Rental Cars

How much do you know about the global distribution system (GDS) that is used by your E-Gov Travel System?  Maybe your E-Gov System uses Sabre, Galileo/Apollo, Worldspan or Amadeus.  Currently, these are the four major GDS systems. My agency chose an E-Gov Travel System that uses the GDS, Sabre. 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...

The material covered in sections 2d (rental cars) and 3a (Electronic Travel Systems) is fascinating in both how the government divides responsibility for administering travel and how modern technology has enabled the travel process to become more automated.  It is interesting that the responsibility for rental vehicles comes under the Department of Defense rather than either the General Services Administration or even the Department of State.  The reason for this may stem from DoD having the largest requirement of mobilizing individuals over land than either the GSA or DOS.  Of further interest are the similarities and differences between government employees and contractors.  Regarding car rentals, the Defense Travel Management Office’s Joint Travel...

As a frequent government traveler, I have used the Government Car Rental Program many times.  Its ease of use and benefits to the government are similar to the Airline City Pair Program.  I use FedTraveler to process my travel orders and to book my rental car, as well as air transportation and hotel lodging, for my official government trips.  I charge these travel expenses to my government issued charge card.  Since I use the government approved booking channels, I can take advantage of all the benefits specified in the Car Rental Agreements which are not available to the general public.  This allows me to fulfill mission requirements and reduce the overall cost of renting vehicles.  Some of the benefits which I personally appreciate are: free collision...

 In every agency throughout my career that I have worked, I have found that there is always, (at least) one employee that fails to understand the use of the Federal Government Rental Car Program in its entirety.  While serving at the Department of Agriculture, I had the great pleasure of counseling this employee who was on official travel; however he decided to go out on his own and rent a vehicle.  Needless to say, the employee was involved in an accident.  I believe the rental car program should be handled exactly like the airlines.  Employees that are authorized use of a rental car should be well educated of all of the do’s and dont’s before sitting behind the wheel of the car.  On the other hand, I feel that the rental car companies should also be...

If you are planning an official government trip and need to rent a vehicle, then according to Federal Travel Regulation (FTR) 301-2.5, you are required to have specific authorization or prior approval before you travel.  This is because your government agency must decide if the rental of a commercial vehicle is advantageous to the government (FTR 301-10.450). If your trip is CONUS, then you must rent the vehicle from a vendor that participates in the Defense Travel Management Office’s (DTMO) U. S. Government Car Rental Agreement.  This is because DTMO has negotiated rental car agreements with certain vendors that include benefits such as unlimited mileage, free collision damage insurance, no fee for additional drivers or underage drivers, fixed rates, a...

When I look at how the rental cars company’s processes have changed over the years it is amazing. I am one of those people who were booking cars 20 years ago and it was not always a happy experience for my rentals or our clients. The process for you or your clients was trying because the rental car locations were not all at the airports and getting a rental car was a chore. Thru the SDDC program for US government personnel traveling on official business about 5,000 rental car locations with over 2.25 million vehicles available. The rental car offer special incentives such as fewer restrictive clauses, widespread availability and fantastic rates. Use of the government issued Visa and MasterCard charge cards is the preferred method of payment by rental card...

The Car Rental Program is managed by the Defense Travel Management Office (DTMO)  effective October 2007.  (All car rental information is available on the DTMO website).  This program is available to all US Government personnel traveling on behalf of the government for official business.  It offers attractive rates, few restrictive clauses, many benefits and is available to all government travelers who are authorized and licensed drivers. The Government Rental Car Program creates a competitive environment among the participating rental car companies, which benefits the government.  The program includes significant benefits to the government personnel that are not available to the general public.  Some of the benefits are:  Free collision damage waiver...

As a frequent government traveler, I have used the Government Car Rental Program many times.  Its ease of use and benefits to the government are similar to the Airline City Pair Program.  I use FedTraveler to process my travel orders and to book my rental car, as well as air transportation and hotel lodging, for my official government trips.  I charge these travel expenses to my government issued charge card.  Since I use the government approved booking channels, I can take advantage of all the benefits specified in the Car Rental Agreements which are not available to the general public.  This allows me to fulfill mission requirements and reduce the overall cost of renting vehicles.  Some of the benefits which I personally appreciate are: free...

