Doing Business with The Inn @ Virginia Tech and Skelton Conference Center

Detailed instructions are provided in the next few tabs based on the services being provided. But the following outlines the "Rule of Thumb" guidelines for doing business with The Inn at Virginia Tech and Skelton Conference Center. Follow these general “rule of thumb” guidelines for processing non-PO payment request forms and making sure payments are made for the services your department receives from the property!

Internal Service Requests (ISR Forms) are no longer required to generate a purchase order and to conduct business with The Inn at Virginia Tech and Skelton Conference Center.

1. When you receive your invoice from the Inn, begin a non-PO Payment Request Form to supplier, The Inn at VT, 906547147.

    Detailed step-by-step instructions can be found here.

    Invoices from the Inn do not need to be forwarded to Accounts Payable for processing, and no receiving is needed when submitting a Payment Request Form.

The Inn’s Contact Number to make hotel reservations for individual rooms (or less than 10 rooms) is: 540-231-8000. If departments need to make a group reservation of more than (10) hotel rooms, ask for group sales when you call.

• Hotel room rates are based on market rates with a percentage of rooms offered at state per diem when available. Tell the sales staff that you are making a reservation for a university business related individual stay so if a per diem room is available, that rate can be applied. The Inn cannot guarantee per diem rate rooms will be available. When lodging charges exceed the business travel policy of the university, departments should use non-university funds to make up the difference in their payment to The Inn. It is the departments responsibility to pay balances due to the Inn, after per diem rates are paid by the University. 
• The Inn will send a written confirmation for the dates and rates of the stay that have been reserved to the department’s point of contact by email. 
• Once the lodging has occurred, The Inn will send an invoice via email to the department’s point of contact referencing the original confirmation number, a hotel folio number and an invoice number showing the total cost of the hotel visit. 
• Immediately upon receiving the invoice from The Inn, University departments should submit a Non-PO Payment Request form referencing the Supplier Invoice Number. Enter the invoice number supplied by The Inn at Virginia Tech. ***This should be the 6-digit number provided once a final invoice has been submitted to the department. Please only use a formal invoice number (folio confirmation number/BEO confirmation numbers should not be entered here)
•  Be sure to attach any backup documentation, including the invoice from the Inn, as an external attachment to the Non-PO Payment Request Form. This will ensure a smooth payment process. 
• Departments SHOULD NOT forward the Invoice it received from The Inn’s Business Office to VT Accounts Payable. 
• Receiving is not required on Payment Request Forms.

The Inn’s Contact Number to make university business-related group catered event reservations: 540-231-8000 (Ask for Group Sales, you will be transferred)

• When making plans or reservations, be sure to indicate the event is for a university business-related purpose. 
• After your event is tentatively planned, The Inn will send to the department’s point of contact by email a written confirmation called a “Banquet Event Order” (BEO) for the room assigned, dates, meal rates and the number of individuals that have been planned for and reserved. Be sure to provide the Inn with the contact information whomever should receive the final invoice and who will enter the Non-PO Payment Request Form in to HokieMart.
• Once the event has occurred, The Inn will send an invoice via email to the department’s point of contact referencing the original confirmation number (BEO), a hotel folio number and an invoice number showing the total cost of the catered event. 
• Immediately upon receiving the invoice from The Inn, University departments should submit a Non-PO Payment Request Form to HokieMart Supplier Number 906547147, The Inn at Virginia Tech. The invoice must be attached. As with any other business meal payments or reimbursement, the department should add the attendee list as an attachment to the Payment Request Form. The business purpose of the meal should also be included. If the department received permission for the business meal ahead of the catered meal, they should attach that communication. 
• Departments SHOULD NOT forward the Invoice from The Inn to VT Accounts Payable. Instead, Accounts Payable does not need the invoice received by the department to process the payment. 
• Receiving is not required on Payment Request Forms.
• It is the department's responsibility to use non-University funds to pay any outstanding balance due to the Inn after per diem payments have been made.

Although reservations are not required for Preston’s Restaurant, should a department wish to make university business-related reservations, the contact number is: 540-231-0120.

