ALCON,
Please read the email below pertaining to booking hotel rooms online while on
military orders.
MEDPROS and 68Ws attending CME events need to pay special attention to this.
Service Member,
The intent of this message is to advise you of a regulatory change involving
the booking of lodging accommodations and the reimbursement of such.
Effective for travel performed on or after November 1, 2010, travelers are
advised not to book lodging accommodations using an online booking agent,
such as Expedia, Priceline, Hotels.com, etc. Instead, travelers should
reserve their lodging accommodations by utilizing their Contracted Travel
Office (CTO) or by contacting the hotel directly.
The Joint Federal Travel Regulations (JFTR) for uniformed members and the
Joint Travel Regulations (JTR) for Department of Defense civilian employees
have both been revised to state, "Despite any savings realized through online
booking agents, subject to Service requirements the CTO should be used for
lodging arrangements or the traveler should reserve a room directly with the
hotel/chain (including the hotel's online website). Lodging reimbursement is
not authorized for hotel lodging obtained through online booking agents
unless an itemized receipt from the hotel is provided."
The JFTR and JTR further state that a traveler must not submit a 'lost
receipt' statement to substitute for an online booking hotel receipt. If a
traveler books their lodging through an online booking agent, then the only
way the traveler can be reimbursed for their expenses would be if the hotel
provides the traveler with an itemized lodging receipt.
However, hotels generally refuse to provide a traveler with a receipt from
their establishment, because the traveler did not have a purchase transaction
between them and the hotel, but rather between them and the online booking
agent.
Due to the strict guidance of the regulation and the likelihood that the
traveler will not be able to get the hotel to provide an itemized receipt in
these situations, using online booking agents for lodging accommodations is
highly discouraged. Failure to follow this guidance will result in
non-payment of lodging booked incorrectly.
Any inquiries can be directed to the following DFAS travel pay customer
service address:
DFAS-IN.TRAVEL@dfas.mil
Thank you,
Al Easter
Director, Travel Pay Operations
DFAS-Indianapolis