One of my contract specialists has a requirement for some employees to attend a conference at a hotel. The contract they want calls for payment of the rooms and food. Isn't there a restriction against this? I thought government employees were supposed to use their travel card for this type of travel. I could not find anything definitive, so I was hoping someone could help me out. thanks.

Many departments have specific requirements for conferences. You should check.

you might also want to look at the Government Employees Training Act, 5 USC 4101. You might find that helpful.

Many hotels require a security deposit to block out a large number of rooms for a conference. The way we handle that here at my agency is to award a PO to the hotel in the amount of the security deposit, and then deobligate any funding not utilized by attendees failing to rent the rooms or follow the cancellation policy. The attendees do pay for their rooms with their travel cards, and we get a printout of who rented a room, who cancelled and who simply did not show up. We use that printout to research what happened and to determine how much of the security deposit the hotel can claim.

The food portion is also a part of the PO, as it is required up front so that the hotel can make the catering arrangements. The "food" is not a meal however, unless very specific requirements are dealt with and approved by legal. The food that is normally provided are small snacks such as pastries, cookies or something equally as small so that the participants won't miss out on the sessions looking for a mid-morning snack.

Some conferences do provide lunch if training is conducted over the lunch hour. In order for this to happen, a complete lesson plan must be provided in advance, the session must be attended by all of the people at the conference, and that attendance must be positively recorded. Our legal department reviews meal requests very, very closely and I have rarely seen full meals either requested or approved.

Also provided is coffee, tea and water, which all require compensation at most conferences, although some hotels are offering the drinks on a complimentary basis in order to be more competitive in this economy season.

One of my contract specialists has a requirement for some employees to attend a conference at a hotel. The contract they want calls for payment of the rooms and food. Isn't there a restriction against this? I thought government employees were supposed to use their travel card for this type of travel. I could not find anything definitive, so I was hoping someone could help me out. thanks.

Dormer30,

Did you get your answer regarding this issue?

Dormer30 - I suggest your specific instance be compared and considered with regard to a read of GAO's Principles of Federal Appropriation Law, Volume 1, Chapter 4, starting at Page 4-106. Also known as the Red Book the reference can be found here http://www.gao.gov/special.pubs/d04261sp.pdf