Division of Business Affairs

Controller's Office

Travel Information

听- Note: Questions & exception requests are to be routed through the Travel Program Administrators: Susan Clow, x5122 sclow@ulm.edu and Jamie Mondragon, x5115 stahley@ulm.edu for travel cards/CBA, and Beth Weatherford, x5106 eweatherford@ulm.edu for travel authorizations, advances, and expense reports.

PORTALS:

  • (travel card/CBA & purchasing card)
  • 听(email & password protected)
  • - (Pick the correct dept)
  • (needs agency account number)
  • Hertz 青青草视频Rental -- Disabled at this time

CHRISTOPHERSON BUSINESS TRAVEL - CONCUR:

TRAVEL PRESENTATIONS:

TRAVEL POLICY LINKS:

TRAVEL INFORMATION LINKS:

TRAVEL FORMS -- INTERNAL, ULM:

  • Request for Rental Vehicle Upgrade . -- TO BE SUBMITTED WITH TRAVEL AUTHORIZATION FORM
  • Travel Advance Request .
  • Travel Authorization - Revised 9/14/2022 .
  • Travel Expense .
  • Travel Policy .PDF
  • Travel Procedure .
  • Travel Procedure (International) .
  • Travel Card Exit Form .DOC

青青草视频STATE TRAVEL CARD/CBA INFORMATION & LINKS:

BANK OF AMERICA (BOA) WORKS/WORKFLOW INFORMATION:

Travel Announcements

BATON ROUGE AIRPORT PARKING - March 24, 2026

The Office of State Travel has been informed that Baton Rouge Airport no longer provides itemized receipts automatically. If you require an itemized receipt, please email btrparking@metropolis.io and include the following:

  • A copy of your parking ticket
  • Your vehicle鈥檚 license plate number (must be the vehicle parked at the airport)

Please ensure that you drive to the lane where an attendant is present. The attendant at Baton Rouge Airport is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Important: The state contract parking rate of $8.00 per day is only available at this lane. Using any other lane will result in standard parking rates, which are higher; reimbursement will still be limited to the contract rate of $8.00 per day.

Remember to have the BTR airport coupon from the State Travel website, along with an official state-issued identification to receive the state contract rate.

For any questions or further assistance, please contact our office.

OFFICE OF STATE TRAVEL

UNUSED TICKETS

The Office of State Travel has seen a recent rise in unused airfare tickets. This serves as a reminder for all state agencies, higher education institutions, boards, and commissions to review and take immediate action on any unused tickets held with Christopherson Business Travel. The primary goal is to minimize unused tickets and ensure the responsible use of state funds.

In accordance with PPM-49, please ensure the following guidelines are being followed:

  • Traveler Responsibility: Upon notification, the traveler must determine whether the ticket will be used. Unused tickets should be reviewed every thirty (30) days to avoid expiration.
  • Ticket Transfer: If a ticket will not be used prior to expiration and transfer is an option, the traveler must immediately notify the agency鈥檚 travel administrator so it may be reassigned to another traveler, department, or agency.
  • Agency Action: Travel administrators should actively work to reassign unused tickets within the agency. Department heads are responsible for reviewing all unused airfare and determining whether reimbursement from the traveler is appropriate.
  • Documentation: All actions taken regarding unused tickets must be properly documented.
  • Tracking Mechanism: Agencies should utilize the monthly unused ticket report provided by Christopherson Business Travel to program administrators. In addition, traveler reminder notifications at 120, 90, 60, 30, and 14 days prior to expiration should be used to help prevent ticket loss.

Proactively managing unused airfare is a key opportunity to reduce waste and ensure state funds are used effectively.

Thank you for your continued support in managing travel resources responsibly.

OFFICE OF STATE TRAVEL

CHRISTOPHERSON - DEDICATED GROUP BOOKING

Christopherson Business Travel has a dedicated Group Booking phone number for travel parties consisting of 10 or more travelers. This new service is designed to make planning and booking group travel easier, faster, and more personalized.

When you have a group of 10 or more travelers, simply call Christopherson at: 866-371-3580. Their agents will assist with:

  • Coordinating group reservations
  • Handling complex itineraries efficiently

OFFICE OF STATE TRAVEL

SECURITY MEASURES

The Office of State Travel would like to remind all cardholders and travelers of important security best practices. To help ensure the continued security of Christopherson Business Travel and Bank of America accounts, OST recommends the following:

Please ensure that all cardholders and CBT participants are provided with the information outlined below:

  • Reset passwords regularly as a security precaution.
  • Avoid sharing passwords with others.
  • Use unique passwords for each application or service.
  • Only the authorized cardholder may use the agency CBA, LaCarte, or Travel card. Use by anyone else is a state violation.
  • Never leave cards unattended or allow card numbers to be visible, putting them at risk.

Following these practices helps protect personal and card information and maintain the integrity of the state programs.

Thank you

OFFICE OF STATE TRAVEL

BATON ROUGE AIRPORT PARKING AND TSA FEE

The Office of State Travel has been informed of a couple of changes regarding additional payment option at Baton Rouge Airport Parking and TSA fee.