The Federal Government has a rental car program, which is managed by the Defense Travel Management Office (DTMO).  DTMO has managed this program since October 2007. You may be asking what are the benefits of the U.S. Government rental car program?  One of the most notable benefits is that the collision damage waiver (CDW) insurance is included in the negotiated rate. Besides the attractive rates, other benefits include unlimited mileage, adjusted rates according to size of car and much more. These rental cars can be booked using your E-Gov travel system or using the traditional method by calling your Travel Management Center (TMC).  The rental car reservation is booked and charged to the traveler’s individual Government charge card.   If a traveler does not...

Travel planning is one of the most overlooked aspects of the travel process.  No matter what level of travel you are doing this seems to be the area that goes unchecked and can cause the most problems for the traveler. When traveling on temporary duty within the Continental United States (CONUS) your planning can be less extensive compared to the necessary planning for traveling Outside Continental United States (OCONUS). There are basics that do apply to both types of travel, which will now be discussed. In order to make your home more secure, it is important to suspend any newspaper delivery as a large number of papers on your porch alerts people that you are not home. It is also a good idea to have the post office hold your mail. If you have lawn care to...

Even with the Rental car agreement through the DTMO you are subject to high rates during peak season with the car rental locations. Example: Superbowl in Tampa, Florida and just recently the Inauguration in Washington, DC. Also rental car companies often hold double the amount of the rental. Example: If you car rental was only for 2 days and total cost was $200.00 they will hold easily $400 to $500 on your credit card. Really what is the purpose? You have insurance on your own car to protect them against any damages that might occur during the time you are renting the car. With my experience I prefer to use Enterprise Rent A Car. I have not had to put extra deposits on my credit card when renting. I have rented from them from several different states and I have...

I provide a great deal of E-Gov Travel System training to our various customers’.  During training, it seems the same question arises during my coverage of the rental car section.  The very popular question is:  Do I have to pay the GARS (Government Administrative Rate Supplement) fee?  The answer to this question is yes, all Government travelers must pay the GARS fee.  However it should be noted; The GARS fee and the optional insurance that may be offered are two different things.  The GARS fee is $5.00 per day worldwide and is paid by all Government renters.  Travelers should be aware, that the $5.00 fee is in addition to the daily rate and is not automatically included in the daily rental rate of the vehicle. The GARS fee is an administrative fee which...

When a service member acquires a rental car from approved channels (DTS/SATO) they receive reservation rights, and rates, that are unique to government employees. Reservation rights and rates that apply to service members or federal employees that utilize CTO or DTS to procure a vehicle are as follows. The rate that is confirmed by the rental car company via DTS or the CTO must be guaranteed, and honored, for 60 days from the time of reservation. This feature allows the service member to do some forward planning without incurring a penalty or adjustments to his budget.  Once the reservation is confirmed, it must be held for a minimum of two normal business hours after the renter’s scheduled flight arrival time.  The vehicle must be available, and the contract...

A few years ago the Defense Travel Management Office was designated to be in charge of the Rental Car Program for the entire Federal Government.   The Rental Car Program is designed for official business used only to meet mission requirements. It offers special benefits for federal government employees on TDY such as unlimited mileage, insurance, free upgrades, etc.  While participating in this program you are required to show a valid drivers license and TDY orders.  A traveler can only request a compact size car unless otherwise authorized by their approving official.  Rental cars can be purchase using your government travel card, personal card or cash depending on your agency local travel policy. While on TDY, you must treat the automobile as if it were...

There are many options available to employees when purchasing travel.  Most travelers are aware of policies and procedures, however, vendors may not be aware of certain restrictions and will try to upsell or upgrade amenities to our employees.   When this is accepted by the traveler, they run into cost reimbursable issues when filing expense reports. As an example, car rental companies will try to upsell a traveler by offering additional insurances, GPS systems, larger vehicles, sporty or hybrid models.  All of which are not reimbursed by our organization.  Also, a traveler may not realize they are being charged an additional amount for the vehicle being offered if it happens to be a larger vehicle. What we’ve done to alleviate all the backend hassles of...

The U.S. Government Rental Car/Truck Program provides special rental benefits and reduced rates to all federal government employees on official business. Designed to meet the needs of the federal traveler, the program provides quality rentals through 16 companies at over 10,000 rental locations.  The Defense Travel Management Office (DTMO) administers the program through an agreement with participating rental car companies. There are many benefits of the Government Rental Car Program.  One of the most significant benefits to government personnel on official business is the collision damage waiver (CDW) insurance.  This insurance is included at no extra charge.  Besides attractive rates, other benefits include unlimited mileage, age restriction reduced from 25...

