Taking the Torment out of Conference Travel

Per Diem Pinch

The No. 1 gripe of federal employees traveling for conferences is inadequate per diem rates. Because upscale hotels are the ones equipped to host conferences, government travelers often find themselves priced out of a site, forced to stay elsewhere with the hassle of having to arrange for transportation to the meeting each day.

But change is afoot. The General Services Administration, which sets per diem rates and implements travel regulations for most of the government, tackled this problem with a rule that allows conference participants to stay at hotels up to 25 percent more expensive than the standard rate. The "conference lodging allowance" rule took effect in January 2000.

For government-sponsored conferences, the host agency can approve the higher rate. For privately sponsored conferences, the authorizing official decides. And when even that rate isn't high enough, a traveler's office can authorize reimbursement of actual expenses up to 300 percent of per diem.

Meeting Munchies

When GSA put in place the conference rate, it also relaxed some confusing rules about what travelers can eat at conferences-and who pays for the food.

Now the government can pay for light refreshments at conference breaks. It doesn't matter where the conference is located (a hotel, a convention center, a federal building) as long as most of the participants are on travel. No deduction will be taken from a traveler's meal allowance for snacks such as coffee, tea, milk, juice, sodas, donuts, bagels, fruit, pretzels, cookies, chips and muffins.

Going for the Green

Travelers now can get free snacks at government meetings, but their cookies are less likely to be individually wrapped and their drinks will probably be served in glasses, rather than in paper or plastic cups. That's because the Environmental Protection Agency, GSA and professional meeting planners are collaborating to make government conferences more "green."

Almost every aspect of a conference-from transportation, planning and registration, lodging, food and drink, to facilities and exhibition spaces-affects the environment, says EPA's Russell Clark, who works on the Environmentally Preferable Purchasing program. The agency's Green Conference Initiative is promoting changes in all these areas that are easy to carry out, that save money and that have the biggest effect on the environment. Among the changes travelers will see are:

• Communications related to a conference-like registration-are more likely to be handled on the Web. "We'll see a lot less paper and a lot more electronics," says Clark.
• Hotels will give guests the option of using the same sheets and towels for several days.
• Conference planners will select cities with good public transportation so travelers can avoid car rentals and those $30 taxi rides in from the airport.
• Rather than getting paper handouts, brochures, proceedings and so on, attendees will choose the materials they want. Documents will be sent electronically after the conference.This not only will save paper and the cost of printing and postage, says Clark, but also minimize the dumping of unused materials at hotels and other conference sites. "People drag a lot of stuff to the hotel and leave behind what they don't use," Clark notes. Some environmentally friendly measures may be invisible to travelers. For example, convention sites may donate unserved food to shelters for homeless people. Even leftovers and food waste can be reused, says Clark. Food services squeeze the water out of the waste and ship it to pig farms.

Big companies like Nike, GM and Ford have pledged to take the environment into account in planning their business travel, and they are collaborating with some hotel chains to accomplish that goal. The government also can make a difference, Clark points out, because it spends so much on travel each year.

Electronic Efficiency

Not only will technology be good for the environment, but it will help conference planners and participants, too. With online registration, organizers can examine attendees' experience and skill levels and match workshops to their needs, says Cheryl Thompson, who plans conferences for the U.S. Postal Service in St. Louis. Online registration also helps organizers coordinate logistics, such as arrival times, reducing costs.

Growing numbers of travelers are using technology to avoid travel altogether.

Videoconferencing technology is improving, making it a more realistic option. And Web-based conferencing is coming of age as well. Companies like Placeware, webhosting.com and astound.com offer services that allow people to meet online and share presentations or work on projects together, sharing software applications. So, in the future, the best way to work around travel irritations may be simply to stay home.

Regulations:

GSA's frequently asked questions on conference regulations:
http://policyworks.gov/org/main/mt/homepage/mtt/faqconference.

Conference regulations, including per diem rules:

http://policyworks.gov/org/main/mt/homepage/mtt/FTR/ch301tc.

Green Meetings:

EPA info on how to make meetings more environmentally friendly: www.epa.gov/oppt/epp/conference.htm.

For help planning green meetings, including sample contract language for working with vendors, contact Russell Clark at clark.russell@epa.gov or (202) 260-4418. And the winner is . . .

We don't care if you're big or small, civilian or military. We don't care if you deal with temporary travel or relocation. We don't care if you've redone your travel program top to bottom or just polished up one little corner until it runs like a well-oiled machine.

What we do care about are efforts to make federal travel better for everyone involved. If that's your goal, we hope you'll consider nominating your agency, department, installation or facility for a 2001 Travel Manager of the Year Award, sponsored by Government Executive.

This program encourages innovation and shines a spotlight on government agencies that have made strides in reengineering travel. It strives to educate people throughout government about good practices and to recognize achievements in travel management.

Judges look for programs that adhere to the concept and principles of government reinvention; save money; use staff time well; and improve accuracy, productivity and morale. They consider nominations in any of the following categories:

• Relocation.
• Paperless travel management.
• Excellence in travel acquisition or administration.
• Innovation with private-sector partners.
• Technology.

The judges welcome nominations of programs that are promising but that haven't yet yielded measurable results. If you think this might describe your travel program, you can get a nomination form at www.govexec.com/travel. The deadline is June 18.