Board + Staff Travel Policy

BOARD + STAFF TRAVEL POLICY

In service of NANOG’s mission, we are dedicated to keeping the organization’s operating expenses to a minimum. When traveling on behalf of NANOG, we expect the NANOG Board of Directors and staff to act in accordance with the following policy. Any exceptions to this policy must first be cleared with the NANOG Executive Director. 

TYPES OF TRAVEL ELIGIBLE FOR REIMBURSEMENT 

  • Board retreats
  • Staff meetings
  • Tri-annual NANOG meetings
  • One-day NANOG events
  • Meeting + event site visits (for event-planning purposes only)
  • Outreach-related travel

TYPES OF EXPENSES ELIGIBLE FOR REIMBURSEMENT 

Airfare 

Board members and staff may book their own airfare, with the airline of their choice, using their NANOG credit card or personal credit card. 

When booking airfare, we ask that board members and staff select a reasonable premium economy fare from the airline of their choice. NANOG will establish this by reviewing the average airfares of the major airlines at the time of booking. 

  • NANOG reimburses domestic and international, non-refundable, round-trip, economy plus fares from the board or staff member’s home city to and from the meeting or event. 
  • All other upgrades beyond premium economy fare must be paid by the individual.
  • Airline baggage fees: (1) bag up to $50 USD per trip, for each leg of air travel.
  • If an individual wishes to combine their NANOG travel with personal travel, NANOG will only reimburse airfare to and from their home city and the meeting or event.
  • Additional flights or stopovers as part of the individual’s personal travel will not be reimbursed. 
  • Fully refundable or changeable fares are not covered. NANOG will only reimburse for costs incurred due to personal emergencies, or changes made to a NANOG itinerary, at no fault of the individual.  

Lodging

Unless otherwise noted, NANOG will book hotel lodging for board and staff members for all NANOG-sponsored meetings, events, and retreats. Exceptions to this may include:

  • For board-approved travel outside of these meetings, events, and retreats, NANOG will provide board and staff members with information regarding NANOG-approved hotels or alternative options for lodging.
  • If additional travelers, such as family members, accompany a NANOG board or staff member, it is the responsibility of the board or staff member to cover all additional costs incurred by that traveler, including: extra room charges, meals, and local ground transportation. 

Local Ground Transportation

In most cases, NANOG will arrange for group transportation during meetings, events, and retreats. For all other forms of local ground transportation, NANOG reimburses:

  • Cab or rideshare fares to and from board or staff member’s home and the airport.
  • Cab or rideshare fares to and from the airport and hotel in the city a meeting, event, or retreat takes place.
  • Cab or rideshare fares to and from any other NANOG-approved locations in the city a meeting, event, or retreat takes place (e.g. locations outside the hotel, where the board or staff members are expected to meet or convene).
  • Additional local ground transportation costs, including: 
    • Tolls
    • Parking
    • Mileage (when using a personal vehicle) 

Meals

During meetings, events, and retreats, most breakfast and lunchtime meals are provided by NANOG. Exceptions include: 

  • When purchasing meals at other times during NANOG-approved travel (e.g. in the airport, on the airplane, or on trips not associated with a NANOG meeting, event, or retreat), we ask that you keep within the national Meals & Incidentals Per Diem rates for the state(s) you’re traveling to. Please indicate the reasons for these meals on your expense report. 

SUBMITTING EXPENSES 

NANOG staff will submit their travel expenses for approval via Expensify. NANOG board members will submit a travel expense report, accompanied with original receipts, for Airfare, Hotel, Ground transportation, and Meals. 

HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR EXPENSES (Staff) 

NANOG staff will be provided with the necessary information to set up an Expensify account during onboarding. Once their account is set up, they must track all travel expenses and submit them in a timely manner, within 45 days of the date the expense was made to guarantee a prompt reimbursement:

  • Add each new travel-related charge you make on your NANOG corporate VISA as a “New Expense” in Expensify. 
  • Be sure to save and upload a receipt for each expense; enter the appropriate “category” for each expense (ex: “Staff Travel”); and provide a detailed description for accounting. 
  • Create a new expense report in Expensify for each month. Ex: “Edward NANOG card charges, Dec, 2019”.
  • Add each expense to the appropriate expense report. 
  • Be sure not to mix expenses from more than one month on the same expense report. 
  • At the end of the billing period, accounting will send a credit card report for your review. Each expense in your report must match each expense on the credit card report. 
  • Once you’ve confirmed that your expenses match the report, you will be asked to notify accounting.

HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR EXPENSES (Board)

NANOG will reimburse board members upon required completion, submittal, and approval of a travel expense report, accompanied with original receipts for: 

  • Airfare 
  • Hotel 
  • Ground transportation 
  • Meals