I have played a major role with the travel industry and can relate because of my more than twenty-four years in working in the industry. At the very beginning of my travel career, I worked with a company called CATO (Combined Airlines Ticket Office). Very similar to SATO, CATO was owned by fourteen different airlines and we supported such federal agencies as The Department of State. I was responsible for reviewing airline charges on a large printed report that would deliver to our office from Diner’s Club, the excitement of moving to a paperless and automated travel process was very much welcomed by me. Even though General Services Administration (GSA) establishes policy and guidance for travel, agencies still struggle with internal guidance which allows a very costly outcome. I have served a various agencies such as The Department of State, Peace Corps, The Department of Commerce, The Department of Agriculture and NASA, being responsible for writing and establishing internal policy and guidance to help provide guidance according to the agency needs and according to the FTR. In the past SABRE would offer training for federal and commercial employees in Arlington, Virginia, which help to better understand travel systems. I feel that vendors should offer more educational training on various systems such as Worldspan and SABRE. Of course all of us are very familiar with using sites such as Expedia, however, from a federal side, training is critical.
By: Theresa Hollowell