Effective February 1, 2026, all travelers flying on behalf of the State of Louisiana will be required to present either a valid U.S. passportor aREAL ID-compliant identification ().

Please note that travelers who do not provide one of these accepted forms of identification will incur an additional $45.00 fee, which will be the responsibility of the traveler and will not be reimbursed. We strongly encourage all travelers to verify their identification well in advance to avoid any additional fees or travel disruptions.

Baton Rouge Airport Parking will now offer ticketless express pay, which allows travelers to sign up鈥攁t their discretion鈥攗sing their personal credit card (not a State-issued card) and be charged automatically when exiting through the ticketless booth.

If you choose to use the ticketless express pay option, you will not receive the State鈥檚 discounted rate of $8.00 per day. To receive the State discount, you must exit through the lane marked State Government or through a lane staffed with a parking attendant to give them the required documentation.

ENTERPRISE - TAX-EXEMPT FORM

Effective September 29, 2025, Enterprise will require a tax-exempt form whenever a personal credit card is used for In-state rental transactions. (Please note this does not apply to State of Louisiana LaCarte or Travel cards.)

If your agency is booking rentals using the agency direct bill with the state鈥檚 official credit card, travelers will not need to present a tax-exempt form.

The tax-exempt form must be presented at the time of vehicle or box truck pickup. If the form is not provided, Enterprise will be unable to remove state taxes from the rental charge.

Please be reminded that state sales taxes are not allowed for In-state vehicle rentals. If sales taxes are charged due to non-compliance with this requirement, the traveler will be responsible for reimbursing those taxes to the state.

There will be no exceptions to this policy.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

OFFICE OF STATE TRAVEL

ENTERPRISE INFORMATION

The Office of State Travel would like to inform all state agencies, universities, and boards of the following updates, effective September 15, 2025:

  1. Enterprise Rental Rate Increase
    Enterprise rental rates have increased. Please refer to the attached document for detailed information.
  2. New Box Truck Rental Contract
    The State of Louisiana has entered into a new contract with Enterprise for the rental of box trucks.

Both contracts include $1,000,000 in insurance coverage. No additional coverage may be requested or reimbursed.

Updates will be posted on PPM49 under Resources, accessible through our website ().

Important Note:
Please be advised that while certain vehicle types may be available, they may still be considered non-allowable under state travel regulations.

OFFICE OF STATE TRAVEL

听

AMERICAN AIRLINES

American Airlines offers a direct flight from Baton Rouge to Washington, DC, option that departs at 5:46 a.m. from BTR and around 7 p.m. from DCA each day. Starting in November, the morning flight out to DCA will leave BTR an hour later at 6:45 AM. 听Christopherson has increased the visibility of these flights in CBT and has modified the window of time when a traveler chooses to search for "morning" flights. Previously, when "morning" was chosen, the earliest flight displayed would be 6 a.m., but that has been changed to 4 a.m. When booking a flight to DC, the traveler must still follow PPM49 and choose the lowest logical fare.

Per Shelita Woods, State Travel Manager

TRAVEL INFORMATION

The Office of State Travel publishes updated travel regulations every fiscal year, which go into effect on July 1. The updated travel guide, which provides guidelines and establishes procedures for individuals incurring business travel expenses on the State鈥檚 behalf, can be located at:听

University of Louisiana Monroe Travel Information

Here are the two key areas that were updated this year:

  1. Under Methods of Transportation, Uber Black, Uber Black XL, Uber Premier, Lyft Lux, Lyft Lux Black, and Lyft Lux Black XL are not reimbursable.
  2. Under Lodging, the Commissioner of Administration must approve rates exceeding the Conference Lodging Rate.听

Refer to the new 2023-2024 PPM-49 for complete updates, changes, and regulations.听听

The exemption to utilize personal cards for听individual听travel has been renewed for FY 2024.

Please remember that all travel expense forms are to be submitted within 30 days of the travelers鈥� return date.

In the event you have any questions concerning state travel, please contact Susan Clow (x5122), Jamie Mondragon (x5115), or Beth Weatherford (x5106).

Effective April 10, 2023 Christopherson will no longer offer State of LA manual approval process when a traveler needs to make changes to a ticket that causes creating a new ticket at a price increase. 听Changed tickets booked through CBT at an increase cost above the original ticket, will automatically be charged to the agency鈥檚 CBA without going through the approval process with the CBA accountholder.听 Justification will need to be kept on file when a change and/or increase occurs.

Shelita Woods,听State Travel Manager,听Division of Administration,听Office of State Travel

ENTERPRISE

If problems occur with Enterprise booking, please contact Joey Rosenfeld at Joseph.G.Rosenfeld@ehi.com 听with the information below.

