be booked by the LIGO Travel Coordinator. Reach out to Eadie Balint for assistance.

Local LHO Employees:  

• A Travel Request is not required since the workshop is at your home site.

Eadie Balint, LIGO Travel Coordinator

ebalint@caltech.edu | ligo-travel@caltech.edu

(509) 372-8127

Identification Requirements

• Domestic Travel: 

  • Passengers must present a Real ID-compliant driver's license or other acceptable identification to board domestic flights. 

  • For REAL ID standards and acceptable documents, please visit the official government site: https://www.dhs.gov/real-id.  

To assist you in preparing your travel request and booking, please follow the guidelines below:

HOTEL 

• Lodging is based on the federal GSA per diem rate of $130 per night for the Tri-Cities area.

• You are personally responsible for any amount exceeding the allowable rate without a valid business justification. 

• Selecting a "most preferred" hotel at a higher rate above the per diem rate does not qualify as justification.

• If hotels in CardQuest appear as "sold out" or "not available," please take screenshots at the time of booking and attach them to your expense report as supporting documentation. 

PER DIEM (MEALS)

• • Meals are provided during the two-day workshop

  • When submitting your travel request, select "Per Diem - Calculated" so you can manually adjust the per diem accordingly.

  • Below are the per diem breakdowns based on the length of your trip for this workshop:

       Monday through Friday travel                                                      Monday through Thursday travel

3/23/2026     $64.50    first day of travel                                         3/23/2026     $64.50    first day of travel

3/24/2026     $27.00    lunch and dinner provided                         3/24/2026     $27.00    lunch and dinner provided

3/25/2026     $63.00    lunch provided                                             3/25/2026     $63.00    lunch provided

3/26/2026     $86.00                                                                           3/26/2026     $64.50    last day of travel

3/27/2026     $64.50    last day of travel                                              TOTAL =   $219.00  

     TOTAL =  $305.00                                                     

FLIGHT 

• • Do not book "basic economy" fares in CardQuest. These tickets are highly restricted, and cancelled tickets typically do not provide a reusable credit to LIGO. 

  • Book standard economy and coach classes only for domestic air travel. Airfare should be purchased at the lowest available standard economy rate. 

  • Upgrades are not permitted when using federal funds unless you have a documented medical exception on file with Caltech HR.

  • LIGO will reimburse up to one checked bag each way. Overweight baggage fees are not reimbursable. 

  • Tip: When estimating your flight cost on the travel request, consider rounding up by $100-$200 to account for potential price increases between request submission and booking. 

CAR RENTAL

• Book economy class vehicles only. Upgrades are not permitted. 

• If the cost of an economy vehicle is the same as a compact or intermediate vehicle, you may book the larger class. Save this screenshot and attach it to your expense report as justification. 

• Example estimate cost for the travel request:    March 23-27: $240.21 or March 23-26: $180.16        

• Carpooling is highly encouraged.

RIDESHARE

• Reminder: Uber/Lyft Cash is not reimbursable. If you use cash point, you must deduct them from the total fare, and only the actual out-of-pocket amount is eligible for reimbursement. 

• Carpooling to/from the airport  and LHO site is highly encouraged.                                                  

Tri-Cities Airport (PSC) 

• There is only one airport option for flying into Pasco (Tri-Cities). 

• It is located at 3601 N 20th Ave, Pasco, WA 99301 

• Terminal Hours of Operation: 3:30 am to 1:00 am

• The airport is served by Delta, Alaska Air, United, American Airlines, and Avelo.

• To familiarize yourself with the airport layout and amenities, including restaurants, bars, coffee shop and more, explore their interactive map: https://www.flytricities.com/interact/airport-map.

• Visit the airport website at: https://www.flytricities.com/  

• Taxi and rideshare (Uber, Lyft) pickup spots are separate. 

  • Taxis can pick up on the north end of airport.

  • Uber and Lyft pickup is on the curb on the south end of the terminal building just pass the pedestrian crossing.

Rental Cars

• The airport is served by Enterprise, National, Hertz, Dollar, AVIS, and Budget.  

• Please use one of the following Caltech contracted car companies:  Enterprise, National, or Hertz.

Taxi/Rideshare 

• Uber - use the app

• Lyft - https://www.lyft.com/

• Taxi Services

  • Rad Cab, 509-585-2944, www.radauto.biz, open 24 hours.

  • Tri-City Cab, 509-222-9208, closes 12:30 am.

• Carpooling....do you know someone local who can pick you up or do you know other attendees you can carpool with from the airport?

GSA Hotel Per Diem Rate for Richland: $130/night

GSA per diem meal rates for Richland, WA 

• Full day per diem =  $86.00   |  First & last day of travel per diem = $64.50

• Breakdown of meals: Breakfast ($22), Lunch ($23), Dinner ($36), Incidentals ($5)

• Meals receipts are not needed.