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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRESPONSE - RFP - P687 TRAVEL MANAGEMENT SERVICES (2)• o CITY OF FORT COLLINS Travel Management Services PROPOSAL NO. P-687 Signature below verifies vendor response to proposal and acknowledgement of ADDENDUM No. 1 Vendor: NEW HORIZONS TRAVEL 1025 East Swallow Rd ® Fort Collins, Co. 80525 Telephone: 223-7400 Fax: 225-0538 ® By: DALE CLARKEN Title: President zlle�l &-k� E) 3 There will be frequent verification of fare rates before traveler's departure date for all tickets issued In the event an airline reduces fare rates, New Horizons Travel shall reissue tickets at the lower fare See our quality control section for details 4 Lost Luggage Control will assist in finding your travelers loss luggage Each traveler could ® be given custom-made luggage tags that instructs the finder to call a toll -free number 5 When ever possible New Horizons will negotiate city pair discounts and/or corporate volume ® discounts with all interested airlines B. Car Services 0 With access to over 60 car rental companies throughout the world, offering more than 500 car types, we can book and confirm a rental car that meets your needs and budget Whether your need is for a minivan or an off -road vehicle, our reservation system enables us to compare ® rates, mileage charges, service options, locations, and pickup/return times to find the car that's n right for you The system provides up-to-the-minute availability information, as well as comprehensive rate information, including corporate, convention, City, association and promotional rates Our system is linked on-line to the central reservation computers of the leading car rental companies This allows us last -car availability The following are special features made available to the City 1 New Horizons will use the City discount rates negotiated if they exist To compliment your exiting programs, we will offer free Hertz Gold upgrades on Hertz, free Emerald Aisle upgrades on National, and Rapid Action accounts with Budget Special corporate discounts can be obtained from any major car rental company With your approval, we will evaluate other rental car proposals from time to time to insure p you are receiving the best service and rates 8 C. Hotel Service ® Our reservation system has direct access to the central reservation computers of a large and growing list of hotel chains and general sales agents This means that we're able to confirm your reservations and/or special room requests immediately and provide you with a confirmation number For comparison shopping, the system will display the lowest available ® rate, as well as the type of room, distance from the nearest airport and other information you'll need to make your decision Special corporate or negotiated rates with certain hotel properties are automatically applied when a reservation is made ® We will utilize City negotiated rates or New Horizons negotiated rates, which ever is the lowest We will supplement these rates with the following ® 1 With the Worldwide Independent Network Corporate Rate Hotel Directory we can offer you corporate and preferred discounts to nearly 10,000 hotels located throughout the world See enclosed booklet ® 2 We will negotiate special rates not covered by the directory or where you utilize a particular hotel frequently z, D. Management Reporting New Horizons views management reports as information from previous bookings that ® identify future savings opportunities These management reports should be viewed as ways to cut travel costs All reports have the flexibility to be formatted to your specifications The reports are generated monthly in a timely manner The account manager then reviews them before being delivered to you The account manager is available at anytime to help analyze the ® reports with you We are also able to provide the complete data on diskette, enabling you to download it into your computer This saves you many man-hours key punching in the data manually and ® insures greater accuracy in the data transfer 9 9 New Horizons will provide all management reports as required in the proposal plus the ® following reports 1 A monthly narrative report identifying problems, recommending solutions, and suggestions to enhance service 2 A monthly sales summary report ® 3 A monthly hotel and car report ® E. 24 Hour Travel Helpline Even after our regular business hours, you will still have access to the professional, courteous service you expect Highly trained reservation agents provide service that is available ® toll -free from countries around the world We provide toll -free telephone numbers that you can call at any time, night or day to change your travel plans or make new reservations On each travel itinerary will be a toll free phone number to contact us during business hours and another one to contact our Helpline after business hours Cards with the Helpline phone numbers will ® also be provided to your travelers All the traveler has to do when calling is to give their name and the travel agency The Helpline agent will have access to your itinerary and profile The agent will be able to make any changes that are necessary, immediately ® We also have 24-hour emergency service locally via our Corporate Emergency Message C Center with an agent on call at all times You must give your name, phone number and a brief message, then an agent will get back to you within 15 minutes F. Education Continuous educational support will be provided to keep your