Travel agency

1. CONTEXT AND JUSTIFICATION

Context

The purpose of this Call for Proposals is to find a suitable travel agency to deliver travel management services for MdM Lebanon. The candidate firm is expected to provide a professional service, understand our travel regulations, and take them into consideration when providing quotes. The travel agency shall be well established, and the services shall be performed in the most cost-effective manner considering MdM interest as well as its staff’s welfare.

1. OBJECTIVES

• Obtaining tickets for all commercial modes of transport (i.e., air, rail, bus and ship) for MdM staff members to any destination worldwide.
• Negotiating and concluding – on behalf and for the benefit of MdM – discount agreements with major air carriers
• Provide the required international VISA documents, like flight and accommodation reservations, travel insurance.
• Make bids and prepare appropriate itineraries and formal quotes within a reasonable timeframe based on the lowest fare and the most direct and convenient routing in accordance with entitlements described in the below mentioned Travel Policy extract (low cost, special fares, restricted fares, discount fares, and bulk fares for use whenever appropriate). If required travel arrangement cannot be confirmed, notify the requestor of the problem and present alternative routings/quotations for consideration.
• Provide at least three options for European and intercontinental destinations. These offers should be free of charge.
• Pre-book the suggested seats mentioned in the formal quotation for a specified duration. This will allow passengers to review the offer, and ensure the seat is still available upon confirmation of preferred route.
• Accurately advise the requestor of ticketing deadlines and other relevant information every time reservations are made to avoid cancellations of bookings.
• Promptly issue and forward all tickets in electronic format with detailed itineraries including carrier(s), flight numbers, departure, and arrival times for each segment of the trip.
• Inform travelers, upon booking confirmation, of flight/ticket restrictions, involuntary stop-over, hidden stops, and other inconveniences of the itinerary and provide required documentation for travels.
• Reconfirm and revalidate airline tickets, re-issue tickets which are returned as a result of changed routing or fare structures and printed itineraries.
• Process duly authorized travel (flight, train etc) changes or cancellations as required.
• Provide regular travel services on each working day from 09:00am to 18:00pm.

1. EXPECTED DELIVERABLE

The agency shall fully adhere to the current Travel Policy detailed below:

Current air travel policy requires the agency in all cases to research and book the lowest available fares and to research alternate itineraries (at least three options, if available) to provide the lowest appropriate fares, which satisfy the travel policies and mission requirements. Our travel policies embody the following basic principles:

• Use of lowest applicable fare (most economical option) according to specified requirements.
• Use low-cost carriers where possible.
• Full economy fares may be used only if no appropriate reduced fares are available.
• Business class travel will not be accepted as an option.

Performance Evaluation

MDM will monitor the performance of the selected travel agency through the following criteria:

• All the requested quotes are received within the agreed timeframe.
• Seats are pre-booked.
• All the tickets are issued electronically (when possible)
• Phone calls are attended.
• Urgent cases (next day travels, emergency missions or urgent ticket changes) are prioritized.
• Emergency service is available and accessible when necessary.

1. PREREQUISITE QUALIFICATIONS

The Technical offer will be evaluated using inter alia the following criteria and percentage distribution:

• • • • Accredited IATA travel agency
      • Travel agent can issue tickets in electronic format.
      • Travel agent can submit one electronic invoice per ticket issued.
      • The agent offers regular travel services on each working day from 09:00am to 18:00pm
      • The agent provides 24 hours a day emergency service - including the reservation and ticketing services - outside of office hours and on weekends with duly communicated contact telephone number(s).