MODIFICATION
V -- Travel Management Services
- Notice Date
- 2/12/2003
- Notice Type
- Modification
- Contracting Office
- General Accounting Office, Acquisition Management, Acquisition Management, 441 G Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20548
- ZIP Code
- 20548
- Solicitation Number
- OAM-2003-N-0002
- Response Due
- 2/28/2003
- Archive Date
- 10/1/2003
- Point of Contact
- Harold Miles, Senior Contract Specialist, Phone 202-512-3607, Fax 202-512-3999 or 2879,
- E-Mail Address
-
MILESH@GAO.GOV
- Description
- The purpose of this Modification (No. Two) of synopsis/solicitation number OAM-2003-N-0002 is to revise documents of the RFP. All offerors that are presently on the emailing list and have already requested a copy of the emailed addendums to the requirement. All offerors that have not requested a copy of the addendum clauses and SOW must request a copy by emailing a request to the email address below. GAO responses to the prospective offerors' questions are as follows: Question #1. RFP page 1, Synopsis, states that the optional desktop reservations booking system must have a self-service web based online travel booking engine with the flexibility to be interfaced with Gelco?s Travel Manager 8.1 or higher. Is GAO currently using Travel Manager 8.1? Are there plans to upgrade to Travel Manager 8.2? If so, is there a defined timetable for doing so? We ask because there are some enhanced features that are available with Travel Manager 8.2, that we can offer that may be attractive to GAO. Is the LOC also using Travel Manager? If so, which version, and if not, are there any plans to do so? Response to Question # 1: GAO is currently piloting Travel Manager 8.1 and plans to have it in full use by September 30, 2003. Although we plan to upgrade to Travel Manager 8.2, no specific date has been set for the upgrade. LOC is in the process of procuring a new financial system and plans to include an automated travel system as part of the financial package. At present, what the financial and travel systems will be is uncertain. LOC is not currently using Travel Manager or any travel system at this time. Question #2. RFP page 2, Background, list the total travel expenditures in terms of dollars. Since most agencies base staffing upon productivity measurements such as number of tickets or number of expected phone calls, can the government provide the number of tickets that were issued for GAO and for the LOC for the past twelve months or past calendar year? This information is available from the incumbent contractor as all travel companies operate from this information. In fact, GAO requires the contractor to provide this type of information in its monthly reports for both Headquarters and field offices. We assume that such information on a summarized version could be provided to all offerors so that we may more accurately understand the work to be performed so that all offerors could propose the most competitive pricing. Response to Question # 2: GAO: 12,000 and LOC: 3,500. Question # 3. RFP page 3, Reservations and Ticketing Services, states that the contractor is expected to make available to GAO any specialized reservation assistance normally provided to contractor?s preferred commercial accounts, such as international travel desks, executive help desks, dedicated hotel, car and other supplier desks, and group/meeting arrangements. Does GAO understand that these types of specialized reservation assistance are provided at additional fees? Would the contractor be permitted to charge extra for such services as they are utilized? For instance, would the contractor be entitled to charge a separate fee for those international reservations that are reviewed by the international rate desk (this is the current commercial practice)? Response to Question # 3: GAO?s RFP asks contractors to submit proposals for all the services requested by the Statement of Work. GAO does not intend to direct contractors on how they should propose to offer these services. Question # 4. RFP Page 3, Reservations and Ticketing Services, states that the reservations system must be a Web based application. Is GAO referring to the optional desktop reservations system for use of GAO travelers and staff, or the global distribution system (GDS, formerly referred to as CRS) used by the TMC? Response to Question # 4: GAO is referring to the desktop reservations system for use by GAO travelers. Question # 5. RFP Page 3, Reservations and Ticketing Services, states that the TMC will ?claim travelers? awards for frequent flyer airline benefits.? As most frequent traveler award programs must be handled directly with the air carrier, and not through a TMC, can the GAO be more specific regarding this service requirement? Does the GAO allow their travelers to keep frequent traveler benefits for personal use? Response to Question # 5: GAO travelers are