Hospitality

The Hospitality Justification Request in Concur replaces the HEJ form for reimbursement and travel expense reports. If you need Hospitality Justification for services, direct payment, or non-travel, see CSUBUY's Form Request.

Resources and Policies

Concur User Guide for Hospitality Justification Form - requires SSO login

CSU Hospitality Policy

SJSU Hospitality Quick Guide 2026 - Google Drive

SJSU Catering and Dining Payment Guide - Google Drive

SJSU Procure to Pay P2P Guide Matrix 2026 - Google Drive

Working with Hospitality Requests & Expense Reports

First, the high-level process:

1. Create a Hospitality Justification Form Request - before the purchase

2. Add Attendees to the Hospitality Justification Form

3. Create an Expense Report from an Approved Request

4. Finalize and Submit the Expense Report

Step-by-step procedures below.

Adding Attendees to an Expense

Step-by-step procedures below.

Policy Guidance

Based on CSU Policy 17548775 - Hospitality Policy, here is some guidance* for categorizing expense types and identifying event types when reporting hospitality expenses.

If your event/expense doesn't fit in any of the available categories, reach out to the ProCard Coordinator Rachel Zubiate [rachel.zubiate@sjsu.edu] for guidance rather than choosing something non-Hospitality. 

Event Types (Purpose of Hospitality)

When filling out a Hospitality Justification Form, you must select or specify an event type/purpose that demonstrates a clear CSU business purpose. 

Permissible event types include:

• Business / Department Meetings: Meetings hosted or sponsored by the CSU that directly correlate with CSU operations or routine business (must be infrequent; routine/frequent employee meals are prohibited).

• Host of Official Guest: Hosting official visitors, visiting employees, prospective employees/students, volunteers, media, or community members with an interest in the CSU.

• Learned Society / Professional Organization Meetings: Hosting or sponsoring meetings or receptions for professional societies or academic groups.

• Receptions & Ceremonial Events: Events held in connection with conferences, student organizations, student activities, or commencement exercises.

• Community Relations & Fundraising: Events held to cultivate donors, promote the university, enhance community partnerships, or recognize distinguished service.

• Employee Recognition & Morale: Receptions or activities for official employee morale, employee appreciation, length-of-service awards (with at least 5 years of service), or retirement.

• Student Recognition & Activities: Recruitment efforts, student achievement awards, student leadership events, or athletic recruitments.

Unallowed Event Types: Expenses of a purely personal nature are prohibited (e.g., employee birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, baby showers).

Hospitality Expense Types

Hospitality expenses fall under specific expense categories that must be detailed with itemized receipts and proper justification:

• Meals & Light Refreshments:

  • Meals: Catered or restaurant meals provided during official business, hosted events, or meetings.

  • Light Refreshments: Snacks, beverages, hors d'oeuvres, pastries, or cookies.

  • Per-Person Rates: All meal and refreshment costs are subject to maximum per-person spending limits (inclusive of food, tax, gratuity, and service/delivery fees) unless an exception is approved by the CFO (through Concur approval flow).

• Entertainment Services: Equipment rental, venue rental, decor, music, and performers associated with a public purpose event.

• Awards and Prizes:

  • Non-cash gifts, awards, or prizes given for length of service (minimum 5 years of service), exceptional contributions, student excellence, or research survey participation.

  • Note: Cash and cash equivalents (e.g., gift cards/certificates) are taxable as wages under IRS regulations.

• Promotional Items: Items displaying the university name or logo (e.g., mugs, keychains, clothing, calendars) which are custom-ordered.

• Alcoholic Beverages:

  • Prohibited on State Funds.

  • Permitted only under specific Auxiliary Organization Funds or non-state funds where allowed by funding agreements and campus guidelines.

Required Information for Expense Reporting

For every hospitality expense report, a Hospitality Justification Form must be submitted with the following details:

1. Event Type & Business Purpose: Detailed description explaining the business rationale to a third-party reviewer.

2. Frequency: Note whether the meeting is recurring.

3. Location & Date: Off-campus venues require justification for why on-campus options were not used.

4. Attendee List: Names, titles, and affiliations of all attendees (or a group description and estimated count for large events).

5. Per-Attendee Cost: Per-person breakdown of meal/refreshment costs.

*This AI-generated guidance is informational only and not meant to substitute for actual CSU policy statements.