Certified Government Travel Professional » Government Traveler Comments

TIME FOR CHANGE

admin3 — Tue, 03 Feb 2015 23:18:08 +0000

CHANGE is defined by Merriam Webster as “to make different or to replace with another”. Change is something that affects people in different ways. Some people love change. Others have issues with change. Like it or not, change happens. If we did not change, we would still be using pen and paper. When a child is born, the baby changes every day, beginning with their first smile. Then it’s on to their first word and then the first step! Businesses have to be willing to make changes in order to be successful. The same concept applies to government, especially to the travel world.

I started my government career ten years ago. There have been quite a few changes in those ten years. Change was happening when I started. At that time, my agency was converting to a new accounting system. There were a lot of growing pains during the conversion. However, I’m sure there is not one person who would want to use that antiquated system now. The accounting system that we converted to at that time was more user-friendly and had better reporting capability.

We are now in the process of converting our customers to an upgraded version of that accounting system! Once again, we are experiencing the growing pains that go along with conversions. However I am sure once we get used to the new version, we will not want to go back. We are learning new things about the accounting system every day. Our customers will benefit from this change too. We have been able to assign certain fields with important data, therefore making the reporting even better than what we were providing.

Not only are we changing accounting systems, but we will soon be converting to a new E-Gov Travel Service (ETS) system. It is hard to believe it has been eight years since we started using one of the mandated systems and that the current contract will be expiring next November. There were quite a few growing pains for our customers when they converted to the ETS system. Some agencies were using an in-house automated system, some were using a commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) system, and others were still using paper! Needless to say, the conversions were not easy for us or for the document preparers and travelers.

We provided hands-on training, help desk support, written guidance and many other forms of support to the agencies. I am sure this time will be no different. Who knows what other ways we will come up with in order to get the customers adjusted to the new system. We are always trying to come up with different ways to communicate policies and procedures and to educate our travelers.

The new E-Gov contract will be in effect for 15 years. I am really anxious to see what the new ETS2 provider has to offer. My agency assisted our current ETS provider with many improvements to their system. We participated in user group meetings, questionnaires, and submitted requests for enhancements. I hope that the new system will be as good as what we have now, if not better. Therefore, I have high expectations for the new provider! We need and must stay up-to-date on the latest forms of technology, while providing easy and fast service to the government travelers. Our travelers are working under the motto, “do more with less”. Therefore, the systems that we use must be able to be accessed just about anywhere and must also be easy to use. I vision a system that can be accessed via a traveler’s cell phone from anywhere in the world. Maybe the system can be voice activated. For instance, maybe the new IPhones can be connected with the ETS2 system. It would be a convenient feature if a traveler could speak into their phone and book their reservations.

There are many changes happening in the government travel world. There is no time for boredom! It seems like the minute we get used to something, it is time for change. I am sure the new ETS2 system is not the only thing that will be changing. With the mergers of airlines, there could possibly be a change to the airline City Pair Program (CPP). We have already been notified that there is one change that is happening, which is actually no change! Most of the per diem rates for lodging and meals and incidentals (M&IE) will not be increasing this coming fiscal year. This is a first for many years. This was General Services Administration (GSA) way of cutting travel costs for FY 13.

BY PAM MORTON

“The views expressed are those of the author and do not reflect any position of the Government or my agency.”

Understanding All Aspects of Government Travel

admin3 — Sat, 17 Jan 2015 01:18:52 +0000

As I continue day to day being the Social & Government Sales Professional at The Gettysburg Hotel and also taking the Certified Government Travel Professional Training Course I feel that I am learning both sides of the Government Market at the same time. The training course has really brought my position full circle. I have come to understand all of the steps that Government Travelers have to take in order to actually make a trip somewhere.

There seem to be many options available for the Government Traveler from renting a car or a hotel room to making airline reservations. I actually had a phone call the other day from a large travel agency reserving hotel accommodations for a Government Traveler coming to town for a meeting. As the process seemed pretty simple for her to call and make the hotel reservation I now understand the process on the other side of the phone that I would have not known otherwise. The chart in chapter 3a.4 is a great sample of the entire process from start to finish from what the traveler has to submit to how the system is processed. I also like the fact that reports are generated for all aspects of the industry. I believe it is very important to have a reporting system in place to show such statistics as ticket usage, bookings, top vendors and commissions. This makes sense to be able to track all that is going on.

Jen Millheim

Hotel Group Government Contracts

admin3 — Fri, 02 Jan 2015 04:19:20 +0000

Most of our Government Contracts come to us directly from Government Agencies. Our policy is that we cannot take a block of rooms out of inventory until we have an actual signed contract, purchase order or letter of intent. Most times the contracting process takes so long that we end up waiting months for a definite answer that the group is actually coming.