State of Louisiana Vehicle Request

Renters Name

听

Rental Date & Time

听

Return Date & Time

 听

Rental Location Needed

听

Size Vehicle Requested

听

Renters Phone #

听

Renters email address

听

Account Number

听

Billing # if applicable

 听

Shelita Woods,听State Travel Manager,听Division of Administration,听Office of State Travel

FYI from Office of State Travel

UNUSED AIRFARE TICKETS should be utilized before purchasing new tickets. Christopherson is the commercial travel company and must be used.

Shelita Woods,听State Travel Manager,听Division of Administration,听Office of State Travel

Enterprise

  • Enterprise has added a Premium segment to their cars.
  • Please note PREMIUM cars are not allowed.
  • Including the new full-size premium designation are not allowed.
  • You will have to reimburse the difference between a full size and a premium.
  • Also we have had people using it was the only car on the lot excuse.
  • This is not an acceptable excuse.
  • Enterprise is supposed to charge what you asked for online.
  • Upgrade forms are still needed.
  • The travel authorization and expense report have been updated on the website.

CONVENIENCE FEES

The section below is now officially part of the State of Louisiana Corporate Liability 鈥淭ravel Card /CBA Policy and LaCarte鈥� Purchasing Card/CBA Policy.听

Merchants may include a surcharge or convenience fee. VISA and MasterCard have strict merchant guidelines governing the assessment of surcharge fees:

  • The merchant must register with VISA 30 days prior to beginning a surcharge policy.
  • The merchant must provide clear disclosure to the customer.
  • The amount of the surcharge must be listed as a separate item and detailed on the receipt.
  • The surcharge must apply to all credit cards accepted by the merchant.
  • The surcharge must be equivalent to the merchant鈥檚 interchange rate, but cannot exceed 4%.

For any charge where the Supplier has charged a surcharge, a cardholder or user should obtain a copy of the acknowledgment letter sent to the Supplier by Visa authorizing the Supplier to impose a surcharge as part of their supporting documentation.

Convenience Fees are charged as a flat fee (regardless of the total cost) when purchases are made via one form of payment channel over another 鈥� online or by phone vs. in store or by mail.

The decision to use a State Travel Card/CBA on a purchase that will incur a surcharge or convenience fee should be based on rare and extenuating circumstances such as no other form of payment is accepted, timeliness of payment to avoid late fees, urgency of the needed item or services, lack of other vendors, etc. Agencies are required to carefully evaluate the necessity of the State Travel/CBA Card transactions which are subject to surcharge or convenience fees.

Shelita Woods,听State Travel Manager,听Division of Administration,听Office of State Travel

The travel guidelines require that in-state vehicle rentals (for all travel) and out-of-state vehicle rentals (for group travel) be charged to a state card.听This new website will allow the state CBA account (Controlled Billing Account) to be charged directly each time a vehicle is returned to Enterprise. Enterprise will no longer directly bill the University, so it is important that this website be used for vehicle rentals in order for the University to more easily comply with the state travel requirements.听Training for the use of this website was provided on May 6th听and May 7th.

Important items to note:

  • Taxes will appear when the reservation is made through the website. However, those taxes should not appear on the paper receipt that you receive at the Enterprise location and the taxes will not be charged to the University鈥檚 CBA account.
  • A unique billing code is needed in order to reserve the vehicle. Please contact Susan at #5122,听sclow@ulm.edu, and they can coordinate getting the billing codes to those who need them or direct you to who is responsible for your billing code.
  • If the vehicle is picked up a day early in order to leave for the trip before Enterprise opens the following day, when you pick up the vehicle, you will need to notify Enterprise that charges should start the following morning.
  • If the vehicle is being returned after hours, remind Enterprise (when the vehicle is picked up) that the charges should be stopped on the night the vehicle will be returned.

Please contact our office with any questions.

Hotels have brought to our attention that travelers staying at hotels in the State of Louisiana are not presenting their tax exemption form.听Hotels will begin charging in-state taxes and the employee will be responsible for reimbursement if the tax exemption form was not presented at time of check-in.听Please advise all necessary personnel immediately. Thanks for your assistance in this matter.

Shelita Woods,听Office of State Travel

Travel Advances/Expense Reports and Check Requests:

Please make every effort to send or deliver the Travel Advances/Expense Reports and Check Requests by the Friday, 11:30 a.m. deadline to Coenen Hall Room 103 so they may be stamped before being distributed to the proper processor. We are working very diligently and expediently听to process all payments in a timely manner. It is our goal for all completed requests that have been received in Accounts Payable by Friday, 11:30 a.m. to be processed in the check run for the following week; however, incomplete Receivers and/or incorrect/incomplete Travel Advances / Expense Reports will delay payment. No travel expenses will be paid through Check Requests and you must submit your PRIOR travel authorizations for ALL out-of-state travel and in-state conferences.

In order to verify if payment has been made, first access FAIVNDH in Banner and check Vendor History. However, due to the high volume received in AP, please allow two weeks before making an inquiry to AP, preferably by email, as to why payment has not been made.

Questions should be directed as follows:

Travel 鈥� Beth Weatherford, 318.342.5106, eweatherford@ulm.edu

We appreciate your cooperation, patience, and adherence听in these procedures.

听

听