travelers up to date The following areas of education will be offered 1 Educational seminar for all personnel who are not familiar with travel 2 An educational seminar for all international travelers covering such topics as passport & visa requirements, travel advisories, custom limitations, and airport layout & location ® 3 A bi-monthly business newsletter covering, trends, forecasts and topics of interest to business travelers 0 10 G. Meeting and Incentive Planning ® New Horizons recognizes the special requirements of meeting and incentive travel We have people on staff having experience in arranging groups of 10 to 500 people Since meeting and incentive planning has some unique needs, the following is a partial list of the special items we provide ® * Site selection assistance * Cost surveys for destination evaluation * Air travel & hotel reservations ® * Arrival and departure list preparation * Local transportation (car rental, limo) * New Horizons onsite assistance ® * Pre and post tour arrangements Rooming list preparation * Catering services (meals, breaks, and receptions) * Arrange entertainment, theme parties, and gala events * Meeting room preparation including audio-visual arrangements * Reports for all accounting and reconciliation 0 H. Leisure Travel Assistance With the clout of our Preferred Supplier Program, we will provide discounts on travel packages Some of the many services our leisure staff can provide include a * Specialty travel packages and tours (discounts when available) * Cruises ($100 to $600 discounts) * Discount airline coupons (subject to availability) * Worldview information on destination D * Lowest possible price on air/car/hotel * Frequent notification of last minute specials D PART III A. Implementation New Horizons' dedicated Account Manager will be in charge of the overall ® implementation The first step of implementation will involve meeting with the appropriate City personnel to address the scope of work as indicated in this proposal Preliminary elements are as follows ® The first phase of implementation will involve meeting with appropriate City personnel to address all the preliminary work required in setting up the travel program ® 1 Confirm the City's objectives, policies and desired operational configuration 2 Identify the key individuals who will initiate and manage the contract 3 Reconfirm the schedule of subsequent implementation events ® 4 Review the City's travel policy 5 Determine what booking procedures will be utilized ® B. Quality Assurance New Horizons Travel has an established quality control program that is utilized for all our commercial accounts The program insures that all services are high quality, expedient, and ® conform to the travel policy or contract of each account Our program is supervised by our quality control agent, Andrea Pendolmo, who has over ten years of experience as a travel agent She will be responsible for the final check systems of each transaction First, we will make sure that all personnel involved with this contract become familiar with your travel policy and contract requirements Next, your travel policy is entered into the Corporate Travel Policy Guidelines This is a special interfaced software program that will read ® each record to make sure the travel agent has not overlooked any items of your travel policy The travel agent will have to note any exceptions to override the program 12 g1 The travel agents will look for the lowest fares by using ReCheck This is a Sabre ® enhancement that automatically rechecks existing itineraries for lower fares ReCheck will continually check for the lowest fare right up until your traveler departs The automatic rebook option allows us to quickly take advantage of the less expensive seats when they open up v In todays airfare changing environment there are too many possible combinations for an agent to evaluate within an acceptable response time This is where Bargain Finder Plus comes in It can, within 3 to 10 seconds, evaluate over 900 possible itinerary options for the ® City Bargain Finder Plus, audits previously created itineraries for new lower fares and 0 permits the agent to double check their efforts in determining if there are lower fares This is why we can guarantee the lowest applicable rate at time of travel In addition to the repeated checks for lower fares, the itinerary is checked three times by the agents prior to delivery of the documents Twice by the travel agent and once by the quality control agent These checks are to insure the accuracy and completeness of the itinerary before © delivery Another step of our quality control program involves a quality control questionnaire ® form in every ticket jacket with the travel documents This self -mailer can be completed by your traveler and mailed to our office These will be reviewed by the quality control agent and account manager If needed, we will correct any deficiencies found in the quality of service R C1b7 n 13 C. Volume & Service Experience ® New Horizons Travel has extensive experience in handling high volume commercial travel for major corporate clients Our agency's air volume for 1997 was in excess of $8 9 million Our total gross travel sales for 1997 were over $12 8 million We have had corporate accounts whose annual volumes exceed $1 million The following is a listing of some corporate ® accounts Contact Annual Start ® Account Telephone Sales Date Colorado State University Bev Meyers 650,000 1981 970-491-1446 ME M Air Resource Specialist David Dietrich 81,000 907-484-7941 1986 