Once we moved to an eTS we considered continuing with one of our current travel agencies as an accommodated TMC.  However, the one TMC, which partnered with our eTS and was embedded, offered a lower price for both traditional and on-line booking and came with a great reputation as a travel agent.   In addition, we avoided additional costs that the eTS vendor would charge us to accommodate our current TMC.  We also had a short time period for implementation and needed a solution that was already in place.

The first year of our eTS implementation was filled with TMC issues, both from the TMC and from the interface with the eTS.  Our travelers would arrive to the airport without reservations, reservations would get stuck in queue and agent international expertise was non-existent. Both the eTS vendor and TMC were willing to work with us to improve service.  We developed logs that tracked every issue and had standing weekly conference calls with the TMC to address each issue.  Many of the issues were due to lack of training for the agents as well as a lack of communication between the eTS and their subcontractor TMC.  Over time the logs reduced in size and travelers stranded at the airport became a thing of the past.

Looking back I believe we made the right decision by going with the embedded TMC.  Since we were the first to fully deploy an eTS I believe many of the issues would have surfaced regardless of the TMC we chose.  The vendor has continued to add additional embedded TMC’s to provide options to our customers.  Although we have more options now, most of our customers have decided to remain with the original TMC and are happy with the current level of service.

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.

One of the goals of the President’s Management Agenda E-Gov Travel Service was to provide a cost savings to the agencies. The agencies can only achieve these cost savings by promoting and encouraging self-service reservations whenever possible. A simple trip from Washington Dulles to Atlanta should not require agent intervention. Yet it does even if booked online, because the City Pair carrier is Air Tran. It is conceded that Air Tran and another similar carrier, Jet Blue offer very low city pair fares, some of the lowest in all the markets. In this day and age of automation and 3GB I-phones, a Government traveler should be able to book any city pair fare online as a self-service transaction.

by Jacqueline Lynch

While code sharing is beneficial to many airlines, it can be misleading for travelers who believe they have purchased a ticket on one airline only to discover that they are actually flying on another. Or worse, when the traveler believes they are staying on a single airline on a multi-leg trip only to discover that they are not only changing planes, but also changing airlines in their connecting city.

An important factor that a traveler should be aware of when purchasing code share tickets is that airline carriers that participate in code sharing are required to identify code share flights on schedules and passenger itineraries by marking them with an asterisk or other “easily identifiable mark” along with the name of the actual transporting carrier.

Another important factor is when checking in, typically the traveler is supposed to check in with and board the airline that is operating the flight, and not the carrier that sold them the ticket. During this time, the traveler will need to confirm that their frequent flier miles have been recorded if applicable.

A third factor is if a traveler needs to change their itinerary or request a specific seat while at the airport, then the traveler should contact the carrier that sold them the ticket rather than the carrier they are actually flying.

Finally, while the selling airline is most often responsible for reservation issues, lost or damaged baggage claims are generally submitted to the last airline that handled the traveler’s luggage at the destination.

By Susan Garrett

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

In accordance with the Department of Defense (DoD) Financial Management Regulation (FMR) Volume 9, Chapter 5, the orders for travelers must specify the actual TDY duty location For example, if a traveler is going TDY to Ft. Bliss, TX, the travel orders must explicitly state “Ft. Bliss, TX”, not El Paso, TX. The Approving Official (AO) should ensure that the correct TDY location is entered before approving the traveler’s orders in the Defense Travel System (DTS) because currently there is no systematic fix or control.

All travelers are encouraged to use Government quarters if available when on orders to a U.S. Installation as opposed to a geographic location like a town or city. An agency may direct uniformed members to do so, provided they are TDY to a U.S. installation (example: TDY to Ft. Sam Houston), not to a city (TDY to San Antonio, TX), and the Government quarters are on the U.S. installation to which the traveler was sent TDY. The Joint Federal Travel Regulation (JFTR) requires uniformed service members on orders to a U.S. Installation to check for Government quarters availability at the site to which they are temporarily assigned.