There are many government and military car rental programs offered to federal government employees for business and pleasure travel. These programs offer many benefits and savings.  There are approximately 5000 car rental locations. Be sure to check with your rental company to determine if they charge by calendar day or a 24-hour day.  This can make a big difference in your overall total.  Airport fees can add a lot to your rental rate.  If you are flexible, check the rates at various locations throughout the city. The car rental agreements between the federal government and the car rental companies include many benefits that are not available to the general public. Many times if you book in advance or travel during off-peak times, you can get a cheaper...

The Bureau of the Public Debt performs reimbursable administrative services to other Government agencies.  Our office administers travel services that include GovTrip E-Travel services and travel policy.  In the current economic climate with all the focus on cost savings and reduced budgets, saving travel dollars is taking center stage. Agencies are faced with reduced funding for travel and using video conferencing wherever feasible. The Government is tracking the ‘carbon footprint’ of their trips and setting targets for reductions.  This stemmed from a Presidential Executive Order last year and has been highly visible since reporting began. Also centralizing reporting for adherence to Federal and agency travel policies is appearing with the new GSA...

The Defense Travel Management Office (DTMO) has managed the rental car program for the Federal government since October 2007.  The Government Car Rental Program is designed to be used for official government business to meet mission requirements. There are many benefits of the Government Rental Car Program.  One of the most significant benefits to government personnel on official business is the collision damage waiver (CDW) insurance.  This insurance is included at no extra charge.  Besides attractive rates, other benefits include unlimited mileage, age restriction reduced from 25 to 18, and much more. Rental cars can be reserved using the E-Gov Travel System (ETS) or by contacting the Travel Management Center (TMC).  The preferred method of payment is the...

I have seen a number of different issues arise with regards to rental car use for official Government travel.  Perhaps other travelers have also run into similar situations and could share their stories as well. One situation was when a non-Government traveler rented a rental car.  Since we handle these types of travelers as “invitational travelers”, we use our ETS to book rental car reservations.  So I wonder if non-Government travelers (traveling on Government business) are allowed to use the DTMO rate with the same rental car privileges.  When this particular non-Government traveler showed up to rent her car, she paid for the CDW (liability insurance that is included in the DTMO rate).  I would have thought that since we booked the rental car through...

When obtaining a rental car for government travel you must arrange travel in accordance with the FTR through the E-Gov Travel Service that your agency makes available to you.  Your agency may grant an exception to requiring you to use the ETS if it would result in unreasonable burdens of the mission, special needs, national security interest or would cause endangerment to your life. The agency must determine that use of a rental vehicle is advantageous to the Government and must specifically authorize such use by approval through the ETS system.  If the exception is not approved you will then be responsible for any additional costs resulting from failure to use the E-Gov Travel Services.  The agency has the right to also take appropriate disciplinary...

Overview:  The largest membership base within SGTP are smaller companies such as travel agencies, individual hotels, and or other industry suppliers that are currently or looking to enter or increase sales revenue within the government travel sector. Challenge: To communicate effectively with our membership in a two way dialogue of the SGTP resources and have them utilize them to better understand the government travel marketplace.  And to assist in creating developing increased sales for their organization in his $20 billion annual spend by arena. Issue: New members are continuously joining SGTP on a year round basis.  And though we would like all to be successful immediately with positive results we are aware of the lengthy process, time commitment and...

Over the last decade the car rental industry has undergone dramatic changes; notably is the transfer of rental car company ownerships from automobile manufactures to entrepreneurial corporations. Rental car companies have entered into formal agreements with the government with approved vendor status including several domestic and international companies. The government car rental program is available to all U.S. Government personnel traveling on official business. Even though the monies spent on car rental is small in comparison to the industry as a whole, the government portion is considered of great value. It offers many benefits and availability to all government drivers who are authorized and licensed. Car rental rates can be discounted at any location, but...