Atrix Laboratories Leslie Simmons 320,000 1995 970-482-5868 ® Hawkeye information Rick Burcham 96,500 1994 970-498-9000 M Ayres & Assoicates Diane 84,000 1997 970-223-5556 D. Ticket Delivery Ticket delivery will be accomplished by courier to each City agency Electronic ticketing will be used when ever possible D 14 E. Value Added Options ® Worldview Information Service - We at New Horizons Travel believe that the better a traveler is educated and informed, a better traveler you will have This equates into cost savings for your company if a traveler can make more informed decisions on the road With Worldview TripPlan you will have information on airports, taxis, climate, foreign protocol, translation services and ® more for your business traveler Airport parking - discount parking at Premier Parking near DIA Baggage tags - laminated baggage tags to all travelers A Bi-monthly business traveler newsletter for each traveler U U Lost luggage control - tags with phone number to call when luggage is found Internet E-Mail - allows easy contact for your travelers PART IV A. Summary First and foremost, New Horizons Travel's interest lies in earning your business by being ® your partner in travel management services and to ensure you receive the best fares, the most practical times & routings, and the highest expertise in the business Our goal is to provide you with consistently high levels of service Having the staff we have on board, makes us extremely proud of the work we perform It is this dedication that sets us apart from our ® competition We know that your success depends on the ability to satisfy your customer and keep control of the increasing costs of doing business That's why we're constantly working towards better i negotiated rates, and technology & services to make New Horizons Travel more efficient Because when you succeed, we succeed D 15 0 TABLE OF CONTENTS Part I. Agency Background ...... .... .. ................... . .... I A. Personnel Qualifications & Responsibilities ................. .. . 2 B. Staff Backup & Support ........................ ... ................ 4 C. Professional Affiliation and Consortia .......... ................. 5 D. Equipment .......... ..... I ............................. ...... 5 Part II. Services & Transportation A. Airlines Services ............. ........................... . 7 B. Car Services ........................................ ............. 8 C. Hotel Service ............................................... .... 9 D. Management Reporting ........................................ 9 ® E. 24 Hour Travel Helpline ................. ... .............. 10 F. Education .................................................... ...10 G. Meeting and Incentive Planning ................................ 11 H. Leisure Travel Assistance .............................. ...... 11 Part III. A. Implementation ......... .................................. 12 B. Quality Assurance ................................................. 12 ® C. Volume & Service Experience ..................................... 14 D. Ticket Delivery ....... ..... .......... I ................ .. 14 E. Value Added Options ............................. .... ....... 15 © Part IV. A. Summary ........................... 15 0 0 0 Ck7 PART I I. AGENCY BACKGROUND New Horizons Travel is an 18-year-old Colorado corporation with offices in Denver, Fort Collins, Greeley, and Loveland We are one of the largest locally owned travel agencies in Colorado New Horizons is a commercially oriented travel management company currently servicing accounts in several different states We were ranked 162nd in revenue for Colorado based private companies in the September 1997 issue of Colorado Business Magazine In addition, New Horizons Travel ® ranked as the 15th largest Denver area travel agency in the February, 1996 issue of the Denver 11 Business Journal We are the largest privately owned travel agency in Northern Colorado as ranked by The Northern Colorado Business Report in their May, 1996 issue While New Horizons Travel is a high volume agency, our agency's primary objective is to furnish our customers with the best possible service at the best possible price We take pride in our name, and the fine reputation we maintain with our clients Some of the benefits of using ® our services are Quality Control - We have dedicated quality control personnel and automated quality control ® procedures Airline Service - New Horizons has the ability and the experience to negotiate corporate discounts and to upgrade travelers Lowest airfare is guarantee on all reservations, based on your travel policy guidelines We have a priority status with most major airlines Car Rental Service - We have the ability to negotiate domestic and international corporate rates Hotel Corporate Rate Directory - Low hotel rates at over 11,000 properties worldwide 24 Hour Travel Helplline - 24 hour, 7 days a week, 365 days a year after hours travel service U] I a Worldview Information Service - Worldview TripPlan is a custom, time sensitive travel document that makes corporate travel more efficient and cost-effective Worldview covers over 150 destinations and offers over 140 categories of interest Travel Management Reports - We can produce reports in both summary and detail by Division, Department, Cost Center, Project Number, and Traveler tailored specifically to meet your ® needs We can provide this information not only on standard report paper, but also on computer diskette ® A. Personnel Qualifications & Responsibilities New