In the Matter of BRIAN I.

December 8, 2023

CBCA 7875-RELO

In the Matter of BRIAN I.

Brian I., Claimant.

Nancy L. Caldwell, Chief, Travel Section, Customs and Border Protection,

Department of Homeland Security, Indianapolis, IN, appearing for Department of Homeland

Security.

KULLBERG, Board Judge.

Claimant seeks $3897.92 for the cost of the unreimbursed portion of an Airbnb lease,

which included an Airbnb service fee, and the cost of fuel for travel from his previous

permanent duty station (PDS) to his current PDS. The agency, the Department of Homeland

Security (DHS), contends that claimant’s entitlement to temporary quarters subsistence

expenses (TQSE) ended when he moved into permanent quarters and he was only entitled

to a prorated portion of the total cost of the Airbnb lease, with the exception of the service

fee, which it denied in its entirety. In addition, DHS denied claimant’s reimbursement

request for the cost of fuel that he incurred for driving his privately owned vehicle (POV) to

his new PDS. Claimant contends that he left the Airbnb before the expiration of the lease in

order to move into permanent quarters but still had to pay the total lease amount. For the

reasons stated below, the Board grants, in part, the claim.

Background

DHS authorized claimant’s relocation to his current PDS by orders dated May 16,

2023, with an expected reporting date of July 16, 2023, at his new PDS. Claimant’s orders

authorized TQSE for him and his family, which included his spouse and two children, for up

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to sixty days at a total daily rate of $510.25 for the first thirty days and $353.25 for the next

thirty days.1 Claimant’s orders also authorized travel to his new PDS using his POV.

On June 30, 2023, claimant made a partial credit card payment for an Airbnb lease in

the amount of $3285.74 for him and his family to stay at his new PDS from July 20 to

September 15, 2023, at a rate of $112.56 per night. The total cost of the lease was $5836.19,

which included a “long stay” discount of $1604. The lease costs, before the discount,

included the daily rate for fifty-seven days ($6416), a cleaning fee ($150), taxes ($347.34),

and a service fee ($526.85). The lease stated that the first thirty days of the lease were not

refundable and that the deadline for requesting a partial refund was no later than 4:00 p.m.,

July 20, 2023.

On July 24, 2023, claimant submitted his first travel voucher to DHS. He claimed his

payment of $3285.74 for the Airbnb lease. He also claimed the cost of fuel for his POV,

$483.37, in addition to a separate claim for mileage to his current PDS.

On August 10, 2023, claimant made a second credit card payment for the remaining

balance of the Airbnb lease in the amount of $2550.45, and he submitted a second voucher

to DHS for that amount on August 14, 2023. After staying twenty-six days at the Airbnb,

claimant and his family moved into their permanent residence on August 15, 2023.

DHS paid only part of claimant’s cost for the Airbnb lease by prorating the cost of the

fifty-seven-day lease and reimbursing claimant for twenty-six days. The agency report

summarized its reimbursement as follows:

1

The daily rate for TQSE for claimant was $157 for the first thirty days and

seventy-five percent of that amount for the next thirty days, which totaled $4710 for the first

thirty days and $3532.50 for the next thirty days. The daily rate for his spouse was

seventy-five percent of the daily rate for the first thirty days and fifty percent of the daily rate

for the next thirty days, which totaled $3532.50 for the first thirty days and $2355 for the

next thirty days. The combined daily rate for his two children (age twelve or older) was

seventy-five percent of the daily rate for the first thirty days and fifty percent of the daily rate

for the next thirty days, which totaled $7065 for the first thirty days and $4710 for the next

thirty days. The combined total amount of potential reimbursement of TQSE for the first

thirty days was $15,307.50 ($4710 + $3532.5 + $7065), which amounted to a daily rate of

$510.25, and the combined total amount of potential reimbursement for TQSE for the next

thirty days was $10,597.50 ($3532.5 + $2355 + $4710), which amounted to a daily rate of

$353.25.