• Menu prices in Preston’s represent market pricing and are subject to change. Menu selections may be over the state per diem limits. Departments should utilize non-university funds for overages not allowed under the university’s business meal policy and at no time can university funds be used for alcohol. 
• Preston’s wait staff will present the final bill for the entire meal to a departmental contact person within the party. Please be sure that departments attendees know they may be asked to “sign for the check” confirming it will be departmental billed. The signer needs to notate the department name and fund code (if known) on the receipt. It is not necessary to record the meal attendees on this receipt, as has been required in the past. The department will need to send the attendee list in with the Payment Request Form. 
• Once the event/meal has taken place, The Inn will send an invoice via email to the department’s point of contact referencing the hotel folio number and an invoice number showing the total cost of the lunch or dinner being charged. The signed receipt will be included. 
• Immediately upon receiving the invoice from The Inn, University departments should submit a Non PO Payment Request Form to HokieMart Supplier Number 906547147, The Inn at Virginia Tech. The invoice must be attached. As with any other business meal payment or reimbursement, the department should attach the attendee list to the Payment Request Form. The business purpose of the meal should also be included. If the department received permission for the business meal ahead of the catered meal, they should attach that communication.  
• Departments SHOULD NOT forward the Invoice from The Inn to VT Accounts Payable. Instead, The Inn will send an electronic payment request through HokieMart for payment processing. Accounts Payable does not need the invoice received by the department to process the payment. 
• Receiving is not required on Payment Request Forms.

Please note: Virginia Tech’s Continuing and Professional Education Department can assist with planning conferences, seminars, or workshops. They will work directly with the sales team at The Inn on behalf of your department: https://connect.cpe.vt.edu/

The contact number for the group sales team at The Inn is: 540-231-8000 (Ask for Group Sales, you will be transferred).

• Once an event is planned, the Group Sales department at The Inn will provide you either a BEO (Banquet Event Order) or a group event sales contract outlining the details of the event. 
• University Group Sales events at The Inn are subject to cancellation and attrition fees if the event is cancelled within a designated time period before the event takes place. The sales staff will work with departments to develop these milestone dates for confirmation of attendee numbers or lodging rooms utilized within a block. 
• Once the final invoice for the event is received by the department, a Non PO Payment Request Form should be entered in to HokieMart to supplier number 906547147, The Inn at Virginia Tech. The invoice must be attached.
• The invoice DOES NOT need to be sent to VT Accounts Payable. 
• Receiving is not required on Payment Request Forms.
• The Inn will electronically request payment from the university through HokieMart for the actual costs of the event. If there is a variance in costs of the final invoice to the original purchase order, VT Accounts Payable will be in touch with the department to receive further approvals to proceed with payment. 
• Upon a three-way match between the HokieMart purchase order, a receipt on the purchase order submitted by the department in HokieMart and the electronic request for payment submitted by The Inn, a payment will be electronically generated by Banner/HokieMart to The Inn by the University.

• What is the right Supplier ID to use when doing business with The Inn? 

The correct HokieMart supplier is: The Inn at Virginia Tech, Supplier Number 906547147.

• Should I send a copy of the invoice I received from The Inn to Virginia Tech Accounts Payable? 

No. We have The Inn set up as a HokieMart supplier who will “flip” purchase orders in to a request from payment, all electronically, through the HokieMart system. This is an efficient and effective way to get the request for payments in to the AP system without the AP staff having to key the invoice.

• Should I attach folios, guest checks and backup documentation in HokieMart? 

Attach the documentation that is the backup for the Payment Request Form on the attachment section of the Payment Request form. This helps the business office staff at The Inn match up for their electronic payment request and also helps Virginia Tech AP see the nature of the charges and a guarantee it is a business-related charge. But departments need not send the invoice received from the Inn to VT Accounts Payable. 

• At what point do I submit a receipt in HokieMart? 

Receiving is not required on Payment Request Forms.

• How do I change the person receiving invoices from The Inn’s business office? 

The Inn is using the master listing of fiscal contacts by Fund Numbers maintained by VT Controllers to get invoices to units, departments, or colleges appropriately. If they are not routing correctly, call the Business Office and request they update this master list.

• Explain the policy regarding cancellation of an event at The Inn? 

The Inn will include language in the BEO (Banquet Expense Order) or a formal contract for a reserved or planned event that will outline the cancellation policy for that event. The Inn uses standard hospitality industry cancellation protocols to protect themselves from lost revenues should the event have to be cancelled. The agreement will be built around a determined date where if the event has to be cancelled after that date, the department will be subject to partial payment toward the loss revenue of The Inn. As you are planning your event, the sales staff from The Inn will explain the cancellation clause to you and the dates for which your department will need to work toward to guarantee the event will take place as planned. This is similar to the allowances we agree to with hotels not located on campus.

• Explain the policy regarding attrition fees? 

Similar to a cancellation cost, attrition fees apply to room blocks or events where a department has committed to a certain number of attendees and that number of room nights or attendees and then does not use all of the rooms or the number of attendees do notshow up for the event. Attrition is built around milestone dates, which the sales staff will go over with you during the planning of the event. Once those attrition dates pass, the department will be responsible for at least a portion of the revenue based on the number originally agreed to. 

Have other questions? Those can be sent to hokiemart@vt.edu for review. Questions may be answered in coordination with the Sales and Business Office Staff from The Inn and Skelton Conference Center.