Do we need a travel policy for our conference?

Organizing a conference that assists with travel for their speakers usually means a good amount of the conference budget is spent on getting speakers there.

Especially for community-run conferences with lower budget, this can be a burden. However, we believe that covering travel for speakers is important!

If you only depend on employers paying for travel, obviously budget required for travel will be lower. Typically there are less talk submissions, and can eliminate speakers who are self-employed, under-employed, or simply don't have anyone chipping in for their travel cost.

As a conference, you'll miss out on a large number of excellent talks if you don't!

Do we need a travel policy for speakers?

Yes! If your conference decides to sponsor travel for speakers, it's still important to be clear about what is and what isn't covered to avoid any misunderstandings.

What would a travel policy for conference speakers look like?

The intent of a travel policy should not be policing - it should be about making expectations on all sides clear. Keep it as simple as possible, but make sure to cover:

• Event entry — do speakers get full access to the conference?
• Transportation — flights, trains, airport transfers, personal car, parking
• Accommodation — how many hotel nights, what room budget, who books
• Meals — what's provided at the event, what's reimbursed outside of it
• Other expenses — hotel extras, insurance, equipment
• Changes after booking — who pays when plans change
• A "when in doubt" clause — who to ask when something isn't listed

Let's go through each of these:

Event entry

Tell your speakers they are valued, and offer them full access to other sessions at your conference. Having speakers around in different sessions makes your conference worthwhile for attendees, as they can have a hallway chat with someone they saw present, and speakers will be happy they can attend some of the other sessions. Always provide event entry for speakers, and be clear you do.

Transportation

How are your speakers coming to the conference? By plane? Train? Car?

With SpeakerTravel, it's easy to invite speakers and set policies around coach vs. business flights, as well as the budget.

Will you cover airport transfers? Rental cars? Here's an example paragraph you could include:

Our conference will cover transport to/from the event in coach or economy, whether it is a bus, train or plane, unless otherwise agreed. For air travel, we will work with you to book your flights, unless agreed otherwise. Airport transfers should always be made using the most economical transportation option, for example a ride share app, bus or train. When those options are not available, we may cover taxi costs. Rental cars will not be reimbursed.

When using your personal car, the conference will reimburse fuel cost when that cost does not exceed reasonable cost for the traveled distance. Parking costs will be reimbursed when it is required to use paid car parks near the event location.

Keep it simple, but be clear about what is covered and what is not.

Accommodation

Will you reimburse hotel? What's the room budget? Will the conference book rooms or should the speaker do this? How many nights are covered?

Meals

Is there food at the conference? Maybe that covers lunch. But what about dinner? Is it covered or not?

Other expenses

Are there any other expenses covered by the conference? Think of hotel-related expenses (pay TV, valet, bar, mini bar, telephone, internet connection, etc.), flight insurance, presentation preparation of slides, overheads, handouts, etc., audiovisual equipment, entertainment of other speakers, attendees, spouse, etc.

Changes after booking

Does your event cover changes after booking? Make it clear how you plan to handle changes to the travel itinerary, and who is responsible for associated costs.

When in doubt...

In your travel policy, mention what to do "when in doubt". If a speaker wants to do laundry in the hotel, is that covered or not? You could add that as a clause in your speaker travel policy, or advise to give you a call on whether or not something can be reimbursed.

A copy-paste speaker travel policy template

Feel free to copy this template and adapt it to your conference:

Speaker travel policy for [Conference Name]

Event entry. As a speaker, you receive a full conference ticket, including access to all sessions and social events.

Transportation. We cover transport to/from the event in coach or economy, whether by bus, train, or plane, unless otherwise agreed. For air and rail travel, we will work with you to book your tickets through our booking tool, so you never have to front the cost. Airport transfers should use the most economical option available (ride share, bus, or train); where those are not available, we cover taxi costs. Rental cars are not reimbursed. When using your personal car, we reimburse fuel cost when it does not exceed reasonable cost for the traveled distance, plus parking near the venue when paid parking is required.

Accommodation. We book and pay for [N] hotel nights ([night before the event] through [night of the last day]) at our speaker hotel. Additional nights, room upgrades, and hotel extras (mini bar, pay TV, laundry, room service) are at your own expense.

Meals. Lunch is provided at the conference. We cover dinner on [speaker dinner date]. Other meals during travel are [covered up to €X per day / not reimbursed].

Changes after booking. If you need to change your travel after tickets are issued, contact us first. We cover changes caused by the conference (schedule changes, cancellation); changes for personal reasons are at your own cost.

When in doubt. If you're unsure whether something is covered, ask us at [email] before spending. We're reasonable people, and we'd rather answer a quick question than have an awkward conversation afterwards.

In summary

Spell out your travel policy, make it clear what is covered and what is not.

Ideally, define your speaker travel policy as part of your CfP submission process to set expectations early on. Doing so will save you and your speakers a lot of potential headaches.

Related: What speakers actually want from conference travel goes deeper into what matters most from the speaker's perspective.

See how SpeakerTravel can help your conference by inviting speakers to pick their preferred flights, and have you approve when they are within budget.

Frequently Asked Questions

What should a conference speaker travel policy include?
At minimum: what transportation is covered (flights, trains, taxis), accommodation details (how many nights, room budget), meals, and a process for handling changes after booking. Keep it simple but explicit.

Should I publish my travel policy before the CfP?
Yes. Include it as part of your CfP submission process so speakers know what to expect before they invest time writing a proposal. It sets expectations early and avoids awkward conversations later.

Should conferences cover speaker travel or let employers pay?
Cover it if you can. Relying on employers paying for travel means you miss out on self-employed speakers, community contributors, and anyone whose company won't fund conference trips. Your speaker lineup will be weaker for it.

What's a reasonable travel budget per speaker?
It depends on your event location and where speakers are coming from. A European conference with mostly European speakers might budget €300-600 per speaker for flights or trains. Set a clear cap and use a tool like SpeakerTravel to enforce it without micromanaging.