Travel & Meals

• Meals

• Lodging

• Travel & Transportation

• Insurance & Liability

Travel, Meals & Entertainment (TME)

TME (Travel, Meals & Entertainment), is a “throw-back” term from before the time of JP Morgan purchasing cards. Anyone who traveled, dined out, or rented a car would pay for these expenses up front - out of their own pocket - and then be reimbursed by the college by submitting TME paperwork. While the Business Office still processes “TMEs” on occasion, this is the exception and not the norm. For the most part, employees charge purchases to their JP Morgan Chase credit cards for airfare, car rentals, meals, and ground transportation. Credit cards are far easier to reconcile than reimbursement paperwork, for all involved.

Meals

Whether you’re arranging a casual working lunch with students or hosting a campus visitor at a local restaurant, it is important to remember how different ways of consuming food and/or planning events, call for different budget object codes:

Local Meals - Whether dining in or ordering to go, grabbing coffee or arranging pizza delivery, the object code will be Local Meals 5703.

On Campus Meals & Refreshments - Consuming at Cleveland Commons or Reid Market as part of an event or program? The object code will be Local Meals 5703.

Dining On Campus - Consuming at Cleveland Commons or Reid Market as part of an event or program? Please distribute Bon Appetit meal vouchers. The object code for these will be Local Meals 5703.

Grocery Items - when purchasing food supplies from a local supermarket, farm stand, or box chain superstore, the object code for your purchases will be Supplies 5700.

Catering - the college has a contract in place with third party vendor Bon Appetit for all meals catered both on and off campus. Create a Catertrax account if you have not already done so, where you can place an order and track your interdepartmental charges. Object code Events 5742.

Lodging

Local Accommodations

• The Marcus Whitman Hotel (email Emily Brown, Senior Sales Manager | embrown@marcuswhitmanhotel.com); we typically request a “King Luxury Tower Suite” (and receive a discounted rate - most recently $189.00; fluctuates depending on time of year). You can either pay with your credit card, or the hotel will send the Division an invoice in the mail for processing payment (please make it clear that you are requesting a room “on behalf of The Division for Inclusive Excellence” and cc your Admin Support on initial email correspondence). Emily’s direct dial is (509) 524-5106 and front desk staff can be reached at (509) 525-2200. Our account number is WHI034. The Marcus Whitman Hotel provided a free shuttle to/from Walla Walla Regional Airport. Please coordinate with hotel staff to reserve a seat for your guest/s.

• The Walla Walla Courtyard Marriott - the college receives a discount on room reservations, please make it clear that you are calling from the college. You will need to provide your JPMC purchasing card details. Our most recent local volume rate was $96.00 for a Standard Room and $126.00 for a King Suite.

• The Finch - A “decentralized” model for the independent traveler. The college receives a discount on room reservations, please make it clear that you are calling from the college. You will need to provide your JPMC purchasing card details. The Finch does not offer breakfast or have an on-site restaurant, however as its location is campus adjacent, guests can be provided with Bon Appetit meal vouchers for on-campus dining. No airport shuttle.

Accommodations Elsewhere

Out-of-town hotel rooms and other accommodations can be made utilizing your JPMC purchasing card. Please keep copies of your receipts for all charges, for credit card reconciliation purposes. If you are arranging group travel, reach out to the hotel to make arrangements for all room reservations be added to one final invoice (or “folio”), and charges can be redistributed to various campus offices/departments after the stay. Should you need a temporary increase in your JPMC purchasing card credit limit and/or single purchase limit, please reach out to your admin support with this request well in advance of your travel.

Travel & Transportation

Airfare

You can reserve air travel for yourself or campus visitors, utilizing your JPMC purchasing card. Please note that there are different object codes for Domestic Travel and Foreign Travel, so please consult the Business Office accordingly. Whitman College has an Alaska Airlines mileage account (Alaska Airlines EasyBiz); please contact your Admin Support to request a user profile. When booking airfare, both the college earns miles and the employee earns miles personally. The college utilizes this mileage to provide airfare for Summer Fly-In participants.

Fuel & Mileage

Fueling a vehicle for work purposes is permitted if it is a rental car or a college-owned vehicle (object code 5702 ‘Vehicle Fuel Purchases’). Fuel reimbursement for a personal vehicle is prohibited. If you are driving your personal vehicle you will be reimbursed you for mileage according to the current rate. Mileage reimbursement covers both fuel costs and vehicle wear and tear. The annual Mileage Reimbursement Rate can fluctuate, and can be found here.

Motor Pool Vehicles

The College also maintains a motor pool of Turtle-Top Buses and Suburbans for Whitman College Business Use. To rent any motor pool vehicle with a capacity of ten passengers or more, the driver must be van-certified through the Environmental Health and Safety Office. For more details on Motor Pool Vehicles policies or to make a reservation contact Facilities.

Car Rental

• College Rentals - suburbans and passenger vans can be “rented” from facilities Fleet Services (interdepartmental charge; you will need a GL number at the ready).

• Enterprise Rent-A-Car - Whitman College also maintains a business account with Enterprise Rent-A-Car (located locally on 9th & Main in Walla Walla). For individuals with a college credit card, use the XZ45344 promotion code and directly pay for the business rental at the time it is reserved/rented. For renters that need to have an invoice sent to Whitman for payment please have them follow the below procedures when reserving a car online:

  1.  Enter Pick up location

  2.  Enter Pick up/Return times

  3.  Input in the Corporate account number/promotion code for Whitman's direct bill invoice code, DB45014

  4.  After you select your vehicle, and input contact details you will be asked to confirm the trip is primarily for Whitman College Business.

  5.  Input the billing number for Whitman College, 16770398

  This will authorize Enterprise/National to send a bill to the College for the rental vehicle.  

  Please only provide these codes to the individuals that will be using the rental vehicles and do not post them on websites or where the general public can have access to them. If you are having someone send an invoice to Whitman, and they are not a Whitman employee/student please notify Justin Rodegerdts, so he knows where the invoice should be sent when it arrives.

  These codes should continue to only be used for Whitman College business purposes.

Local Transportation Vendors

• Dream Ride Charters - have a small fleet consisting of a medium (39-passenger) capacity bus and large (52-passenger) capacity passenger bus.

• Freddy G’s Taxi & Wine Tours - Freddy has been a long-standing transportation provider for Whitman College guests, employees, and college presidents. Freddy responds consistently and best way to reach out initially is via text (509) 386-7636.

• Uber - local driver Tim Bennett (email: leterbuck245@gmail.com or cell: 509.520.6510). Fyi, Tim is husband of Susan Bennett, Associate to the Provost and Dean of the Faculty.

Accessible Transportation

• Latitude Transport LLC is a local medical transport service that offers wheelchair transportation (Alcenia Munio Owner/Operator | 509-797-8086 | dispatch@latitudetransport.net)