Horizons Travel has assembled a group of highly qualified personnel All are experienced in handling high volume corporate travel The following is an overview of the personnel involved in this contract President Dale Clarken, the owner of New Horizons Travel, has eighteen years of experience in managing corporate travel Dale is a graduate of Colorado State University with a degree in Industrial Construction Management Since entering the travel industry, he has continued his ® education as a Certified Travel Consultant Vice -President Jill Burge, manager of New Horizons, is a graduate of the University of ® Nebraska with a degree in Business Administration Jill has also continued her education by attending various travel seminars in order to keep pace with this ever -changing industry She has been with New Horizons Travel for seventeen years Jill will act as the Account Manager and her duties will be as follows 1 Shall work closely with your Accounting Manager and travel planners 2 Shall compile and submit the management reports required by this contract 3 Shall oversee all educational programs for your travelers 0 4 Shall supervise the senior corporate travel agent, quality control agent, and account controller to insure that quality, professional travel services are being given 5 Shall oversee the overall quality performance of this contract E7 2 Site Supervisor/Semor Corporate Travel Agent Kelly Weaver has had extensive experience as ® a corporate travel agent and is currently a corporate supervisor for our organization Kelly has over seventeen years of experience in the travel industry She has been with our company for thirteen years Under this contract her duties would be 1 She will be the main contact for your travel managers ® 2 Shall implement and supervise all programs as directed by the account manager 3 Kelly will assist in making travel arrangements and in issuing travel documents 4 Shall supervise the staffing of onsite travel agents is 5 Shall manage all meeting and incentive programs Quabty Control Agent Andrea Pendohno has over ten years of experience in the travel ® industry She has been a corporate travel agent handling large corporate accounts for 7 years Andrea shall oversee the quality control plan Corporate Travel Agent Mary Birdsell has handled corporate travel for ten years She also ® has completed various domestic and international training programs She will be one of the contacts for your travelers and her duties will be as follows 1 Mary shall make travel arrangements, providing prompt, friendly accurate service at the ® lowest possible rate 2 Shall prepare for issuance of travel documents, including tickets, itineraries and other necessary items ® 3 Shall input necessary information for management reports Account Controller Maxine Hall has sixteen years of invaluable experience in travel agency accounting Ms Hall's formal training was at Rocky Mountain Business College Maxine will ® be responsible for 1 Shall prepare invoices and statements 2 Shall assemble data necessary to provide you with the required management reports 0 3 Please note that at the time of preparing this proposal, the previously mentioned ® individuals are available to service this contract Changes can occur to job descriptions and functions prior to starting this contract B. Staff Backup & Support ® New Horizons has on staff in Colorado, 23 travel agent personnel that will be available to cover for illness, vacation or any other emergency Replacement staffing can be covered with less than an hours notice You will have the right to approve which agents are used for • backup staffing Even after our regular business hours, you will still have access to the professional, • courteous service you expect Highly trained reservation agents provide service that is available toll -free from countries around the world We provide toll -free telephone numbers that you can call at any time, night or day to change your travel plans or make new reservations On each travel itinerary will be a toll free phone number to contact us during business hours and another © one to contact our Helpline after business hours Cards with the Helpline phone numbers will also be provided to your travelers All the traveler has to do when calling is to give their name and the travel agency The Helpline agent will have access to your itinerary and profile The • agent will be able to make any changes that are necessary, immediately We also have 24-hour emergency service locally via our Corporate Emergency Message ® Center with an agent on call at all times You must give your name, phone number and a brief message, then an agent will get back to you within 15 minutes 0 • • 3 C. Professional Affiliation and Consortia: ® New Horizons Travel is a member of Travelsavers Travelsavers is the largest network of independent travel agencies in the United States with over 2000 members and a combined sales volume of $5 5 billion They have a strong central organization staffed by travel professionals who support, tram, and coordinate programs for our agency They make available a 24-hour travel helpline, a corporate rate hotel directory, car rental discounts and the centralized purchasing power of a network We are also a member of the Worldwide Independent Network WIN is an association ® of over 6000 independent travel agencies located throughout Canada, Europe and the United States WIN agents have banded together to provide their clients the finest international service and products available in the market place ® As a