Dining at the Corporate Trough

I finally got around to filling out my expense form for the recent AMC meeting. Since nearly all the meals were catered on site (coffee and muffins for breakfasts, a couple simple lunches at the hotel, On The Border take out for a dinner, and one hearty meal at a restaurant), I didn’t have much to report. I probably could get reimbursed for my lunches at the airport, since my travel days were part of the trip, but I don’t usually remember to keep track of that sort of thing. My hotel and airfare were booked and paid for directly by AML, so all I really had to turn in were receipts for some breakfasts and part of my transportation to and from the airport (I live an hour away from O’Hare—and even the remote parking is $13 a day).

This got me to thinking about how frequently disgruntled members complain about the AMC getting free pleasure jaunts with fancy expensive meals and nights in luxury hotels. The travel doesn’t suck, but neither is it anything more luxurious than I’d do if I were paying for it myself—economy plane seats, regular hotel room, some cheap, quick meals and some nice, relaxing meals.

My husband, who has never been on the AMC but does do a fair bit of traveling for his job, had this to say on the subject:

There is a broad spectrum of people in American Mensa. While they have a common characteristic in intelligence, they differ markedly in accomplishments and demonstrated abilities. Those with skills in business and leadership generally (generally, I say) exercise them outside of Mensa. We benefit if they exercise those skills inside Mensa as well. Since we don't pay them, and they seem to get less appreciation than stones thrown at them by armchair critics, it is necessary to make their volunteer experience at least tolerable. Otherwise, you can recruit only the sort who think fleabags and "baloney sammiches" are appropriate and don't know the difference between a luxury hotel and a business hotel.

As an independent level setting, consider the per diem rates set by the GSA for travel by federal employees and federal contractors' employees. Certainly nobody is getting rich in that sort of work. The GSA allows a traveler to Davenport, Iowa $39 a day for meals and incidental expenses. That's the lowest rate they give for anywhere in the contiguous states. To Orlando, Florida, it's $49, and in Chicago, $64. The GSA allows the traveler exactly the specified amount regardless of actual expenses. Mensa reimburses actual costs only, up to the limit of $40. That nearly always comes out less than the GSA rate, and never more than $1 greater. No one I know accuses the GSA of being too generous! And they're dealing with employees and contractors who have a limited choice of whether to travel or not. Imagine if they needed volunteers.