Jun. 29, 2008 - Association Travel Policy

One of my current projects involves revising and re-writing some association policy manuals—and as a result I've been thinking a lot about manuals and the need for good ones in an association. This is especially true in Realtor organizations: because our governance usually involves an annual change of leaders (and, sadly, in some associations an annual change of AE's), it's imperative that there exists a good set of operating policies. These policies should be reaffirmed annually by the Board of Directors and both leadership and staff become familiar with the contents. It is within the policies that the association maintains its continuity and its history.

A big area of association misunderstanding is travel, and travel-related expenses. This is true in local and state associations: members often see themselves as travel 'have-nots', and imagine all kinds of excesses relating to volunteer and staff travel. When it's budget-crunch time, the jugular is the travel budget, even though it may be less than 5% of the total expenses—travel is where the majority of members envision the greatest misuse of “The Dues I Pay”.

AE's and past presidents can make great cases for the reason for making travel important. Particularly in the Realtor association, local boards are expected to fund participation in 3-5 state meetings, and equally as many NAR meetings (the Convention, Legislative Meetings, Leadership Conference, AE Seminar are a minimum number). And even though smaller associations have fewer resources, even one funded meeting is often subject to suspicion and scrutiny.

Can we avoid this? No, probably not. But as staff and leadership, we can treat the subject of travel with seriousness and accountability, and one of the first places to start is with a travel policy. Even if your association almost never subsidizes travel expenses, some day it will—and it's best to have your policies in place to avoid the misunderstandings which can arise after the fact (when you find the expensive bottle of wine on the president's expense request).

Here are some suggestions for what might be included in a comprehensive Realtor association travel policy:

Travel Arrangements and Reservation Procedures

Who Qualifies: what classes of members are reimbursed and for which specific events. Correspondingly, detail this in your annual association budget.

Air Travel: Reservations, reimbursement, class of travel, frequent flyer programs, cancellation or re-booking expenses

Hotel: Reservation Procedures, allowable expenses, cancellation procedures

Rental Cars: Guidelines for rental types, preferred suppliers, insurance, car accidents and/damage

Personal Car Usage: Usage guidelines, reimbursement guidelines

Personal Travel and Vacation Expense: when connected with a business trip

Telephone and Computer Expense: Allowable calls, personal cell phone reimbursement, air phones, hotel room phones and computer access, rental cell phones and temporary Internet access.

Payment Methods for Travel Expense: Corporate card usage; termination of corporate cards; corporate card billing and payment responsibility; personal use of corporate cards; travel advance policy; use of personal credit cards; per diem limits if any

Expense Reporting: Timing for submission of reports, documentation requirements, narratives or reports to membership requirements; approval authorization process; appeals

Now your association may not need all of these subjects included in your policy manual, but again, it's always best to imagine the worst cases that could happen and try to anticipate the occurrence in a policy that can be referred to when a dispute arises. In addition, a good policy manual will answer questions like:

1. Doesn't the AE book all the plane and hotel reservations?

2. Doesn't staff arrange for our dinners reservations?

3. Can you come over to the hotel and leave the credit card number before I check out?

4. What's the matter with ordering a $300 bottle of wine? We can afford it!

5. Can I bring my wife? (husband, girlfriend, partner, best friend, mother?)

6. Do I have to share a room?

And so on. Remember, too, that travel is not something that everyone has experienced—or wants to experience. Nor is it particularly pleasant in these times of airline disruptions, crime, and terrorism precautions. Best to do your homework as an association and try to prevent as much confusion as possible with travel policies everyone understands in advance of the trip.