The Joint Travel Regulation (JTR) prohibits civilian employees from being directed to use Government quarters. Also, civilian employees lodging reimbursement cannot be limited to the Government quarters cost (Comp. Gen. 626 (1965)). A DoD civilian employee is not required to check Government quarters availability in the following circumstances:
• When TDY is at other than a U.S. installation.
• When an AO determines Government quarters use would adversely affect mission performance NOTE: An employee in a Senior Level (SL) position, Scientific and Professional (ST) position and an SES employee (including individuals described under 5 USC 5703) determine their own quarters availability.
• During en route travel periods.
• For TDY/delay of less than 24 hours at one location.

DTS cannot be used to reserve Government quarters, only to record the cost of the room. To reserve military lodging, the traveler must contact Commercial Travel Office (CTO) or the lodging facility directly to make the arrangements and determine the lodging cost. The traveler must enter the lodging cost in the DTS authorization on the Per Diem Entitlements screen accessed through the Expenses tab in the main navigation bar. If a military traveler removes the check mark for Quarters Available at a military location with military quarters available while creating an authorization in DTS, DTS will require that the traveler justify why the military quarters were not used, and the AO should ensure that an adequate justification is entered.

When Government quarters are available on the U.S. installation to which the employee is TDY, the proper authority may prescribe a reduced per diem rate based on the Government quarters cost and potentially other reduced costs. Such authority must be requested and authorized in advance of the travel dates for which the reduction is desired. A fixed per diem may not exceed the locality per diem rates prescribed for the locality concerned. (JTR, par. C4550.) The AO may direct adequate available Government quarters use for a uniformed member on a U.S. installation only if the uniformed member is TDY to that U.S. installation. If an agency directs use of Government quarters, but a uniformed traveler uses other lodging, the uniformed traveler may only be reimbursed up to the Government quarters’ cost unless the voucher or ‘should-cost’ reflects a quarters non-availability number ((44 Comp. Gen. 626 (1965)).

When the traveler stays in commercial lodging if Government quarters are not available, the agency must authorize commercial lodging for the traveler. The traveler is reimbursed for the single occupancy rate, up to the maximum per diem rate for the TDY or stopover point if travel is over several days. When Government quarters are not available at the TDY station, the TDY locality per diem rate or the Actual Expense Allowance (AEA) based on that locality per diem rate applies.
Per diem cannot be limited based on the presence of ‘nearby’ Government quarters, such as quarters not on the U.S. installation to which the member is assigned TDY, but another ‘nearby’ U.S. installation or other uniformed facility.
It appears that enforcement of this policy is primarily dependent on the understanding and due diligence of the AO when reviewing travel orders in DTS. While DTS does have some systematic controls, this is primarily an issue of proper oversight. To increase awareness of the regulations at our agency, our office created a digital sign to be posted on electronic message boards located throughout the complex, and we emphasize this information in our AO training sessions. Increasing awareness of this requirement should result in compliance with these regulations.

References
• Government Quarters Frequently Asked Questions, Defense Travel Management Office (https://www.defensetravel.dod.mil/site/faqgovqtr.cfm)
• JTR Ch 1: DoD Employee Travel Administration, Part B: Conditions/Factors, C1055 GOV’T QTRS USE/AVAILABILITY
• JFTR Ch 1: General, Part A: Applicability & General Information, U1045 GOV’T QTRS USE/AVAILABILITY
• Quarters reservations website — http://www.dodlodging.net.
• DoD FMR

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

In 2004 the General Services Administration (GSA) partnered with Carlson Wagonlit’s Hotel Solutions Group to redesign the government’s lodging program. The program has undergone several significant changes–one of the most obvious is the transition from the legacy program’s name, Federal Premier Lodging Program (FPLP), to the new program name, FedRooms. Additionally, the number of participating properties in the FedRooms program has increased from just over 600 in 2004 to more than 5,000 hotels in more than 1,600 cities around the world.

FedRooms takes the guesswork out of booking hotels. Travelers and document preparers can be confident that the rooms they are booking through the program are compliant with government policy. FedRooms offers travelers benefits such as:

• Rates are at or below per diem
• Reservations can be cancelled up until 4 p.m. on the day of arrival without a penalty
• No hidden costs or penalties are attached to the rate
• No fees for early checkout
• 66% of the FedRooms properties offer last room availability

Our E Travel System makes it easy to book a FedRooms property by setting the default lodging search tab to display all available FedRooms properties. In addition, all hotel properties are marked with the FedRooms logo on the hotel information page, and the FedRooms rate is highlighted on the search results page.