member of ASTA (American Society of Travel Agents), we are sworn to a code of ethics that requires us to keep our professional standards very high Additionally we are a member of the Bell Travel Systems (over 700 offices nation wide giving us preferred status with over 50 industry vendors), C L I A (Cruise Lines International ® Association) and a STAR agency for American Airlines & Outstanding Sales Agency with United Airlines ® D. Equipment New Horizons Travel's reservation system is capable of providing advance seat assignments and issue boarding passes on all major airlines With SABRE computer reservation system, you are getting the world's most powerful and largest commercial real-time system anywhere in the business world But perhaps even a greater importance is the knowledge that, no matter how complex or unique your travel needs may be, we have the ability to help meet each and every need 0 SABRE is constantly looking for new tools, technology and services that makes us more efficient and productive We have instant access to up -to -the -second schedules and rate information on travel suppliers in nearly every country in the world More than 700 airlines, ® 27,000 hotel properties, and over 60 car rental companies support our system, therefore helping us maintain a competitive edge in this ever changing world of travel technology 5 SD o SABRE is one of the leaders in the industry that developed the Direct Connect to all ® major airlines Thus last seat availability can be obtained on all these major airlines II. SERVICES & TRANSPORTATION New Horizons Travel shall furnish full travel agency services including but not limited to making reservations for all commercial modes of transportation, lodging, rental vehicles, and meeting planning services All such services shall be accomplished in conformance with the a City's travel policy Through its electronic filing capability, SABRE allows us to store information about your company and each traveler and his or her preferences We can store full details of seat and ® special meal requests, preferred cars and hotels, frequent flyer, frequent quest and frequent renter membership numbers and other information in a unique traveler profile When making a reservation we automatically use this profile, saving you time and ensuring completeness and attention to details You will have the ability to fax reservations, electronic mail reservations, or to simply call the corporate travel agent Reservation forms will be provided for faxing reservation and templates for electronic mail One corporate travel agent will be assigned as the primary a contact person Average response time to your travel request is 30 minutes All travel itineraries will be processed by our Quality Control department, which will verify every domestic and international air rate a New Horizons will process all changes and/or refunds for the City with charges as follows 0 Exchanges $10 00 per ticket Refunds $15 00 per ticket Travel documents will be delivered once a day, or whenever an emergency situation occurs Electronic tickets will be utilized when ever possible U 6 A. Airline Services 1 For many companies, travel and entertainment represents the third largest controllable cost of doing business As travel professionals, we understand that providing the best value for the City's travel dollar is one of our most important responsibilities It's also one of the reasons we guarantee the lowest available and applicable airfare We have access to highly automated tools that locate the lowest applicable fare for your specific travel agenda These include pricing features that save you money by securing the lowest fare available at the time we book your itinerary, as well as features that can suggest 61 alternatives to your itinerary that would result in a lower fare (Bargain Finder Plus) There's even a feature that automatically checks for a lower fare right up to the time you travel (ReCheck) All travelers will be given alternative flight schedule options, such as lowest price m or most direct routing Exceptions will be noted when the lowest applicable airfare is not accepted 2 We will provide advance seat assignments, boarding passes, and last seat availability on all ® major airlines Since we know exactly what type of airplane is scheduled to be operated for the flight, we can view seat maps showing the cabin layout, to help you choose the seat that best meets your needs Direct Connect gives a direct, on-line link with many of the airline's own i computer systems This means that instead of working from information that was accurate when the system was last updated, we can enter the airline's own computer system to secure you a seat ® If a seat assignment is not available to be confirmed at the time of booking the reservation, the airlines do release seats 24 hours prior to departure, and can be obtained at this time If the seat still cannot be confirmed at this time, we advise the traveler to check -in a minimum of 1 to 1 1/2 hours in advance of the scheduled departure The seats are entirely under airport control d and the airlines usually have 10% of the assignable seats released at this time If the airline will not release a seat at this time, we advise you to demand a seat since you do have a confirmed reservation, and it is the airline's responsibility to ask for volunteers to give up seats for ® compensation Any ticket we issue will guarantee a seat on the particular reservation as long as the traveler checks in for the flight in the required amount of time 7