Announcements

July19, 2021. Excess lodging rate requests are required if the requested lodging rate is more than the state rate. All excess lodging rate requests for amounts above the delegated amount of $250 per night continue to require CalHR approval in advance. Departments shall continue to follow their current processes for completing and submitting excess lodging rate requests to CalHR.
 
General Reminders

• ​Departments shall review whether the requested lodging is in the best interest of the state before submitting requests to CalHR. All moderately priced lodging options are to be considered in order to determine the lodging that is in the best interest of the state. If an employee’s preferred hotel chain is not the lodging that is in the best interest of the state, then the lodging that is in the best interest of the state shall be selected.
• Moderately priced lodging may include 2- and 3-star hotels in Concur.
• Per DGS Management Memo 14-03, all travel is to be booked through CalTravelStore/Concur. It is CalHR’s understanding from DGS that conference rates and short-term rentals are allowable exceptions to booking lodging via CalTravelStore/Concur. Reasonable accommodations may also be allowable exceptions. For additional questions regarding the requirement to book travel via CalTravelStore/Concur, please contact DGS’s Statewide Travel Program at statewidetravelprogram@dgs.ca.gov.
• Lodging booked outside of Concur due to an allowable exception (such as a conference rate) must be clearly explained in the “justification for alternate booking arrangement” section of the Excess Lodging Rate Request Form (STD 255C).
• The three required comparison quotes must clearly include the requested travel dates (such as a Concur printout or screenshot).
• “Headquarters City” refers to the employee’s headquarters city.
• The current Excess Lodging Rate Request Form (STD 255C) has been available since October 2019. As noted in CalHR’s July 11, 2019, HR Announcement, CalHR will not accept requests submitted on outdated versions of the STD 255C.
• Only submit completed forms to CalHR for review. Please include all department contact information and approval signatures.
• State departments are prohibited from requiring any of their employees, officers or members to travel to, or approving a request for state-funded or state-sponsored travel to, any state that has enacted discriminatory laws or practices on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression, subject to certain exceptions. To view the list of banned states, visit the California Attorney General's website.
• For rank-and-file employees, departments should review applicable Memoranda of Understanding for specific language governing travel.
  

• All after-the-fact requests must be submitted to CalHR with three comparison quotes for the requested travel dates (if available) along with an explanation for the late submission.
• CalHR reviews after-the-fact requests on a case-by-case basis.

• The reporting period for annual reports is July 1 – June 30 of each year. All departments who have approved delegated excess lodging rate requests are required to submit their annual reports to travelmanager@calhr.ca.gov by August 31. Each department’s report must include all approved delegated requests. Please include department contact information in the submission email.
• An updated Excel template for annual reports is now available in the “Forms” section of HR Manual section 2201- Travel and Relocation Policy.