The implementation of E GOV Travel and GSA’s new lodging program, FedRooms, has greatly improved the process for booking lodging that is incompliance with government per diem rates and travel regulations.

by Carole Byrd

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.

The first step of the travel process is being asked to perform travel. Whatever the need is for the travel, the authorization to travel must be approved by management. Once management has approved the need for travel, they may give specific limitations, exceptions, approvals that pertain to the travel at hand. This information will need to be input in the authorization.

The second step of the travel process is entering the authorization into the e-travel system used by the agency. The authorization can either be entered by the traveler or an assigned document preparer for the office. The authorization should be entered into the system before the individual departs for the travel. Of course, there can be exceptions to this rule as long as a verbal authorization has been given. At the time the authorization is being entered, reservations can be made online for hotel, airline, and rental car. An estimate of these expenses will be loaded into the e-travel system as well as any TMC fees that will be incurred. After the reservations have been selected, the individual will continue estimating any other travel expense they feel may occur during the trip. After all expenses have been entered into the authorization, an accounting code must be selected to show how the travel will be paid. Once all comments, expenses, and accounting has been added, the individual will need to electronically sign the authorization. This will start the routing process of the authorization and the reservations will be reserved. The authorization may route electronically through several individuals before it is approved by management within the e-travel system. Once approved, the authorization will load into the accounting system and the money will be assigned and obligated for this travel.

The third step of the travel process is vouchering for actual expenses. Once the travel is completed, the individual is to complete the voucher within five days if possible. All information entered on the authorization is copied directly into the voucher. The traveler will now update all estimated expenses from the authorization and input actual expenses incurred while on travel. If a certain expense is not needed, it is simply removed and any item not previously on the authorization can be added. It is recommended that the traveler look at the charge card statement online to see all charges placed on the charge card. That way, when the voucher is completed, the traveler can split disburse those expenses directly to the charge card provider and no check will need to be sent. It is imperative that the traveler review the voucher thoroughly to make sure that the expenses and the amounts claimed are truly what were incurred during the travel. Once all expenses have been claimed, the traveler will need to electronically sign the voucher.  This will start the routing process for the voucher. It may also go through many individuals before it is approved by management.  Once approved, the voucher will now be sent to the accounting group for processing into the accounting system.  Local vouchers can be entered into the e-travel system the same way a voucher can. Local vouchers do not require an authorization to be created first.

The final step of the travel process is processing the voucher into the accounting system. Once the accounting technicians receive the file from the e-travel vendor, they perform a data link which loads the information into the accounting system. Once in the accounting system, the technician must perform a validation process that ensures all information loaded correctly. Once the process has been completed, the voucher will be sent to a payment batch where the accountant will process and make the payment allocations. The accountant will send a portion of the payment directly to the charge card vendor via split disbursement and a portion directly to the traveler via direct deposit. This is allocated to how the payment was vouchered for in the e-travel system. Once the payment batch is processed, the payment should be received within 3-5 business days.

This completes the process. The process is not a difficult process if the proper training has been given before the travel begins. The main requirements are to know how to use the e-travel system to input the authorization and voucher and the Federal Travel Regulations to know what expenses can or cannot be claimed. Any questions on the process can be directed to the Travel Customer Service Helpdesk.

By: Linda Ruppel

However we have noticed that our Helpdesk has expanded somewhat in the scope of questions being asked. We receive more than just the routing administration questions such as routing lists and group changes. Travelers have questions about finding the correct flights or hotels in they system. In effect, we are an intermediary between the software and the TMC. While we are not travel agents, flight, hotel and car rental questions are common as they relate to the FTR and/or agency regulations. Also if a TMC is busy and callers can not contact them due to weather delays or disasters, they often call us to assist.

A common questions is how to create a valid document when combining personal and official travel. This type of question takes into account the software as well as travel policy. Other questions we receive are about reservations not being issued, charges to a traveler’s credit card that are in error or possibly charged to the CBA when they should have been charged to the IBA. Sometimes a TMC will contact us when a traveler’s card will not accept a charge. It could be the traveler is delinquent and the card is suspended. Other times a card will not work at a certain location and may be blocked due to the MCC codes being used by the merchant.

So in effect, while travelers use E-Gov Travel and often seem like they have fewer communication options, with my agency’s E-Gov Travel helpdesk, we feel they are never alone in the federal travel process.