allowed to keep frequent flyer benefits earned in conjunction with official travel for their personal use. GAO employees include their frequent flyer account information in their ?Traveler?s Profiles? on file with the TMC. Employees? frequent flyer account numbers should be sent to the airlines when the TMC books reservations. The TMC should also include employees? frequent flyer account numbers on the employees? trip itinerary. Question # 6. RFP page 4, Reservations and Ticketing Services, states that the contractor must assist travelers in obtaining passports and visas. Is GAO looking for comprehensive passport and visa services, or simply help in obtaining information and forms for the traveler? Response to Question # 6: We are not asking the TMC to obtain passports or visas for GAO travelers. GAO would like the TMC to help travelers obtain visa and passport information and forms if requested by the traveler. When GAO employees travel to countries where electronic visas may be obtained by the travel agency, we would ask for our TMC to assist our employees with obtaining electronic visas. Question # 7: RFP page 5, Reservations and Ticketing Services, states that the contractor is permitted to charge for delivery fees when the traveler determines that electronic tickets are not acceptable. Is the government aware that airlines now charge for issuance of paper tickets and that some airlines have proposed to eliminate paper tickets for domestic travel by March 2003? Is the government prepared to pay the airline-imposed fees for paper tickets? The RFP also requires the contractor to provide ticket delivery for emergency tickets at appropriate domestic airports within two hours notice by the traveler. With e-tickets being the primary method for issuance of tickets, why is the government still requiring manual delivery of paper tickets? Response to Question # 7: GAO is aware of the current status of paper tickets in the airline industry. GAO does not normally reimburse travelers for paper tickets for domestic travel, however, our policy does not prohibit employees from requesting and paying for paper tickets. Until the airlines no longer issue paper tickets for domestic travel, we would like our TMC to be able to provide our travelers paper tickets when they are requested. GAO's internal policy states that the employees will be reimbursed for paper tickets for all foreign travel. Question # 8: RFP page 5, Reservations and Ticketing Services, states that the GAO requires both an invoice and a ticket receipt. Will delivery of an e-mail itinerary and access to print a receipt from the web meet GAO?s requirement? With self-book reservations tools there is no ticket receipt. Travelers must access the web to print receipts; however, an e-mail itinerary can be an option with the self-book tool. Response to Question # 8: Yes, the delivery of an e-mail itinerary and access to print a receipt from the web will meet GAO?s requirement. Question # 9: RFP page 5, Reconciliation of Centrally Billed Accounts, states that the contractor shall acknowledge receipt of a transaction file from the charge card vendor within one working day. To whom should this acknowledgement be sent? Response to Question # 9: The Offeror who is awarded the contract will be advised of this information by our charge card provider. Question # 10: RFP page 6, Facilities, states that GAO?s hours of operations are 7:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. ET. Does GAO require the on-site operation at GAO headquarters to be staffed during those hours, or does the GAO require telephone reservations service from 7:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. ET, with the physical office open for a normal eight-hour business day? Does the GAO require staffed offices at any other GAO location? Response to Question # 10: GAO?s RFP requires telephone reservation service from 7:30 am to 7:00 pm. ET. GAO also requests information, as a separate value added item, on the costs of having a travel agent at its headquarters office in Washington, DC and the LOC for a normal eight-hour business day. Question # 11: RFP Addendum Statement of Work, Item 2, Customer Support, Training, states that the contractor will conduct training seminars concerning TMC services at least once a year. Is this training conducted at GAO?s headquarters, at its regional offices, or at both? Will reimbursement for travel costs incurred by the TMC for training at various GAO locations be reimbursed in accordance with Addendum XI, Items 19 and 20? Response to Question # 11: No. We would like the training seminars to take place in Washington, DC. Field seminars may take place by telecommunication from our Washington, DC office. Question # 12: RFP Section XI, Addendum, Custom GAO Clauses, Page 5, Item 5, Library of Congress Contract Requirements, indicates that space will be