Let’s take a look at where government travel will be in the future. To see what a government traveler will experience, we’ll need to look at the various aspects of the travel system covered in our course, and extrapolate the current trends ten years down the road. The major trends in the Global Distribution world are connections across the internet and controlling distribution costs. In the next few years we are likely to see suppliers using focused distribution channels rather than the GDS to control their costs. By distributing on more effective channels, the suppliers not only safe, but gain more control over their inventory. No doubt, these channels will be internet based as the new systems coming online now are all web riding. This trend will impact...

The government’s rental car program has established a successful car agreement with most competitive rental car companies. The agreement lowers the cost of rental cars, offering exclusive special benefits to its employees. The government also has access to the vehicles being offered, rates, and rental vendors as they are listed under the Defense Travel Management Office website. Renting a car can be very expensive while causing a burden. Many rental car companies require further identification and documentation just to rent a car for hours or days, with many restrictions. My experience with rental car companies has not been very pleasant.  One major factor contributor to this unpleasant experience is the required deposit, which is extremely high. While...

Government regulations regarding travel are not only required by employees of the U.S. government, but also extend to government contractors as well. Government contractors have to abide by many of the same regulations, though not all. This short treatise will touch on some of the similarities and differences of regulatory travel requirements for government employees versus government contractors in the areas of air travel, hotel accommodations and car rentals. The implementation of the Fly America Act for government employees is predominately in the form of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) under the subsection Federal Travel Regulations (FTR) and the Joint Travel Regulations (JTR) as well as the Department of State Standardized Regulations (DSSR). The...

Many Federal employees will travel or relocate for their jobs at some point in their career.  Travelers are mostly concerned about staying at a preferred hotel and getting a direct flight and may not realize that every travel authorization and voucher is also an accounting entry. In the accounting world, a travel authorization becomes an accounting document called an obligation and has the same accounting impact as a purchase order for goods or services.  The obligation reserves the estimated amount to ensure funds are available when the traveler submits a voucher for payment.  When the voucher is recorded in the financial system, the obligation is reversed and a payment is made. To determine what “pot of money” the traveler is using, the travel documents...

When my agency first started using eTS, I myself as an analyst, along with my co-analysts, found that the rental car section in the system could be more user friendly and informational. We recommended several suggestions to our eTS vendor. I am happy to say that our eTS vendor has taken our suggestions and have upgraded the system to add these enhancements. One of the enhancements was to add the capability to select and save one-way rental cars, or off airport locations. This enhancement allows more rental car locations to choose from, and that meets the traveler’s needs. Travelers can now book one-way rental cars on-line in the eTS allowing them to be charged the self-service transaction fee. Before the enhancement, they would have to contact the TMC directly...

For some reason our agency has had more than its fair share of car accidents while on official orders.  And rarely, all too rarely, are the resulting claims straightforward and clear cut.  When there is a problem on a car rental claim, it is because there is some unusual circumstance surrounding the accident.  Many times what appears to be a reasonable claim under the government car rental agreement is actually a financial claim against the government.  The trick, as I have learned straddling my areas of authority and/or expertise in procurement, finance and travel, is to know when a car rental problem is actually a financial or legal problem. Here’s what I have learned over the last few years.  If you are fortunate the traveler used an approved car...

One of the distinct challenges the hotel community continues to encounter are the criteria set for establishing the areas to be surveyed and how the data from Smith Travel is used. The Data used to compile the rate and occupancy information tends to focus on all the area within the city limits, but does not focus on the main areas of where government or business travel is concentrated. A good example is to compare Boston and San Francisco as these two cities for corporate travel rates are rather similar. Boston with seasonal rates of $203-$256 is a concentrated area with a large downtown and does not contain a suburban area containing many hotels. The majority of the hotels within the city limits are located in the downtown area. San Francisco has a similar...

For those of us who work for the government and with travel policy, we have heard the words “prudence” or “prudent” many times.  What do these words mean and more importantly, what do they mean to each of us as individuals? Dictionaries give us many definitions for prudence and prudent.  Care, caution, discretion, frugal, responsible, sensible, and thrifty are a few of the definitions for these words.  How are they applied by the government traveler? What does the Federal Travel Regulation (FTR) say about being prudent?  FTR 301-10.123 basically states that the prudent person should use the same care in incurring expenses that would be spent on personal travel.  Most individuals use their personal money wisely and try to get the most value from their...

