Approval to Exceed GSA Lodging for LPSC 2024

This letter from SARA is to issue a waiver for NASA grantees attending LPSC 2024 allowing them to be reimbursed out of their grants for their actual lodging, although it’s expected to be above the approved GSA amount. This waiver does not supersede the travel policy of your institution if it is more restrictive. Note: I have specified grants (including cooperative agreements). This may also apply to those traveling on NASA contracts, but they should communicate with their contracting officers.

The host hotel for the 55th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference on March 11–15, 2024, is The Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel and Convention Center. Hotel information for this conference may be found at https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2024/plan/.

The GSA-allowed daily lodging expense for March 2024 for zip code 77380 (for The Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel and Convention Center) is $122 per night. Many of the hotels may be significantly higher than the GSA allowed $122. Grantee travelers may need a waiver to cover lodging in excess of the GSA value, depending on the travel policy of your organization. This waiver does not supersede the travel policy of your institution if it is more restrictive.

By the power vested in me by the NSSC to issue approval of the actual lodging costs for a conference in “bulk” instead of individual approvals, I hereby affirm that for the 55th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference NASA, SMD grants may be charged up to $256/night plus tax, consistent with the average actual cost of the conference hotel, even though this exceeds the $122 allotted for lodging by GSA for The Woodlands for March 2024.

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