provided for an on-site TMC for the LOC, at a no-charge, non-interference basis and that the government will provide reasonable office furnishings. Is an on-site TMC required? Also, please define what is meant by ?non-interference? basis? Does this mean that the LOC would allow travel business other than LOC?s to be managed through this on-site office? We ask because the annual air volume of the LOC is estimated in the RFP to be only $750,000, and this volume is insufficient to attain any economies of scale that would result in lowered costs for LOC. Would the LOC consider service from off site? Response to Question # 12: The LOC does not require the services of an on-site TMC. However, the LOC, like GAO, would like to be advised of the cost for an on-site travel agent. The LOC will allow other government travel business to be managed through the on-site office if it decides to exercise the value added option. Question # 13: RFP Section XI Addendum Custom GAO Clauses, Page 7, Item 8, Billing and Payment, lists GTR as a potential form of payment. What percentage of travel booked uses GTR as form of payment? Is the government individual charge card the primary form of payment, with minimal use of the GTS? Sub-item (d) of this RFP section also requires that the contractor ?may bill no more frequently than once every two weeks.? Travel agents must follow the rules of the Airlines Reporting Corporation, which operates on a Monday to Sunday reporting cycle. We must then report each week?s sales on the Tuesday of the following week, or two days after the closing of the reporting cycle. Would the government consider changing the requirement to allow billing on a weekly basis in accordance with the travel industry requirement to report and pay air carrier vendors on a weekly basis? Response to Question # 13: Government travel charge cards (individually and centrally billed) are the primary forms of payment for travel. GAO has not used a GTR in the last 7 years but we have included the provision for its use because it can be required for some rare foreign travel situations. We do not plan to use GTRs unless GTRs are required for a specific foreign travel situation. The billing in this section refers to billing GAO, not the agency?s charge card company. Question # 14: RFP Section XI Addendum Custom GAO Clauses, Page 9, Item 11, Compensation, seems to contract RFP Addendum Custom GAO Clauses, Page 1, Item 1, in that it implies that the contractor will be allowed to charge no fees for services. Item 11 states that reimbursement to the contractor for transportation services under this contract ?will be limited to actual carrier fares effective for air, rail, bus and steamship tickets issued by the contractor . . .? and that other ?compensation for services provided under this contract may be in the form of commissions received by the contractor from carriers and suppliers . . ..? Please clarify. Would the government consider removal of these paragraphs from the RFP? Response to Question # 14: This section refers to the fact that the agency will only pay for tickets that are specifically authorized by the agency on the travel authorization. If the TMC issues tickets without a travel authorization, the agency will not be responsible for payment of any fees. Question # 15: RFP Section XI Addendum Custom GAO Clauses, Page 15, Item 26, Security Clause, requires background checks for TMC personnel working in and/or having access to the GAO Headquarters Building. Also, we assume that the government will pay costs for background checks. Is this assumption correct? Response to Question # 15: Due to the sensitive nature of information accessible by GAO contractors, all contractor employees working in and /or having access GAO information shall be required to have a background investigation. In addition, those contractor employees needing access to the GAO headquarters building shall be required to obtain a GAO ID Badge prior to working in the building. At a minimum, a background check of criminal and credit records covering the last ten years is necessary for placement of a contractor. GAO will conduct and pay for the background investigation and adjudicate the results. All necessary security forms must be submitted to GAO prior to commencement of the contract. Question 16: RFP Section XI Addendum Custom GAO Clauses, Item 2, Evaluation Criteria, states that the offeror must provide documentation of all work completed within the last three years; however, RFP Item VII, Format of Proposals, requires five past performance references. Please clarify GAO?s requirement. Response to Question # 16: Question #16 misstates the requirement of RFP Item VII. The item does not ?require five past performance references? but ?at least five past performance references?. There would only be a problem if the contractor did not have at least five clients in the