About six months ago we went ahead and broke our policy for Government groups and took four large bookings without any contract, purchase order or letter of intent. We did this as a courtesy for the different groups because we really wanted their business and we knew that if we waited that the guest rooms would not be available when the contract became approved. So far this year we have gotten stung two times out of all four groups. The two groups decided that they needed additional breakout space but did not communicate with us that if they did not get the additional space that they would go elsewhere. I had offered alternative breakout space to the contact at a location connected to the hotel but within walking distance. She turned it down saying that the group did not want to leave the building. When we approached the Director about the cancellation she loved the idea of the alternative space and wondered why it was never offered to her. The person I had been dealing with never once spoke up about this and completely threw the hotel under the bus.

Just this week we received confirmation that another group is definitely coming to our hotel in April, which is right around the corner. We have been holding this space for the past six months. The problem that we face now is that when they rebook next year, do we stick to our policy and take the chance that the 70 rooms will still be available when the contract is finally awarded or do we make an exception and hold the rooms without any backup.

Jen Millheim

OMB Circular A-123 and the Government Travel Card

admin3 — Mon, 15 Dec 2014 22:16:01 +0000

The United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued Circular A-123 that is used to define management responsibilities for internal financial controls in all Federal agencies. Two of the items addressed in Appendix B of the circular directly relate to government travel credit cards. The circular requires that agencies pay for Individually Billed Account (IBA) charges using a split travel disbursement and also requires that agencies perform a credit worthiness evaluation for all new travelers that receive a government credit card.

Performance of a credit worthiness evaluation only applies to new card applicants and must be performed prior to issuing the card. To meet this requirement our credit card provider obtains the credit score on all new applicants as part of the application process. The new applicant must have a FICO credit score of 660 or greater to receive an “unrestricted” status; a score of less than 660 will result in the issuance of a “restricted” card.

Split disbursement offers travelers a higher level of convenience by sending their credit card payment directly to the credit card company. This eliminates the need to write a personal check, the cost of a stamp, and the worry of not getting the payment in by the due date. Split disbursement works by splitting the voucher amount claimed into two payments. The payment going to the credit card includes charged items such as airfare, hotel and rental car and the payment that goes to the traveler is for M&IE and out of pocket expenses such as parking and taxi. Split disbursement is an effective tool to reduce delinquency and improve refunds paid to the agency.

Both of these requirements reduce the risk to the credit card company by ensuring that applicants have a proven record for paying their bills timely and ensuring that payments are made to the card companies at the same time the traveler is reimbursed for their trip.

by Diana Bonnell

Disclaimer: The contents of this message are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the Government or my agency. Use of this equipment is consistent with the agency’s policy governing limited personal use.

Communication

admin3 — Sat, 06 Dec 2014 03:15:58 +0000

Too often in the government travel industry the lack of good communication has been a barrier to success. Breakdown in the admin office, move to the Commercial Travel Office from there migrate to the finance and comptroller’s office. The answer lies in better communication at all levels so the travelers know that they have received the best from all members of the staff. Travel program managers are here to be fiscally responsible in the use of funds in accordance with the rules and regulations that exist. None of our manuals or training materials gives ownership to any one individual or group of individuals, we are all here working together to assist the traveler.

The question that should always be asked, “How can the communication of those rules and regulations to the traveler while ensuring him/her that the travel staff is here to assist?” All levels in the process are here to make the travelers travel experience one that will be pleasing and enjoyable. Being professional in our communication with the traveler helps improve communication. Think before you speak, make eye contact and use your body to get your point across. Actively listen, listen to what your customer is saying.

L, let others speak.
I, intend to “hear” what they are saying.
S, speak when it is your turn.
T, talk with them, not at them.
E, enthusiastically respond when appropriate.
N, never speak when someone else is talking.

If you are only thinking of your answer or which rule you are going to reply with, you might miss something important. If you don’t understand what the other person is saying, ask questions. Repeat what you heard, ask for clarification. Do not make assumptions.

By: G. W. McCurtis

Spending Cuts and Compliance

admin3 — Mon, 17 Nov 2014 11:15:48 +0000

Like Wikipedia, your CGTP Training Course book put in plain words the exact meaning of Government Travel Management = to insure the traveler receives timely approval to take a trip required to accomplish a mission, to take a trip that is planned and reserved accurately and to be reimbursed the amount spent on the trip, all within the travel rules and regulations and available budget. Travel Managers of a federal agency will soon face the balancing act between being in compliance and cutting cost. Due to a very deep cut in federal spending not being felt currently but soon will bring impact before the fiscal year ends, travel managers will focus on cost control as a whole. The top priority ranked in 2012 is generating new airline and ground transportation savings followed in order by improving traveler compliance, optimizing hotel spend and increasing on line booking adoption. As a government agency audited annually on travel spent and usage, our top priority is actively reminding employees of our organization’s policy in addition to GSA required policy to improve compliance. We engage our management through out the organization on decisions pertaining to following GSA shaded procedure that can be interpreted 10 different ways. We track our organizations compliance by conservatively maintaining a Travel Data Base. Having this major tool communicates to the whole Administrative Service Department, the importance of keeping all facet of our Travel Office regulated items. Regular communication by email or Gallery wide announcement keeps our travelers abreast of new policy or changes in procedure. Our travel department offer 6 Travel and Reimbursement Training classes each Fiscal Year and is mandatory to all travel card holders and travel planners with in the agency. Our organization created a Travel handout that clearly spells out our concise travel guideline for 3 travel categories namely local travel, 60 miles or more with overnight stays and 60 miles or more without an overnight stay. The success of our Travel Office in regards to compliance is attributed to our Administrative Service Department Chief who is very meticulous, hard worker and hands on in every phase of her department.

By: Joy Borja

History

admin3 — Sun, 16 Nov 2014 05:15:53 +0000

In this first section of the Certified Government Travel Professional Training Course, it was very interesting to read of the history of the whole travel industry. I have always had a love of travel dating back to 1974 when I attended and graduated from Weaver Airline Personnel School inKansas City, Missouri. At the time I worked full time at Michigan State University and completed a correspondence portion at home and then spent one month in residence at the school in Kansas City. It was an intense and informative time at the school. As it turns out, I did not end up with a travel industry position until 1985 when I became a part time reservations agent with Piedmont Airlines. Again, I was working full time at another job and the airline work in the evenings. I considered it my “fun” job with the opportunity of “non-rev” travel opportunities. As I read through Part 1, so many of the acronyms came back to me, something a true travel fanatic doesn’t forget. What I most enjoyed about this section is reading how the whole government travel system has evolved, just as the airline reservation system evolved. When I first completed the airline course, we actually learned the manual way of preparing an airline ticket at the time. Just look how far we have come with electronic ticketing. It is truly amazing. The same could be said of making reservations with an airline reservations sales agent. The whole experience was very educational since it made me thoroughly understand the whole reservation process.

By Joyce Wahoski

International Date Line & Per Diem

admin3 — Tue, 11 Nov 2014 22:18:17 +0000

Have you ever flown from the United States to Japan? Or how about to Beijing, China? If so, then you have crossed the International Date Line. Now you may be wondering, “What is the International Date Line?” The International Date Line (IDL) is an imaginary line on the surface of the Earth that runs from the North Pole to the South Pole and determines one calendar day from the next. However, the time difference between either sides of the IDL is not always exactly 24 hours because of local time zone variations. While the world is divided into 24 time zones, there has to be a place where there is a difference in days, somewhere the day truly “starts” on the planet. Thus, the 180° line of longitude, exactly one-half way around the planet from Greenwich, England and 0° longitude is approximately where the IDL is located.
For parts of its length, the IDL follows the meridian of 180° longitude, roughly down the middle of the Pacific Ocean. To avoid crossing nations internally and splitting apart countries in to two days, the line deviates around the far east of Russia and then around various island groups in the Pacific. These various deviations (east or west) generally accommodate the political and/or economic affiliations of the affected areas. In the beginning, tiny Kiribati was split. In 1995 the island country of Kiribati decided to move the IDL. Since the line is simply established by international agreement and there are not treaties or formal agreements associated with the line, most of the rest of the world followed Kiribati and moved the line on their maps. Most recent maps show the change and you’ll see the big panhandle zigzag which keeps Kiribati all within the same day. Now, eastern Kiribati and Hawaii, which are located in the same area of longitude, are a whole day apart.
So how does the IDL affect travel? Without the IDL, people who travel west around the planet would discover that when they returned home, it would seem as though an extra day had passed. This situation actually happened to Magellan’s crew when they returned home after their circumnavigation of the earth.
Here’s how the IDL works when traveling. Let’s say you fly from the United States to Japan. Let’s suppose you leave the United States on Sunday morning. Since you are traveling west, the time advances slowly thanks to time zones and the speed at which your airplane flies, but once you cross the IDL, it is suddenly Monday. On the reverse trip home you fly from Japan to the United States. You leave Japan on Saturday morning but as you cross the Pacific Ocean, the day gets later quickly as you cross time zones moving eastward in an airplane. However, once you cross the International Date Line, the day suddenly changes to Friday.
Crossing the IDL and depending on the direction you are travelling, will have an effect on your per diem. Cross the IDL from the east to the west and a day of per diem is added. Cross the IDL from west to the east and a day of per diem is subtracted. So, in using the example above – traveling from Washington, DC to Japan from Sunday to Saturday – the ETS system that my agency uses calculates per diem like this:
Sunday – $0.00 for lodging and 3/4 M&IE
Monday – Full lodging rate and $0.00 M&IE
Tuesday – Full lodging rate and full M&IE
Wednesday – Full lodging rate and full M&IE
Thursday – Full lodging rate and full M&IE
Friday – Full lodging rate and full M&IE
Saturday – $0.00 for lodging and 3/4 M&IE plus full M&IE for the date that you crossed the IDL and received $0.00 M&IE

Now I personally have not had to cross the IDL. But with my experience as a customer service representative, this topic is highly confusing for travelers, and therefore I have researched it many times as well as have explained it many times. Sometimes travelers will call our agency travel help desk to ask why the ETS system is calculating their per diem incorrectly. What they don’t realize is that they are crossing the IDL and the ETS system is actually calculating their per diem correctly. Other times we receive calls from travelers who are aware they are crossing the IDL, but have no idea how the ETS system is calculating their per diem. They simply just want an explanation how the calculation is being performed. I say ‘simply,’ but most of the time, the IDL is anything but simple.

By: Susan Crouser
“The contents of this message are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the Government or my agency.”

Suggestions for Reduced Budgets

admin3 — Sat, 25 Oct 2014 20:18:20 +0000

Government agencies are faced with reduced budgets in recent years due to the economy. At our agency, employees have been asked to submit suggestions to improve processes and save money during this time of limited resources. Several suggestions have been submitted that relate to government travel. One suggestion that was submitted was that the agency should require travelers to park their privately owned vehicles (POVs) in airport economy lots rather than daily parking lots when they are on TDY. In the Washington DC area, the current price for parking at Dulles Airport is: $36 maximum for 24 hours at an hourly parking lot; $17 maximum for 24 hours at a daily parking lot; and $10 maximum for 24 hours at an economy parking lot.

While the regulations do not dictate where the travelers should park, there issue has already been addressed in the travel regulations. Per the Joint Travel Regulations (JTR) C2192 and the Joint Federal Travel Regulations (JFTR) U3320, parking fees at an air terminal may not exceed the cost of one round-trip taxi fare from home or duty station, including tip. Travelers and Approving Officials should be aware of this policy and be good stewards when it comes to using taxpayer dollars. To increase awareness of this regulation at our agency, we are creating a digital sign to be posted in electronic message boards located throughout the complex.

In addition, the internet offers a variety of useful tools, such as http://www.bestparking.com/, which compares prices at airport parking lots all over the country. Sites like this can inform travelers of the best parking options available that is less than or equal to amount that they will be reimbursed per regulations. A traveler may choose to park at a more expensive lot, but if they do, they need to be aware that their reimbursement may not cover the full amount of their parking fees.

K. Barnoski, 2012. Disclaimer: The contents of this message are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the Government or my agency.

Fees, Fees, Fees, – When Will They Stop

admin3 — Sat, 25 Oct 2014 07:17:06 +0000

Over the past ten years that I have been working in the travel arena, the one most common complaint I hear about from my travelers are fees. They complain that every time they turn around, another fee has been charged to their government charge card. But what about these fees, why do there appear to be so many fees on a travel voucher?

Since TMC’s are no longer working on commission, they have to be paid somehow for their part in making travel arrangements, thus the fees begin. The TMC that my agency uses set there TMC fees into two categories, touched and non-touched transactions. Touched transactions are just what they sound like, reservations that need to be touched by a TMC agent before completed. Non-touched transactions are reservations that are made in the electronic travel system that does not require a TMC agent to touch before making the reservation.

Obviously, if the reservation is made without the aid of a TMC agent, the fee charged is substantially less than when an agent is required to intercede. I believe the concern from travelers begin when changes are made to a reservation, they do not take into account additional fees that may be charged. No matter how the initial reservation was made, any time a change is made to the reservation after it has been ticketed, an additional fee will be charged. Sometimes a traveler will make numerous changes to the reservation, extending the stay or shortening the duration, thus resulting in a new fee being charged.

Travelers need to be aware of what fees their TMC charges and when they charge them. Making changes for personal convenience can result in more travel money being spent by the agency.

By: Linda Ruppel

The contents of this message are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the Government or my agency.