[Comments on TV Marti Employee's Claim for Reimbursement for Reservation Cancellation Penalties]

Mr. James Q. Kohler, Jr. File: B-257490 Date: October 24, 1994

Chief, Financial Operation Division Office of the Comptroller U.S. Information Agency Washington, DC 20547 A secretary made reservations for six employees for an official business trip. When that trip had to be canceled, the employee, whose government-issued Diners Club card was used to make the reservations, instructed the secretary to cancel the reservations, but she did not do so. The agency may reimburse the employee for the cancellation penalty charges which he had to pay to Diners Club since the secretary was authorized in her official capacity to make the reservations and the employee was not at fault in the failure to cancel the reservations. See Gary L. Fryman, B-252195, July 26, 1993, and Nancy Lang, B-256156, June 15, 1994.

Dear Mr. Kohler:

This is in response to your letter, dated May 26, 1994, concerning the claim of Mr.                 for reimbursement of $1,200 for two reservation cancellation penalty charges.

You advise that on November 4, 1993, the Director of TV Marti instructed Mr.                , the Deputy Director of TV Marti, to make preparations for himself and five other TV Marti staff persons to travel to San Juan, Puerto Rico, for the period of November 10 to November 15, 1993, to cover the Plebiscite to determine whether Puerto Rico should become a state, including the participation of the Cuban community of Puerto Rico in the Plebiscite. As part of her assigned duties, the acting secretary for the Director, TV Marti, made reservations for the six-member team, using Mr.                 government-issued Diners Club Card to guarantee the reservations.

Because of the shortage of hotel rooms, and in order to ensure that rooms would be available, the secretary made six reservations at the Caribe Hilton Hotel ($105 deposit required for each room). After making these reservations, she continued to search for rooms at the lower rate authorized by the Federal Travel Regulations ($93 per night) and found out that six rooms were available at the Radisson Normandie Hotel for $95 per night. She then made six reservations there ($95 deposit required for each room), also using Mr.                 government-issued Diners Club credit card to guarantee the reservations.

Later on that same day, the Director of TV Marti was informed that, due solely to budgetary restraints, the travel he had ordered for Mr.                 and five other TV Marti staff persons could not be approved. The Director then decided to send just three staff persons to San Juan, Puerto Rico, for the shorter period of November 12 to 15, 1993, and those staff persons made their own accommodation arrangements.

When Mr.                 found out that he would not be going to San Juan, Puerto Rico, he immediately instructed the secretary to cancel the reservations which she had made for the six-member team. However, the secretary failed to cancel any of the reservations, and she went on annual leave on the following day.

Subsequently, Mr.                 received a bill, dated December 8, 1993, from Diners Club, which included a charge of $630 from the Caribe Hilton Hotel for the reservation of six rooms on November 11, 1993. Mr.                 also received another Diners Club bill, dated January 6, 1994, which had a charge of $570 from the Radisson Normandie Hotel for reservations of six rooms on November 11, 1993.

After the exchange of several telephone conversations and letters among Mr.                , and Diners Club, and the hotels involved, Mr.                 paid a total of $1,200 to Diners Club in view of two letters from Diners Club's which referred to the possibility of garnishment or other legal action against him if he did not pay, and in order to protect his credit rating.[1]

The record shows that the secretary was acting in an official capacity when she used Mr.                 credit card to make reservations at both hotels. When the plans were changed, Mr.                 reasonably believed that the secretary had cancelled the reservations. Since Mr.                 was not at fault in the matter, Mr.                 may be reimbursed. See                , B-252195, July 26, 1993, and                , B-256156, June 15, 1994.

Thus, the USIA may reimburse Mr.                 in the amount of $1,200 for the reservation cancellation penalty charges, and we are returning Mr.                 travel voucher herewith.

1. See two letters from Citicorp Diners Club, Inc., to Mr.                , dated December 1993, and June 10, 1994. Diners Club's position is that since the hotels involved refused to waive the reservation cancellation penalty charges, and since Mr.                 had authorized use of his Diners Club card to reserve them, Mr.                 is legally liable to pay for them.