As E-travel came on line, some of the most vocal complaints that we heard from the program offices and individual travelers involved the sudden “appearance” of fees for booking online or going through an agent.  The fee schedule was confusing and could be complex.  Many claimed that they had never had to pay the fees before (they had, but often they were considered part of the ticket price), and there were a lot of complaints about having to pay fees if the traveler was “doing all the work” to book the travel on line. A good part of the initial outreach involved educating people about the fees, and how to budget for the fees when planning travel. Our government travel staff provided a working estimate for a “typical” online and agent-assisted ticket, and that helped programs simplify their budgeting which also reduced their anxiety about having enough funds on hand on the authorization.  Over the last three or four years travelers have become much less sensitive to changes in the ticket fees.

Today, we have seen the price sensitivity shift from the really minor cost of ticketing fees to more requests for waivers from having to use the city-pairs contract tickets.  This becomes a major issue particularly during the first quarter of the fiscal year and the very end of the fourth quarter when funds are in short supply.  Congress’s perpetual inability to pass a budget in a timely manner exacerbates the problem because continuing resolutions only provide a portion of an agency’s budget with a 10% reduction from the prior fiscal year.  When a researcher has travel scheduled several months in advance timed to attend a conference or do field research, it is not feasible to simply delay the trip.  This larger price sensitivity is also a long-term issue for GSA’s City-Pair program that will have to be addressed in future City-Pair negotiations if the program is to continue to be viable.  The paying programs and their travelers have become much more sophisticated in their use of the e-travel systems, both government and private, and they are expecting more from the government programs as well.

by Julie Speers

It has been my experience that acquisition personnel are also not familiar with the details of the Master Contract when they place the Task Order for the agency.  The Task Order is not a complete contract and it does not have many of the specifics that are in the Master Contract.  And of course, the travel teams at various agencies are most familiar only with their own negotiated Task Order  This leads to unnecessary confusion and even botched negotiations when dealing with exactly what is covered by the Master Contract.

A case in point, a few years ago our travel agency was bought by another TMC vendor,  After introductions they informed us that we would soon owe them an additional fee for segments because the GDS had enacted new fees after an interim law forbidding such increases had recently lapsed.  Now the TMC had known for several years that their GDS fees would increase and would have to be passed on to the civilian agencies, but they were presenting this to us as a “new” fee.  Our Contracting Officer was inclined to agree to the fee under the Task Order, since the TMC said that DOD had agreed to pay the fee without any protests and “other agencies” were also going to be agreeing.  I challenged the fee on the grounds that it should’ve been known prior to the vendor when they were doing their pricing proposal on the GSA Master contract.  The other issue was that we had nothing from GSA indicating that it had ever been approved for reimbursement and it should’ve been handled at the Master Contract level since it would affect every civilian agency.  There was resistance to this view by the new owner of our travel agency vendor, but in the end they left without us approving the new fee.  GSA eventually amended the Master Contract to include the fee at a later date, I believe, but it was not implemented at the Task Order level.  DOD had an entirely different Master Contract and the “new” fee had actually been negotiated in advance on their contract.

Anyone can obtain permission to read the GSA Master Contract/RFP online by requesting permission from the GSA travel acquisition office.  I strongly recommend that Government travel managers do so, or at the very least, sit down with their Contracting Officer and review it online with them to make sure that both parties have a good understanding of both the contracting and technical details.  This was only one example of a problem, and there will not doubt be many more in the course of these contracts.

by Julie Speers

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 trying to recoup extra dollars spent on miscellaneous fees, is put together a training manual on how to travel effortlessly.

This material includes a car rental section which gives step by step instructions for travelers to understand all the miscellaneous offerings that are not reimbursed by the organization.  Here’s a brief summary:

• Step 1 – Always sign up with the preferred vendors rental program.  By doing this, it ensures that negotiated rates are always purchased and the necessary insurance coverage is included within the quoted rate.  And most importantly, the ability to bypass the rental counter to avoid the additional offerings.

• Step 2 – Book the vehicle through preferred method of on-line booking or through TMC.  This again, ensures proper rates and necessary coverage, as well as reporting capabilities for travel management.

