Everybody who is involved in Government travel whether in systems administration, finances, travel consultants, travelers and others have many resources to help them fulfill their jobs. Online training on ETS/DTS (GDS for travel agents) for vendors to access appropriate financial codes for travelers, are some resources that can help.
Attending seminars and educational programs from professional organizations dealing with Government travel can also be a valuable asset.
Federal Travel regulations and Regulations Integration:
Government travel is conducted under various types of regulation laws and rules . Reservations, ticketing and travel activities like hotels, rent a car or Per Diem allowance, have to comply with either/or Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR), Defense Acquisition Regulations (DFARS) Federal Travel Regulations (FTR), Joint Travel Regulations, Volume 1,2 (JTR) & Standardized Regulations (DSSR) according to the passenger branch of Government.
All these regulations are available on line and they take precedence over agency-specific supplements.
Communications:
Clear and effective communications are key to fulfill one’s job. When a travelers calls on the travel agent for travel bookings nowadays, it is important to address all the needs of the traveler and the agency he/she belongs to in addition to make sure that all the rules have been followed before the execution of travel.
Ethics:
Since travel is a potential source of fraud, waste and abuse, one should avoid inappropriate activities and follow all regulations and ethical standards .
Electronic systems (ETS,DTS) & Migration and Change Management
Change from traditional ways of doing business to Electronic implementation is a challenging issue. Every professional has the responsibility to learn and facilitate such change, whether it is through getting authorization, budgeting or payments.
Travel Business Practices:
All those involved with government travel are there to insure that every traveler who performs on the government behalf makes a trip and come back following all the rules, get reimbursed and accomplish his mission in a safe environment specially these days when travel moves into the new era of technology that can be demanding on everybody involved.
Sharing responsibilities between the traveler and the travel preparer are a major factor in fulfilling government travel requirements electronically or through GDS. For the travel agent preparing an accurate PNR and the proper accommodation or the car rental is equally important with the traveler who must double check that all these information are correct then after completion of the trip he/she should prepare all the vouchers and submit them to be reimbursed, which normally happens before 30 days from receipt of vouchers.
No government travel will occur if not authorized by Authorizing Officials who could be a financial officer or an administrator. (he/she should always have a back up person). The authorization will decide the funds from the LOA. The trip could be funded by multiple sources in the government. Sometimes Local Vouchers can be used within certain boundaries near the places of business.
The ETS/DTS systems provide formats to be used for expenses and help through the process of putting the expenses and will create an error message if a mistake is made.
By Metri Altwal