How to choose a hotel for an official mission

Start with the meeting, not the city centre

A hotel can look convenient on a city-wide search and still be awkward for your assignment. Start with the exact venue, meeting time and arrival date. Include the city when you search for a headquarters, conference centre or office.

Use the accommodation map to see where the options sit relative to the venue. Proximity on a map does not establish travel time, accessibility or security. Confirm the route and transport arrangements with your host office or property before booking.

• Record the venue’s full name and address.
• Check whether your first meeting starts before the normal hotel check-in time.
• Ask about airport transfers, early check-in and late arrival arrangements.
• Follow your organization’s travel clearance and accommodation guidance.

Compare the full stay cost

Use the same dates, guest count, room type and currency for each option. A low nightly price can become a less useful choice once breakfast, taxes, transfers or an extra night are added.

Treat your accommodation ceiling as a planning limit. Confirm what your organization permits and what it reimburses; a platform price is not an approval to incur expenditure.

• Room charge for all nights, including any required extra night.
• Taxes, service charges and payment or currency-conversion costs.
• Breakfast, internet and transfers when these matter to the assignment.
• The amount payable now and the amount payable at the property.

Read the cancellation deadline as a date and time

Mission schedules change. Compare when cancellation becomes chargeable, the applicable time zone, whether a prepayment is refundable and whether changing dates changes the rate.

Save the terms attached to the room and rate you actually select. A general hotel description is not a substitute for that booking’s conditions.

Confirm the invoice before you pay

Ask the property whether it can issue an invoice with the name and details required for your expense claim. Check whether the booking provider or hotel takes payment and which party supplies the receipt.

Keep your booking confirmation, cancellation conditions and receipts together. Your organization determines what evidence is required for reimbursement.

Copy this comparison checklist

Travel Planner lets you prepare the stay, compare hotels and rentals on a partner map, or continue to a booking provider. Prices, availability, cancellation terms and booking confirmations come from that provider. BARUGA does not certify properties as safe or approved by an organization.

• Hotel and room type:
• Dates, nights, adults and rooms:
• Venue and transport plan:
• Total stay cost and currency:
• Breakfast, Wi-Fi and transfer costs:
• Cancellation deadline and time zone:
• Payment timing and invoice issuer:
• Internal approval or clearance required: