One example of this new technology is a new door lock system that uses Bluetooth connectivity to allow guests with smartphones to bypass check-in and unlock their door simply by touching the handle. The traveler downloads the company’s app to their smartphone, enters a username and password, and the app links the reservation to their mobile device. The first day of the reservation the traveler receives a notification when their room is ready, then they enter a personal pin and gain access to their room number. The system checks you in automatically upon your presence in the lobby space. After the automatic check-in, you just touch your door handle and it recognizes you and allows you access to the room. This company is looking at other ways to use this proximity-awareness technology to enhance the guest’s stay. This is just one example of near field communication (NFC).

Contactless payment technology is a type of near field communication with a contactless, wireless means of transferring data between two objects. It is activated when two antennae communicate with each other through a magnetic field such as an NFC-enabled smartphone and an NFC-enabled point of sale payment terminal. Many stores already use this technology, but now hotels are rolling it out or testing it with trials. Some hotels are offering this type of payment in their lounges, restaurants, and gift shops. They say it takes half the time to process versus paying with cash or another type of credit or debit card. It sure makes grabbing a newspaper or a snack more convenient.

Contactless payment technology sounds great, right? Well, there is a new type of “contact” payment technology that you might see some time in the future. The technology, biometric authentication, isn’t that new, but using it for payment is. There is a Spanish hotel that is pioneering this biometric technology to allow guests to make payments with their fingertips to ensure that their guests have a secure, cash-free stay with them. With the system this hotel is using, the user sets up their account to recognize two fingerprints and links them to one or more debit and/or credit cards on their account. When the user makes a purchase, he or she just places their two fingers on the fingerprint scanner and verification and authorization is complete—no need to enter a pin code or to sign a bank receipt. This technology will make purchasing items within your hotel a snap.
In this discussion, let’s not leave out the devices themselves. Tablet computers are revolutionizing the travel industry around the world. Airlines are using tablets many ways—to log flight information, allow business-class passengers to watch movies or listen to music, conduct customer satisfaction surveys, and identify travelers that are VIPs or require special meals or other services. Now hotels worldwide are getting in on the action. Tablets are given to guests to view their bill, alter the air conditioning, switch on the lights, order room service, and even see who’s at the door via a camera. These tablets are also being used to track guest behavior so hotels can customize traveler’s preferences so they can be offered every time the guest checks in. Guests can also use translation programs offered on some tablets to help bridge communication gaps. These are just a few of the ways the hotel industry could use these devices. As the cost of these devices decreases, we are sure to see more hotels utilize these devices to enhance travelers’ experiences.

Consequently, with all of this great new technology come issues. One issue that hotels are facing when it comes to technology is that almost everyone brings with them a smart device that they want to use for many reasons—both business and personal. Of course this causes issues surrounding security, bandwidth, risk, and cost. Guests are also bringing their own movies, music, and other items that they want to utilize and playback on their devices in the room. They want to be able to stream wirelessly to the playback unit of choice (usually room TV). There are devices to cope with this, but many hotels haven’t incorporated them yet. It might be because of cost or maybe they are just trying to determine which technologies will give them the biggest bang for their buck. Hotel brands are trying to differentiate their brand from others by selecting the technology that will help them stay ahead of the curve with customer service by creating a customer experience.

Speaking as a Federal traveler trying to maximize our decreasing travel budget, I’m all for technological advances that will enhance my travel experience as long as the hotels don’t pass along the cost of these tools to the customer. Hopefully, these advancements will reduce operational costs of the hotels so they will pay for themselves and then it will be a win-win for both the travelers and the hotels.

By Angela Miller

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

Hotels must be in compliance of section 29 of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 in its entirety as well as the amendments put forth as The Hotel and Motel Fire Safety Act, section 3. The amendment is applicable to all places of public accommodation and does not exempt properties built before the enactment of the law from compliance. The main statute requires:

• hard-wired, single-station smoke detectors in each guestroom in accordance with the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) standard 72;
• an automatic sprinkler system, with a sprinkler head in each guest room in compliance with NFPA standards 13 or 13R. Properties three stories or lower in height are exempt from the sprinkler requirement.

These provisions are required in conjunction with or combination with all other State and/or local fire safety requirements.

The United States Fire Administration, in conjunction with the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), was tasked with compiling and maintaining a dynamic master list of properties that have been certified as fire-safe and that had been issued a FEMA number. This list is now available online at http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/hotel/ or for those without internet access, in the Official Airline Guide and the Federal Travel Directory. Hotels must apply for listing in the National Master List of Fire Safe Hotels and Motels either by registering online at the USFA website, faxing the paper form to 301.447.1651, or by submitting the paper application to:

US Fire Administration
16825 South Seton Avenue
Emmitsburg MD 21727

Properties can download the form at http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/applications/hotel/register.cfm or by calling 301.447.1358. There is no charge for registering for a FEMA number.

In September of 1996, Congress repealed the portion of the Hotel and Motel Fire Safety Act of 1990 that requires federal employees to stay in fire safe hotel accommodations by eliminating the General Accounting Office’s responsibility to ensure federal agencies complied with the law. There is no longer a defined auditing system, either centralized or in the hands of individual agencies, that binds the agencies to the 90% approved accommodation level required by “the Act”. The Congressional Fire Caucus and other members of the fire service community are disturbed by the fact that there is now no way to enforce compliance among travelers. However, travel agencies contracted by the government have become, at least in some ways, the check and balance channel. The general policy still states that travelers must give FedRooms properties first consideration as the sanctioned travel program of the GSA. FedRooms does require that all participating hotels in their government program be certified, listed on the Master List of Fire Safe Hotels, and have valid FEMA number. Also, CWT|Sato Government Travel, who contracts with many individual agencies within the federal government, requires a FEMA number to be listed in their government program directories.

by Crystal Wright

REFERENCES:

http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/index.shtm

http://www.emergency-management.net/fire_act.pdf

http://www.nvfc.org/archives/hotel.html

Particularly in heavily franchised industries, the dissemination of rudimentary information explaining proper invoicing could prove useful. From within the hotel industry alone, a large corporate client or government agency representing significant CONUS travel spend could face the prospect of working with hundreds of individual corporate structures due to the popularity of the franchise model. While most franchise operations are professionally run with sophisticated accounting systems in place, many still struggle to understand and implement fundamentally sound accounting practices. Basic literature and/or a single online resource highlighting the basic requirements of the different reconciliation processes would go a long way toward helping the brands guide these franchise locations to better operations, thereby resulting in an improved final step in the travel transaction.

Enhancing the ease of access to any such existing information also would prove beneficial to both the traveler and the vendor. Encouraging local workshops through Convention & Visitors Bureaus, Chambers of Commerce, Economic Development Commissions, Small Business Administrations, and other community-based organizations would help reach those smaller businesses and franchisees who might otherwise not have the resources to attend trade conferences to obtain similar information.

By: Mark Feggeler

Book the FedRooms rate using either your E-Gov System, your travel management center (TMC) or online at www.fedrooms.com.  If your agency allows, you may call the hotel directly and request the FedRooms rate.  As of today, there are more than 5,000 hotels covering more than 2,000 cities, which offer the FedRooms rate.  The FedRooms rate may be available to you even if your travel plans are for leisure.  Be sure to select Leisure as the reason when searching for the FedRooms rate.

When you book online using the FedRooms website, you will immediately receive an email confirmation from NoReply@Fedrooms.com.  Therefore, you will want to be sure not to delete the email.

FedRooms distributes a quarterly newsletter.  You may subscribe to this newsletter in order to stay abreast of the latest changes to the FedRooms program.

To learn more about this great program, you can take the free FedRooms 101 training webinar.  If you have any questions about the FedRooms program, a traveler may call them at 1-800-226-1741 or email them at hotels@fedrooms.com.

by Pam Morton

FedRooms is the official government-wide lodging program, contracted through GSA to simplify the lodging process for federal travelers and save the government money.  Currently more than 5,000 hotels in more than 1,600 cities around the world participate in the FedRooms program.  If a traveler can’t find a hotel in the city they visit often, they may nominate a hotel by visiting the link on FedRooms.com and providing the hotel information.  Travelers may also visit the FedRooms library to view participating hotels listed by state.

The FedRooms program offers several guarantees such as a rate at or below per diem, cancellation of reservation until 4pm on day of arrival without penalty, no hidden costs or penalties are attached to the rate, and travelers are not charged for early checkout.   We all know the best of plans tend to change due to circumstances beyond our control.  I’ve taken advantage of the early checkout without penalty when on official business.  When training or meetings have finished earlier than anticipated, I can travel home without costing the government additional funds.

Whether you book hotels through the Travel Management Center (TMC), your agency eGov travel system, at FedRooms.com or by calling the hotel directly, remember to give FedRooms first consideration if available at your TDY location.  Always book hotel reservations according to your agency’s travel policy.  You can even take advantage of the FedRooms rate for leisure travel.   Ask for the FedRooms rate by name.  One of the goals of my agency is to educate travelers on the FedRooms lodging program.  Visit the FedRooms website to obtain more information on this hotel program.

By Julie Gilchrist

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

Resources:

www.fedrooms.com

www.gsa.gov

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

The GDS houses the necessary information that will allow travel agents to book and sell airline tickets, book hotel rooms, make rental car reservations, and reserve rail reservations and more. The first GDS, Sabre, was created by the airlines in the 1960s.  Sabre has been around a lot longer than its competitors; Amadeus was created in 1987, Worldspan in 1990 and Galileo/Apollo in 1993.

These complex systems have numerous capabilities.  Besides what was previously mentioned, the GDS can even allow a traveler to select a particular seat on an aircraft.  The GDS will also allow a traveler to enter their frequent flyer number, so that the traveler can receive rewards for flying with a particular airline.

Sabre also provides a website that gives the travelers the latest information concerning their reservations.  This site is very helpful to my agency as some of our travelers neglect to electronically attach their invoice/itinerary to his/her voucher.  We can easily go to the Sabre’s Virtually There website, print a copy of the traveler’s invoice, and attach it to their voucher.

Federal Government travelers must use their E-Gov Travel System or book the traditional way by calling their travel management center (TMC).  Even though Federal Government travelers are not allowed to use a commercial used on-line booking engine, Sabre owns Travelocity.com, which is the leading on-line travel website.

No matter which GDS is used in connection with your agency’s E-Gov Travel System, one factor to keep in mind is that not all airlines participate in a GDS.  Currently the following airlines do not participate:

• AFRIC AIR CHARTER
• ALASKA MARINE HIGHWAY
• AIRTRAN AIRWAYS
• AIR NORTH
• BERING AIR INC
• BIG SKY
• CANADIAN NORTH/AIR NORTERRA INC.
• CAPE AIR
• EXPRESS JET
• FRONTIER FLYING SERVICE
• FRONTIER FLYING
• FORTY MILE AIR
• FJORD FLYING SERVICE
• FS AIR SERVICE / TRANS AIR BENIN
• GREAT LAKES
• HAGLAND AIRLINES
• HOMER AIR
• ISLAND AIR
• JET BLUE
• KENMORE AIR HARBOUR INC.
• LAB FLYING SERVICE
• LARRY’S FLYING SERVICE
• OLYMPIC AIRLINES
• PACIFIC COAST AIRLINES
• PAN AM CLIPPER CONNECT/BOSTON MAINE AIRWAYS
• PENAIR/PENISULA AIR
• PROMECH
• SOUTHWEST
• SPERNAK AIR
• SPIRIT AIRLINES
• VIRGIN AMERICA
• WARBELOWS AIR VENTURES
• WINGS OF ALASKA
• WRIGHT AIR SERVICE

by Pam Morton

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

FedRooms is a lodging program that travelers are encouraged to use, primarily because rates are at or below the per diem rate.  It is currently not mandatory to select a FedRooms lodging property, but the Federal Travel Regulations (FTR) requires that the traveler must give first consideration to using a FedRooms property because of the value of the FedRooms rates and many associated benefits.  FedRooms is able to negotiate the best hotel rates on behalf of the government.

There are many benefits to using FedRooms:  FedRooms rates are always at or below the per diem rate.  There are no hidden costs or penalties attached to the FedRooms rate.  There is no charge for early check-out.  There are over 10,000 hotels located in high demand travel locations that are close to the places Federal travelers visit most frequently.  Most of the major hotel chains are included.  Travelers may collect hotel award points on every room night.  Travelers may cancel reservations by 4p.m. (or later) on the day of arrival without penalty.  There are no deposits needed to reserve the rooms.  FedRooms rates may also be used for leisure travel at selected properties*.  FedRooms hotels may have last room availability and some amenities.  FedRooms rate can also be used by federal travelers for small groups and meetings of up to 25 people at selected properties*.  (* These rates are available at select FedRooms  properties-see the advanced search at fedrooms.com).

