Non-Employee Travel

Guests and Non-Employee Students

Travel Pre-Approvals for Non-Employees

For domestic and international travel by non-employees, the sponsoring department is responsible for establishing the process for review and approval of the travel outside the Concur system. This approval should be obtained in writing and provided to CBT (if booking through an agent) or attached to the subsequent Concur expense report (for non-employee reconciliations and/or reimbursements). 

Non-Employee Travel for Foreign Nationals 

Prior to making any travel arrangements for international non-employees, refer to the detailed guidance and required documentation provided by the International Tax Office.  

For travel-related expenses paid directly to a third party (i.e. airline, hotel, etc.) on behalf of an international non-employee traveler, International Tax Office review and approval are required in advance. These payments may be taxable to the individual traveler. Once written approval has been obtained from the International Tax Office, proceed to the instructions for Booking Non-Employee Travel below. A copy of the approval email and any other required documentation must be attached to the Non-Employee Expenses report in Concur for reconciliation of payments made using the Airfare Card or the travel arranger’s Travel Card. 

Student Travel 

Students who are traveling on official university business should follow the guidelines for non-employee travel. 

Student employees traveling for their employment should follow the guidelines for employee travel for both approvals and reimbursement. 

Booking Non-Employee Travel

When using university funds to pay for a non-employee’s trip, the sponsoring unit has three options for booking travel:

1. Completing a Guest Booking in Concur: A travel arranger can use the Concur Travel & Expense System (Concur) to book travel for a non-employee. In Concur, this is known as "Guest Booking” and access can be granted to individuals who need this role by emailing PSC@cu.edu. There is no service or agent fee charged to the department when booking guest airfare in Concur
2. Authorize the non-employee to book their own travel through Christopherson Business Travel: The department can authorize the non-employee to work directly with a Christopherson Business Travel (CBT) agent. The department travel arranger (not the traveler) can initiate this process by submitting CBT's Non-Employee Travel Request form. A $20 service fee will be charged to the department when airfare is booked through a CBT agent.
3. Allow the non-employee to make their own travel arrangements and the department will request reimbursement. The University’s managed travel program allows non-employees to make their own travel arrangements. They do not need comparison quotes from CBT in order to purchase their own airline tickets if they are paying directly and seeking reimbursement after the trip. Please note the Personal Travel Credits policy still applies to non-employees making their own travel arrangements. Non-employee travel reimbursement can be processed on the Non-Employee report. This will result in payment going directly to the non-employee for reimbursement.  For non-employees who are non-U.S. persons or those with a non-U.S. address, reimbursement must be requested on the Non-Employee Reimbursement-International (NRI) form.  Additional information can be found in Reconciling Non-Employee Travel

Note: If a non-employee trip is cancelled, for any reason, CU cannot reimburse a non-employee for the cost of airfare.
 

Important Note on Independent Contractors 

When working with an Independent Contractor under the the Scope of Work (SOW) process, the non-employee's travel expenses must be identified on the SOW form and included as part of the procurement and payment for the contracted services. Non-employee travel expenses related to the SOW for an independent contractor cannot be reimbursed through Concur nor the NRI form.

Preferred Hotel Program (Local Stays) 

The Procurement Service Center’s Travel Program has established relationships with many local hotels in and around Boulder, the Denver-metro area, and Colorado Springs to provide a local preferred hotel program that benefits our traveling university guests. Our negotiated rates at these preferred hotels are lower than the rates typically available at these properties and, in some cases, they include additional negotiated values such as extra amenities for our visiting guests.  

Please refer to the Preferred Hotel Program page for more information on participating vendors and how to leverage the partner rates.