CBCA 7875-RELO

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Airbnb (Lodging receipt)

Billed

Reimbursed

Lodging ($112.56 x 57 nights)

$6416

$2926.56

($1604)

($731.65)

Cleaning fee

$150

$68.42

Service fee

$526.85

0

Taxes

$347.34

$158.31

Total

$5836.19

$2421.64

Less: “long stay” discount

DHS denied reimbursement for the $483.37 cost of fuel. Claimant subsequently filed

his claim with the Board in the amount of $3897.92 for the fuel cost of $483.37 and the

$3414.55 difference between the total amount of the Airbnb lease ($5836.19) and DHS’

reimbursement ($2421.64). DHS filed an agency report, and claimant filed his reply.

Discussion

Airbnb Lease

This matter presents two interrelated issues regarding the Airbnb lease. The Board

addresses, first, whether DHS properly denied reimbursement of the total amount of the

Airbnb lease service fee. Second, the Board addresses whether DHS properly treated the

Airbnb lease as a day-to-day purchase through its proration of the remaining lease costs over

a fifty-seven-day period and reimbursement for twenty-six days.

Statute provides that “an agency shall pay to or on behalf of an employee who

transfers in the interest of the Government, a per diem allowance or the actual subsistence

expenses, or a combination thereof, of the immediate family of the employee for en route

travel of the immediate family between the employee’s old and new official stations.”

5 U.S.C. § 5724a(a) (2018). The Federal Travel Regulation (FTR) provides that TQSE “is

intended to reimburse an employee reasonably and equitably for subsistence expenses

incurred when it is necessary to occupy temporary quarters.” 41 CFR 302-6.3 (2022)

(FTR 302-6.3).

DHS improperly denied reimbursement of the Airbnb service fee. The Comptroller

General, which previously decided travel and relocation cases, recognized that an

administrative fee related to the lease of an apartment was reimbursable as a TQSE expense

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because it was “incurred incident to the occupancy of temporary quarters.” Tita D. Corpuz,

B-256576 (Jan. 17, 1996). The General Services Board of Contract Appeals (GSBCA),

which decided travel and relocation cases subsequent to the Comptroller General and before

the establishment of this Board, followed the Corpuz decision and held that an expense paid

for a “build/buy” lease provision permitting early termination was reimbursable as the cost

was “part of the overall cost incident to occupancy.” Kevin Gjertsen, GSBCA 14298-RELO,

98-1 BCA ¶ 29,604, at 146,740. The Board finds that the service fee was a reasonable

expense incurred incident to occupancy of temporary quarters.

The Board’s discussion, accordingly, turns to whether DHS properly calculated the

reimbursable amount of claimant’s remaining Airbnb lease costs. The FTR provides for the

payment of TQSE:

What am I paid under the actual TQSE reimbursement method?

Your agency will pay your actual TQSE incurred, provided the expenses are

reasonable and do not exceed the maximum allowable amount. The

“maximum allowable amount” is the “maximum daily amount” multiplied by

the number of days you actually incur TQSE not to exceed the number of days

authorized, taking into account that the rates change after 30 days in temporary

quarters. The “maximum daily amount” is determined by adding the

rates . . . for you and each member of your immediate family authorized to

occupy temporary quarters.

FTR 302-6.100. The FTR further provides that an employee’s entitlement to TQSE ends on

the earlier of “[t]he day preceding the day [an employee] and/or any member of [his or her]

immediate family occupies permanent residence quarters” or “[t]he day [an employee’s]

authorized period for claiming actual TQSE reimbursement expires.” Id. 302-6.108.

