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 Understand Expense Reimbursement Rules
It will often profit speakers to pay careful attention to expense reimbursement rules before finalizing a fee. It can seem like every venue has their own detailed rules, and what fits the rules at some venues will not fit the rules at others. Expense reimbursement provisions are sometimes tied to negotiating the fee itself because some venues have a budget for their total cost to engage a speaker, and they cannot exceed their budgeted amount for fee and expenses combined. Be very clear about whether your expenses will be reimbursed in addition to your speaking fee or whether they expect you to incorporate expenses into your fee. If expenses are to be reimbursed in addition to your fee, understand exactly what will be covered (any limitations in type or amount of expenses) and what type of documentation will be required. If any of your expenses must be absorbed in your fee, establishing this before you settle on a fee will help maintain the profitability of your engagement. If you are going with a standard fee plus expenses agreement, it will generally be a good idea to quote full-fare economy class (refundable) as this will avoid a loss to you or a contract dispute if for any reason the event and/or trip must be cancelled. If you wish to travel business class or first class air, it is often better to adjust your quoted fee to account for this upgrade. Many venues will not feel higher “class” air travel is appropriate, or even have policies prohibiting it, and yet they will be willing to pay a fee large enough to cover it so long as the actual expenditure comes on the speaker’s side of the transaction. As discussed in much more detail on the Talking About Your Speaking Fee section, one option that will sometimes facilitate moving forward is to provide an "all-inclusive" quote: One number that combines fee and expenses and is fixed in the agreement. The expense portion is not broken out separately, and no expense accounting is due the engaging venue. They simply agree to one “all-Inclusive” fee and the expenses, whatever they may be, are covered by the speaker.
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