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, and several suggestions have been submitted that relate to government travel. One suggestion that was submitted was that a comparison worksheet should be required to compare the costs of a rental vehicle versus a privately owned vehicle (POV) where air transportation is not utilized for TDY. The submitter believed that some savings could be achieved in utilizing a rental vehicle instead of a POV, because the reimbursement for a POV often seems to exceed what would have been the reimbursement for a rental car. Government travel should be...

A few years ago the Defense Travel Management Office was designated to be in charge of the Rental Car Program for the entire Federal Government.  The Rental Car Program is designed for official business used only to meet mission requirements. It offers special benefits for federal government employees on TDY such as unlimited mileage, insurance, free upgrades, etc. While participating in this program you are required to show a valid drivers license and TDY orders. A traveler can only request a compact size car unless otherwise authorized by their approving official.  Rental cars can be purchase using your government travel card, personal card or cash depending on your agency local travel policy. While on TDY, you must treat the automobile as if it were your...

In sections 2d and 3a of the Certified Government Travel Professional Training Course, I must admit I try not to rental cars whenever possible when I travel on official business. When I am on a site visit and we are researching meeting locations, then it is unavoidable. Generally I would call the Rental Car Company directly to obtain their government rates. I realize I could have reserved through our Omega Travel System but, for some reason, I was not comfortable with the system. I was always concerned about the liability issue. In reading this section I really shouldn’t have worried. Everything seemed to be covered in this regard. The Electronic Travel Systems section details the Federal Government system. Since the U.S. Postal Service is quasi-government, our...

The Federal Travel Regulations (FTR) require that all federal travel be booked using a government travel agent, also known as a Travel Management Center (TMC).  Reservations can be made on-line using an e-Gov travel systems or via a phone call to the TMC.  When you use a TMC, your reservations are booked using one of the Global Distribution Systems (GDS) such as Sabre, Galileo, or Worldspan.  The GDS were previously known as Computer Reservation Systems (CRS) and were created by major airlines to aggregate the schedules, pricing, and inventory of the world’s airlines that could be used by travel agents to make reservations. The GDS eventually began including hotel, rental car, tour and cruise inventory for those companies that wanted to pay to participate....

Government travel represents only a small portion of government spending.  When dealing with taxpayer dollars however, government employees are and should be held highly accountable.  The government traveler should exercise the highest level of ethical behavior to avoid any repercussions that could arise from public perception.  The newspapers and television stations are always anxious to report stories concerning government officials using the taxpayer’s money to fund personal vacations or lavish accommodations stating it was for official government business.  And that, my fellow Americans, is the fleecing of America.  Consistent enforcement of travel policies is needed to ensure waste, fraud, or abuse does not occur and also to avoid even the...

The government’s rental car program has established a successful car agreement with most competitive rental car companies. The agreement lowers the cost of rental cars, offering exclusive special benefits to its employees. Renting a car can be very expensive while causing a burden. Many rental car companies require further identification and documentation just to rent a car for hours or days, with many restrictions. My experience with rental car companies has not been very pleasant.  One major factor contributor to this unpleasant experience is the deposit required, which is extremely high. While traveling on a business trip to Los Angeles last year, I was asked to put down a $250.00 deposit.  This became a burden as I was unprepared for this cost, or if I...

When a vehicle is rented for official travel, only the expenses incurred for official use of the vehicle may be reimbursed.  Use of the vehicle to travel from the hotel, to and from the temporary duty point, and to and from restaurants is considered official use. If the traveler wants to include personal use of a rented vehicle, the cost of that use may not be claimed. Some travelers arrive at the temporary duty point early, and remain there after duty is completed, and wish to use a rental vehicle for that additional personal time.  The traveler must inform the rental agency that a portion of the time for which the vehicle is rented is for personal travel, not official business. If the traveler takes a trip away from the temporary duty point, such as on a...

CAR RENTALS: Today Car rentals are all run by Corporations and private enterprises (they used to be owned by Auto manufactures). This $16 billion industry offers its services to the Government through formal agreements. The Car Rental Program for the government is now a day’s run by the Defense Travel Management Office (DTMO). The government business is valued at $300 million with over 2.25 million cars at 5000 locations. The car rental agreement between the (DTMO) and the car rental companies offers a very competitive service to the government using various car sizes and benefits like: free CDW, Unlimited Mileage, Reduced driver age to 18 for official travel (with no underage driver fee), online bookings on DTS,ETS, Quality control and Car Upgrade from some...