By Daniel Carozza

“The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Bureau of the Public Debt, or the U.S. Department of the Treasury.”

My agency has developed a mutual friendship and good working relationship between both parties.  The TMC has been very helpful in assisting us with resolving issues and creating guidance for educational purposes.  The same also applies to the E-Gov vendor’s TMC team.

The majority of our travelers were used to using an automated system.  However, the reservation module was new to them, so they experienced quite a few problems in the very beginning.  Of course, we had the travelers who did not confirm that they received their final itinerary from the TMC before arriving at the airport.  The reason some of the travelers did not have tickets was due to a system glitch or agent error.  However, if the reservations could not be confirmed by the TMC, the traveler would have received an email notification. We discovered that our travelers were not always responding to the emails from the TMC.  We quickly realized that we needed to learn the ins and outs of the reservation module and instruct our travelers as to how it worked.  The E-Gov vendor and the TMC team educated us on this process.

Since we would have issues from time to time, we decided it would be beneficial for all parties to set up biweekly meetings.  During the meetings, we discussed the current issues and our concerns.  The TMC provided answers or gave us suggestions on what we could do to improve the situation.  As time went on, the issues decreased significantly and the standing meetings were cancelled.

Prior to converting to an E-Gov travel system, an agency/traveler would have been charged up to $40 (full-service fee) for a TMC fee.  A benefit of converting to an E-Gov system was that the TMC fees would be as low as $4 (self-service fee), if the reservations were booked online.  Suddenly our travelers were very concerned as to how much they were going to be charged when they booked their reservations either online or directly with the TMC.  Our help desk received numerous calls from our travelers inquiring how much their fee would be for their reservations.  In the past, the travelers did not give it a thought about how much the TMC fee would be.  They just picked up the phone and made their reservations. The TMC team helped us construct a scenario sheet indicating how much the TMC fee would be in various situations. The scenario sheet has been extremely helpful to our help desk.

Some of the scenarios are outlined below:

• If a traveler makes airfare reservations in ETS with a carrier that participates in the GDS, the fee will be the self-service fee.
•  If a traveler makes airfare reservations in ETS with a carrier that does not participate in the GDS, the fee will be the full-service fee.
•  If a traveler makes airfare reservations in ETS and one leg is with a carrier that participates in the GDS and the other leg is made with a carrier that does not participate in the GDS, the fee will be the full-service fee.
•  If a traveler has airfare reservations in ETS, which have not been ticketed and they make a change to them in ETS, the fee will be the self-service fee.
•  If a traveler makes airfare reservations in ETS and the reservations have not been ticketed and the traveler calls the TMC to request an earlier or later flight for the same day, the fee will be the self-service fee.
•  If a traveler makes airfare reservations in ETS and the reservations have not been ticketed and the traveler calls the TMC to request to leave a day earlier or a day later, the fee will be the self-service fee.
•  If a traveler makes airfare reservations in ETS and the reservations have been ticketed and the traveler calls the TMC to request an earlier or later flight, the additional fee will be the full-service fee.
•  If a traveler makes airfare reservations in ETS and the reservations have been ticketed and the traveler calls the TMC to request to leave a day earlier or later, the additional fee will be the full-service fee.
•  If a traveler has reservations in ETS and the reservations have been ticketed and the traveler calls the TMC to make changes and requests them to ticket the new reservations, the additional fee will be the full-service fee.
•  If a traveler has reservations in ETS and the reservations have been ticketed and the traveler calls the TMC to make changes, but does not have the TMC to ticket them, they will only be charged the original fee.
•  If a traveler has reservations that have been ticketed and the traveler calls the TMC to get a seat assignment, the fee will be an additional the full-service fee.
• If a traveler selects advance ticketing in ETS, the fee will be the self-service fee.
•  If a traveler calls the TMC to request advanced ticketing, the fee will be the full-service fee.
•  If a traveler calls to have the form of payment changed, the fee will be the full-service fee.

The vendor’s TMC team also helped us in understanding the business rules.  They explained the rules to us in layman’s terms. The business rules outlines all aspects that the TMC will provide in order to fulfill the reservations.  Some of the information outlined in the business rules is ticketing parameters, processing of Premium/Business Class, the process for unused tickets and much more.