last three years. Question 17: RFP Section XI Addendum Custom GAO Clauses, Item 4, Evaluation Criteria states ?the offeror must address all Business Management factors noted in Section (?).? Please provide the missing reference information. Response to Question # 17: The missing reference should read ?Section V of the Statement of Work. Question 18: In respect to current volumes, can you provide a transactional breakdown by location based on the 4 million air spend? Response to Question # 18: The origin and destination location of our employees? travel varies greatly each year because our work is determined by Congressional requests for investigations. Currently, approximately half of our trips originate from our field offices and half from Headquarters. We cannot guarantee that this ratio will remain the same for this contract because of the nature of our work assignments. Question # 19: Who is the current contractor? Response to Question # 19: American Express Travel Services. Question # 20: What is the current transaction fee? Response to Question # 20: GAO's Travel Management fee under the present contract is proprietary information. Any interested party can, however, refer to American Express prices in the General Services Administration (GSA) Master contract, which is public knowledge. Whether GAO can release the current contract fee will be determined by the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) review now in process. Question # 21: Which locations are staffed by a full-time agent? Do field offices support remote printing functionality? Do all locations require a FTE support? Response to Question # 21: Currently, there is a ticketing agent located at the GAO and LOC Headquarters offices. None of the GAO field offices have remote printing equipment. No ticketing agent needs to be located on-site in any GAO field offices. Question # 22: Which CRS does the current contractor utilize? Which on-line booking engine is currently deployed? Response to Question # 22: The current contractor uses the Apollo system as their CRS. Neither GAO nor LOC uses an on-line booking engine. Question # 23: Will there be a pre-proposal conference? Or an opportunity to visit facilities? Response to Question # 23: No. Question # 24: What is the transactional detail for hotel by dollar and number of nights? Response to Question # 24: Hotels: $ 1.6 million for approximately 13,170 nights (FY 2002 figures). Question # 25: What percentage of the hotel bookings processed by the TMC are NOT in conjunction with an airline reservation? Response to Question # 25: GAO does not collect the data requested by Question # 25. Question # 26: What is the transactional detail for car rentals by dollar and rental days? Response to Question # 26: Car rentals through our current TMC is $ 258,000 for approximately 6,486 rental days (FY 2002 figures). Question # 27: Are we to include the booking fee charged by Fed Trip (eTravel Initiative) in our quoted transaction fee? Response to Question # 27: No. Question # 28: Are we to include any fee charged by Gelco to interface the records to the GDS and Fed Trip in our quoted transaction fee? Response to Question # 28: No. Question # 29: Are we to provide a completed copy of the Sample Reference Check Form for each of our references? Or, is this just an example of the criteria GAO will use in evaluating an offeror?s past performance. Response to Question # 29: No. The form is a sample of the questions GAO will ask in checking offerors' references. Question # 30: Are the vendor questions and answers available? And if so, may we get a copy? Response to Question # 30: Yes, vendor questions and answers are made available as part of this FedBizOpps notice and copies of all responses will be sent separately via email to offerors requesting copies of the addendum RFP documents. Question # 31: I understand that revisions to the solicitation are being completed. When re they expected? Response to Question # 31: Revisions to the RFP are incorporated within this Modification (# 2) to the RFP and in a revised addendum that will be sent to all Offerors requesting additional information. Question # 32: Is an extension anticipated? Response to Question # 32: Yes, the due date for the receipt of proposal has been extended and stated elsewhere in this Modification (# 2). Question # 33: There is a reference to an MOU, however, I cannot find a document labeled as such. Can you clarify where that document is? Response to Question # 33: A draft MOU will be included as part of the revised addendum document that will be sent via email to all offerors requesting the additional (addendum) information. Question # 34: Could you please provide us with this information (number of transactions and avg. domestic and international ticket prices) so we will be able to provide GAO with the best financial package. Response to