• Step 3 – Make sure you check the vehicle for damage prior to taking off the lot.  This alleviates the many damage claims that are received because travelers often forget to do this.  This is a rampant problem with international bookings and becomes a lengthy hassle to resolve.

• Step 4 – Upon return of the vehicle review your receipt prior to leaving for your flight home.  This helps the traveler reconcile correct charges when filing an expense report.  There are times when a vendor will accidentally charge for excess mileage, gas or fees that should not have been applied.  Taking care of this prior to leaving ensures there will be no hassles when the expense reporting department receives the bill.

By following these four simple steps, our travelers can ensure a smooth, successful trip and not have to worry about reconciling items that they did not ask for, or expect.   This has helped to cut down on the many receipts that have been received with extra charges for travelers that are not aware of vendor upselling techniques.

by Stefanie Tretola

OK, the question is slightly misleading but it got your attention I hope.  My method doesn’t work 100% of the time, but way more often than not.

Here is what I DON’T want to do.  One, I DON’T want to request and then make sure I receive a cash advance prior to leaving on a trip.  (And I certainly don’t want to have to concern myself with returning a cash advance if my trip gets canceled.)  Two, I DON’T want to have to write a check or otherwise make a payment for my personal travel card after the trip is over.

Let assume a “normal” trip – airfare, rental car, & hotel.

I make my airfare, rental car, & hotel reservations online in our E-Gov Travel system.  Airfare is reserved – and paid for – with a centrally-billed account (CBA).  Rental cars & hotels are reserved via my individually-billed account (IBA) stored in the E-Gov Travel system.

Then, my travel authorization is sent for approvals in our E-Gov Travel system.  Once the approvals have been completed, I’m ready to go.

I’m going to need some cash for the trip so on the day I leave, I take my IBA travel card to an ATM and get some.  Not too much, because I will be using my IBA while on travel whenever I can.  Keep all receipts – very important.

Now, I’m back from my trip and ready to voucher.  My airfare, TMC fee, and E-Gov Travel fees are all paid by CBA, so I don’t even need to concern myself with those.  Just record the correct amounts in the voucher.

I have all my receipts so I can add them up and know exactly how much I owe on my IBA.

My agency’s E-Gov Travel system allows me to designate a portion of my voucher reimbursement to be paid directly to my IBA’s vendor.  So when I complete my voucher, I add up all my receipts and put the exact amount in column to be paid directly to the IBA vendor.

That’s it!  (I check my IBA statement later of course to make sure that my balance is $0.)

I’m old enough to remember having to write and mail a paper check to pay the balance of my IBA.  No need to do that anymore with CBAs and direct payments to IBAs.

By: Kevin Young

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 should say “hold “on my card for this amount.  At the time, I didn’t have the money available, this extremely inconvenient.  I was in a situation that I didn’t have many options; however, I had to get a taxi to get to the hotel and rent a car from the hotel’s rental car agency – which only required a credit card hold for $75.00.

Under this agreement, the government is able to provide great benefits to its employees while saving money and preventing inconveniences to the employees.  Some of the great benefits include: upgrade coupons, no extra fees for additional government agencies, and unlimited mileage, to name a few.  The employees have options and should take advantage of the many benefits being offered under the rental car agreement.

by Ana Ferrara

The TMC (Travel Management Center) fee is paid to the travel agency under contract with the Federal Government to provide reservation services for airline tickets, hotel reservations and car rentals.  The fee is determined by using comprehensive economic models and approved by GSA.  Travelers are always encouraged to select air tickets through the eGov Travel application as this is the most cost effective method for the government.  Due to the complexities of the some foreign travel, it is appropriate at times to contact the travel management center directly to obtain assistance with the selection and booking of air tickets.       The cost of this service is significantly higher than that of the on-line booking.

The IFF (Industrial Funding Fee) is $1.50 per transaction fee that is payable to GSA.  It is the GSA service fee for using Schedule contractors.

The TAV fee, is a transaction fee payable to the eGov Travel contractor for each voucher which is paid for an agency.  The agency is responsible for getting the payment to the contractor.  This fee varies among the three contractors that provide eGov Travel systems.  The IFF is typical a portion of the TAV fee and it is the responsibility of the contractor to provide the fee to GSA.

By: Debbie Sams

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