Walk-ins, no-shows to foot bill for lodging

  • Published
  • By Will Alexander
  • 452 AMW Public Affairs
MARCH AIR RESERVE BASE, CALIF. --  Reservists who do not make reservations through their Unit Lodging POC with March Inn at least three days before UTA will have to foot the bill for their own lodging effective Oct. 1, according to Helen Holm, lodging manager at March Inn. 

The new policy will be part of a wing operating instruction that complies with AFI 34-246 (Air Force Lodging Program). The AFI, approved in 2007, requires members to make advanced lodging reservations. Holm said if members don't sign the Unit Lodging Roster or don't have their Unit Lodging Point of Contact validate their UTA intentions beforehand, they'll be required to get a validation letter that confirms they are on UTA status. Only then will these walk-ins be housed after 2 p.m. on the day they arrive, but they will have to pay for their lodging and will not be reimbursed. Non-validated no-show will also be required to pay for lodging. 

March Inn has a total of 455 rooms, according to Holm, which are full during UTAs. With up to about 700 members on UTA, 300 to 400 of them have to be housed in nearby hotels. That number doesn't include other March Inn guests such as members on annual tour, other duty travelers and contingencies of Marines (retirees cannot stay on UTA weekends). 

"Walk-ins can end up at hotels that are further away," said Holm. "When members have reservations we know how many rooms we need. When you have over a hundred walk ins there are all sorts of complications and it takes us time to find them somewhere to stay." 

Holms said since the word has gone out about the new policy, walk-ins have diminished considerably. "But we need to be in total compliance with AFI 34-246," Holm said. "It is the wing Lodging POC's responsibility to make sure all members are aware of and in compliance with this policy." 

However, there are a few exceptions to the policy: new recruits, members returning from long deployments, and newcomers attending their first UTA.