At issue, therefore, is what, if any, reimbursement for TQSE does an employee

receive for the cost of leasing lodging that is not occupied for the total lease period. In

Herbert Austin, CBCA 1241-RELO, 09-1 BCA ¶ 34,066, the Board addressed a similar issue

in which an employee leased temporary quarters for ninety days but vacated those quarters

after seventy-five days, which amounted to a forfeiture of rent in the amount of $697.60. In

its decision, the Board stated:

Even so, it appears likely, based on the record before us, that claimant may be

entitled to some portion or all of the forfeited rental payment. Once

Mr. Austin moved to the new home, after seventy-five days in temporary

quarters, he was occupying permanent quarters and the eligibility for TQSE

was extinguished. Thus, the agency cannot reimburse this expense by paying

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additional days of TQSE. The Board has recognized, however, that the

amount of TQSE payable for the days that an employee actually occupied

TQSE may be adjusted under some circumstances. For example, a lease

termination expense may be deemed to be actual lodging expense whether paid

through forfeiture of a deposit or otherwise. By entering into a three-month

lease, Mr. Austin was able to obtain a significantly lower rate for lodging.

Under these circumstances it is permissible to recalculate the daily lodging rate

by dividing the full three month rental charge by the seventy-five actual days

of occupancy. Mr. Austin may then be reimbursed all or part of the $697.60

that he incurred so long as the additional daily amount does not exceed the

maximum daily reimbursement authorized for TQSE under FTR 302-6.100102. See Lorraine M. Kummerfeldt, GSBCA 15039-RELO, 00-1 BCA

¶ 30,750; Glenn Baker, GSBCA 14221-RELO, 98-2 BCA ¶ 29,856; Kevin

Gjertsen, GSBCA 14298-RELO, 98-1 BCA ¶ 29,604.

Id. at 168,437-38 (footnote omitted).

In light of Austin, claimant is entitled to reimbursement of the entire amount of the

Airbnb lease. The total amount of the Airbnb lease, $5836.19, which includes the service

fee, when spread over a period of twenty-six days during which claimant and his family

stayed, amounted to a daily rate of $224.47. That amount, $224.47, is less than the

authorized daily rates for TQSE for the first thirty days, $510.25, and the thirty-first through

the sixtieth day, $353.25. DHS errs in its method of prorating the cost of the Airbnb lease

over fifty-seven days. Claimant incurred no further obligation regarding the Airbnb after

moving into permanent quarters. The record shows that claimant assumed the entire lease

obligation at the beginning of the lease period with no recourse but to pay the full amount

regardless of the amount of time he and his family stayed. The remaining days of the Airbnb

lease after claimant’s departure amounted to a forfeiture, which was a reimbursable TQSE

expense. The Board finds that claimant acted prudently in leasing lodging at a rate that

included a discount, and reimbursement of the full amount of the Airbnb lease is consistent

with statute, the FTR, and Board precedent. Claimant is entitled to recover the unpaid

balance of the Airbnb lease, $3414.55, which includes the $526.85 service fee.

Cost of Fuel

Claimant seeks reimbursement for the cost of fuel, $483.37, that he incurred driving

his POV from his former residence to his present PDS, but statute and regulation only allow

for reimbursement of mileage. Statute provides that an employee on official business “is

entitled to a rate per mile established by the Administrator of General Services, instead of the

actual expenses of transportation, for the use of a privately owned automobile when that

mode of transportation is authorized or approved.” 5 U.S.C. § 5704 (a)(1). The FTR

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provides for reimbursement of the “applicable mileage rate based on the type of

POV . . . actually use[d].” FTR 301-10.303. Mileage is determined “by multiplying the

distance traveled . . . by the applicable mileage rate.” Id. 301-10.301. Expenses that are not

reimbursable include “[c]harges for repairs, depreciation, replacements, grease, oil,

antifreeze, towage and similar speculative expenses, fuel, insurance, state and Federal

taxes.” Id. 301-10.304. The GSBCA denied a claim for reimbursement of fuel and other

travel-related expenses because “the mileage allowance is a substitute for reimbursement of

the actual expenses . . . incurred.” Nancy K. Rodgick, GSBCA 14193-RELO, 97-2 BCA

¶ 29,302, at 145,738. Claimant was reimbursed for mileage, and no additional

reimbursement for fuel is allowed.

Decision

The claim is granted in part. The agency shall reimburse claimant for the balance of

the Airbnb lease, including the service fee, which amounts to $3414.55. The remainder of

the claim is denied.

H. Chuck Kullberg

H. CHUCK KULLBERG

Board Judge