Both the vendor’s TMC team and the TMC were very helpful to us when we conducted release testing.  We have always tested each release in training and then again in production.  There have been many changes made to the reservation module.  The vendor’s TMC team and the TMC were very helpful to us with the testing and educating us on what the new features would or wouldn’t do.

If you are converting to an E-Gov travel system, be sure to take the time and develop a good working relationship with all the parties involved.  It is worth the time and effort.

by Pam Morton

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

Most agencies have spent the past year preparing for the transformation process. Agencies have had to work with the new Smartpay 2 banks and their E-Gov Travel vendor to ensure all the new charge cards will be tested and loaded by the
November 29, 2008 cutover date. One chief concern is how agencies will handle reservations booked online in the current E-Gov systems with the old Smartpay card for travel that occurs after November 29th. Agencies will have to decide if they will have all booked reservations actually ticketed by the cutover date or have them canceled and rebooked. Communication will be crucial, so travelers can understand the implications and avoid possible confusion. This should be an exciting change in the next generation of charge card payment tools.

by Jaqueline Lynch

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

It is not easy to get an IATA number but IATA numbers are basically the Travel agent’s ID number; this is also used to identify individual travel companies so that they will receive a commission check once the person has traveled to the destination.  When you put the IATA number in, it’s not for the discount…it’s so the companies know which travel agent to pay the commission to. To get the travel agency rate, you generally need to get the right rate codes (at least with rental cars & hotels – not sure how airlines interact with the GDS systems since they do not get paid commission on the airlines but are paid by a fee that is attached to the booking).

Since SATO has an IATA number and SATO gets $1 per night spent in a hotel from the hotels. For IATA cardholders they receive commission from hotels and sometime the airlines gives them breaks on airfares and/or sometimes the airlines give them upgrades from coach to first class.

When a traveler books online it is called the Global Distribution System, also known as the GDS system. Traveling on government orders you are not allowed to use 3rd party website, such as Travelocity, Expedia, Priceline and Orbitz. Even if it is a better rate than the government per diem, most hotels offer the government per diem in their hotel. The rate code in most cases would be GM or GOV.

You are allowed to book reservations on your own without using the DTS also if you have stayed at the hotel and you know that it is approved government hotel — by all means call the hotel directly.  This will take out the middleman such as travel agents and SATO but you would know exactly what you are booking. Besides most of the time you have a favorite hotel and you know which room you want, how you want your room and what amenities come with that room to make you more comfortable.

I have heard from a lot of the government travelers that comes through my hotel, that the older government travelers are just used to having certain items while traveling so they will also look for those items while choosing to stay in a hotel when they travel. Examples include free Internet access, breakfast included, gym, and social hours.

Working in the hotel industry I have heard from some of the government travelers that they are required to book through the DTS. But also if your travel manager books you through the DTS and you are not happy with the accommodations, you must stay one night and they can move to your desired government approved hotel.

Sometimes the traveler would like a hotel with a Gym or perhaps a swimming pool. I have heard that some government travelers would want to save their food per diem and are looking for extended stay accommodations such as larger refrigerators, stove tops, pots n pans, and utensils. This way they would be able to save more money instead of eating out all the time. Others might be looking for the kind of food that is already prepared to eat as soon as they get up or right after they get off work. The hotels breakfast or social hour have been taken away slowly in the past few years to try to save the hotels money, but I noticed that they are coming back with these programs to capture the government travelers.

Through my own personal view I have noticed that since the economy has turned from less leisure travelers, for an example we have 55% of June revenue entirely with government business. 10% group, 12% wholesalers such as Expedia, Orbitz, Travelocity and Priceline and a mere 23% leisure travel.

So our hotel is looking at offering items they never had to offer due to the location of our hotel. Right on he Beach in San Diego! We need to capture more government travelers the hotels and the government travelers are also looking at what they can do to offset those extra traveling expenses, such as parking fee, Internet fees, food and beverages, gym memberships and how they can save their food per diem

On almost a daily basis we have calls coming in and asking these same questions, what do we offer for government travelers or better yet can we have breakfast with our reservations, and waive the parking fee? So we are looking at the government on what we can offer them to help them save their food per diem and also to help the hotel generate more government business to generate higher revenues.

by Kimberly Hubbard