FedRooms provides FTR compliant hotel rooms for federal government travelers while on official business.  Hotels in the FedRooms program are FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency ) and ADA (Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990) compliant, they have at least a two star Mobil Travel Guide or American Automobile Association (AAA) rating, they accept government credit cards and other forms of payment.  (To become AAA Approved, the hotel must meet 27 basic requirements, covering comfort, cleanliness and safety).  They offer more than 5,000 hotels in more than 1,600 cities around the world, a significant increase from 636 hotels in 2004.  Also they offer the flexibility to add hotels in cities that meet traveler’s needs.  They have a well recognized help desk to answer program-related questions.  An example of some of the 90 hotel chains represented in the program is Wyndham, Double Tree, Hilton Hotels and Resorts, and Radisson Worldwide.  FedRooms offers an increasing number of international properties at or below per diem.

FedRooms accommodations are available through E-Gov Travel electronic systems (ETS).  FedRooms properties display first in the on-line booking engine.    You may search directly by telephone for a FedRoom property by asking the agent for a FedRooms property and the FedRooms rate.  Lastly, confirm that you have received a FedRooms rate.  You may also search the FedRooms website atwww.fedrooms.com.   Ninety percent of the partner hotels have a direct link to the booking site.   (Booking hotel accommodations either through the ETS or Travel Management Center (TMC) or Commercial Ticket Office (CTO) provides the government with booking data, that is lost if reservations are made directly with the hotel).  FedRooms cancellation of hotel accommodations is automatic if the reservations are made through the TMC/CTO or through ETS or Defense Travel System (DTS) when a trip is cancelled.

There are significant differences between the FedRooms rate and the often referred to as “government rate” or “federal government rate” or “military rate”, these rates often include hidden fees and costly penalties.  These government rates are unmanaged.  The FedRooms rate is guaranteed to be at or below per diem, the government rate is not.  The FedRooms rate ensures the travelers can cancel a reservation until 4p.m. on the day of arrival without penalty.  The government rate does not.  The FedRooms rate promises the travelers will not be charged for checking out before their check-out date.  The government rate does not.

GSA has partnered with CW Government Travel, Inc.  of Minneapolis, MN to manage the government wide lodging program.  CW offers its expertise by providing program management, marketing and communications, and continued expansion of the government wide lodging program.

By: Kathy Runion

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

The Joint Federal Travel Regulation (JFTR) requires uniformed service members ordered to a U.S. Installation (as opposed to a geographic location like a town or city) to check for Government quarters availability (e.g. through their Commercial Travel Offices) at the site to which they are temporarily assigned.  The JFTR, par. U1045 applies. Travelers are required to adhere to his directive, but the four military lodging systems are not part of the system service members must use. The four lodging systems that are used by the DOD are:   Air Force Inns at www.dodlodging.net;  the Navy Gateway Inns & Suites at https://www.navy-lodge.com;  Army Lodging at  http://new.armymwr.com/travel/lodging/default.aspx,  and the Marine Corps Temporary Lodging Facilities at http://www.usmc-mccs.org/lodging/index.cfm?sid=rf&smid=1.

The four DOD lodging facilities have been supporting the military community long before programs such as FedRooms, or hotels that offered government rates and for federal travelers.   DOD lodging facilities offer rates that are far below what you will find on any of the other programs, and are a confirmed value for the dollar.  The DOD programs are competitive, and a have a place in the DTS.

By: G. W. McCurtis

Second, the article does not note that per diem for a CONUS city is broken into two parts. The first part is for lodging, the second is for meals and incidentals. Government workers on CONUS travel, under GSA rules, receive up to the Government rate for hotels in an area (with some exceptions). However, that part of the per diem is limited by what the employee actually spends. Employees booking their own hotels have no incentive to book at a Motel 6 or La Quinta that is below per diem if they can book at a Hilton at Government rate. Also, since the per diem for meals and incidentals is paid at a flat city rate, if an employee can book a hotel that serves breakfast on Government rate, that means that he/she has more money to spend on other meals and incidentals.

Third, in some cases Government travelers simply leave hotel selection to TMC/CTOs. It appears that their hotel selections are probably guided by the commissions paid.

Fourth, this chapter does not discuss how CONUS per diem is paid on a 24 hour clock. This is a GSA phenomenon which is often confusing to Government travelers and impacts on per diem for short trips. I know that under the rules in effect the last time I traveled, GSA assumed that airlines provided meals. Has this/is this being changed in light of the fact that many airlines are no longer providing meals or are charging travelers for meals?

Fifth, recently airlines have begun adding charges for first and second bags, meals, blankets, etc.. I am curious as to what, if anything, is being done to account for these differences between airlines in city pair rates? Also, does the traveler absorb these extra costs as part of his/her per diem?

by Scott Goldsmith