Question # 34: The GAO has approximately 12,000 trips per year, of which, foreign travel makes up approximately 15 percent. The average price of domestic tickets is $170. The average price of foreign tickets is $350 (estimates are based on FY 2002 figures). The LOC has approximately 3,500 trips per year, of which foreign travel makes up approximately 32 percent. The average ticket price of domestic tickets is $175. The average price of foreign tickets is $560 (estimates or based on Fiscal Year 2002 figures). Question # 35: Do we understand correctly that you would like an onsite office for both headquarters and the Library of Congress and that the Library of Congress air volume estimate is $750,000? Would you consider our servicing LOC from GAO headquarters or another off-site location? Response to Question # 35: We have requested that each offeror include as part of their line item cost in the Pricing Schedule, a separate optional cost for an on-site travel agent at the LOC and the GAO headquarters offices. Our RFP has invited TMCs to provide proposals that they feel will offer GAO and LOC the best services possible. Question # 36: Please confirm that we supply the contact information for references only and GAO will survey those references. Response to Question # 36: We confirm that your assumption is correct. Question # 37: Would you please clarify what the "minimum" and "maximum" amounts for each of the options listed (XI. Addendum Custom GAO Clause page 14, #23) refer to? Response to Question # 37: The minimum and maximum for each option year references the ?minimum ($2,000) and maximum not to exceed amount? (1,000,000) the Government will guarantee for services ordered for the base and each option year. Question # 38: Please confirm that proposals are due February 12, 2002. Response to Question # 38: The due date for the receipt of proposal has been extended and stated elsewhere in this Modification (# 2). Question # 39: Please confirm whether Offeror are required to propose FedTrip as its desktop/web based selfbooking tool. Response to Question # 39: GAO would like Offeror to include FedTrip as one of its desktop/web based self-booking tools but you may submit multiple offers that include other self-booking tools. Question # 40: Please confirm whether Offeror can propose an alternate travel and expense management tool (other than Travel Manager). Response to Question # 40: GAO is currently piloting Travel Manager as its travel and expense management tool. At the present time, we are not interested in any other travel and expense management tool. Question # 41: Please confirm whether GAO will participate in adopting the GSA eTravel System once it is procured and available to government agencies. Response to Question # 41: GAO has not made a decision on this matter, as the GSA eTravel System is not yet procured or available. Question # 42: Please confirm whether GAO will participate in the anticipated GSA Travel Service Solutions (TSS) Multiple Award Schedule for its future travel service contracting requirements and comment on why it is not currently participating in the GSA Master Travel Management Center contract. Response to Question # 42: GAO, at this time is only interested in developing and processing its own procurement requirements. Question # 43: Please confirm whether onsite office space will be provided at the Library of Congress and/or whether Offeror can service the LOC from the government provided space at GAO HQ. Response to Question # 43: If GAO awards a contract for optional on-site services for LOC, office space will be provided at the Library of Congress. GAO Office space will not be used for on-site services for LOC. Question # 44: Please provide the current transaction fees GAO pays for its travel services. Response to Question # 44: See response to Question #20. All interested firms the are not presently on the e-mailing list may request copies of all synopsis/solicitation requirements by emailing Harold Miles (Contract Specialist) email address (milesh@gao.gov). Again, those firms that have emailed GAO for a copy of the addendums will be automatically sent the revised updated documents. NOTE: GAO has placed a limit on the number of pages for the technical proposal (please obtain a email copy of the information on page limitations). NOTE: The process to deliver proposals has changed. Please email for a copy of the changes for delivering proposals. The date and time for receiving all proposals has been extended to on or before 2:00pm (EST) February 28, 2003.
- Place of Performance
- Address: U.S. General Accounting Office, 441 G Street NW, Washington DC
- Zip Code: 20548
- Country: United States
- Zip Code: 20548
- Record
- SN00258343-W 20030214/030212213900 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps.gov Link to This Notice
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