Travel Newsletter - July 2019

Travel | July 15, 2019

The latest news and information for Ohio State business travelers. This issue contains the following articles:

Rental Car Reservations
Booking Airfare for Individual Business Travel: Full-Service Agent or Concur?
Flight Changes and Cancellations
Booking Business Airfare with Personal Time
Upcoming Training Opportunities
Did you know...

Visit the Travel website Read the Travel FAQs

Email Travel | Travel Policy | Travel FAQs | Training & Guides | Airfare Booking Options

Rental Car Contract Reservations

The Travel Initiative requires all travelers to procure business rental car services through Ohio State’s travel partners, Enterprise/National. The university’s contract with Enterprise/National allows OSU to maximize our negotiated benefits and provides the required liability and collision insurances. These insurance coverages protect the traveler and the university financially from any damages done to the vehicle and any medical liability expenses that could occur in the event of a collision.

Exceptions may be granted in cases where Enterprise/National locations do not have available fleet. Documentation that clearly demonstrates the specific limitations that prevented rentals through Enterprise/National must be provided to justify reimbursement and for compliance review.

Reservations for individual business travel must be reserved through the Enterprise/National Business Rental Solutions website for most standard reservations (no T# or payment method is required to hold the reservation). If combining a rental reservation with an airfare booking, individual business travelers should reserve through a full-service agent with Corporate Travel Planners (CTP) or their online booking tool (Concur). Contact the Travel Office for other booking options available for team/group travel.

Before making a reservation, review the Travel Policy and the university's business vehicle rental FAQ for more information on agreement benefits, insurance, international rentals, and other general information.

For more information, contact the Travel Office.

Booking Airfare for Individual Business Travel: Full-Service Agent or Concur?

Depending on the business need, the traveler can consider 2 options for booking airfare for individual business travel: A full-service agent at Corporate Travel Planners (CTP) or their online booking tool (Concur).

CTP Full-Service Agent

Agents are recommended for use when planning an international trip, incorporating personal time, or including a companion traveler.
Agents are experienced travel consultants that can eliminate the burdensome process of finding low cost, safe, and policy compliant fares for university business travel.
Agents can facilitate split payment options that will ensure personal travel costs are not entwined with university payments for business travel.
Agents can ensure that non-employee travel companions are booked within the same reservation to accommodate seating arrangements for spouses or children.
Requirement for booking includes: Traveler or Arranger must have an OSU HR profile and provide a valid T# and its applicable Business Unit (e.g., OSP or UNIV).
Contact a full-service agent:
- Monday-Friday (8AM-7PM ET) at (855) 784-9282 or theohiostate@ctp-travel.com
- After-hours Monday-Friday (7PM-8AM ET) at (833) 200-0261 and weekends all day.

Concur Online Booking Tool (serviced by CTP)

Concur is recommended for the self-serve traveler for domestic or non-complex bookings.
Concur hosts all of OSU travel discounts for airfare (hotel and rental car too).
Concur includes OSU policy rules (e.g., no first class).
Concur will provide comparison quotes when including personal travel with business (split bookings must go through a full-service agent).
Requirement for booking includes: Individual business travel only, Traveler or Arranger must have an OSU HR profile, and provide a valid T# and its applicable Business Unit (e.g., OSP or UNIV).
Login to Concur 24/7 at https://webauth.service.ohio-state.edu/cgi-bin/concur.cgi

Refer to the Travel website for team/group booking options. For more information and assistance, contact the Travel Office.

Flight Changes and Cancellations

The Travel Initiative requires all individual business airfare that has a change or cancellation (either by airline or traveler) be serviced and rebooked through Corporate Travel Planners (CTP). Note the steps below to address common flight adjustment scenarios.

Airline changes individual traveler's flight (e.g., mechanical or flight crew issue or other non-weather event)
In this scenario, the airline is obligated to re-accommodate the traveler on the next available flight or comparable flight at no charge. If this occurs less than 24 hours before takeoff: The airline may contact the traveler directly using the contact information listed on the reservation and will adjust the flight automatically. Be sure to monitor your flight after check-in with the airline’s mobile app to receive immediate notifications of changes. If this occurs more than 24 hours before takeoff: The airline will contact the agency (e.g., CTP/Concur) where the original reservation was booked and that agency is responsible for notifying the traveler. The agency will advise of the adjustment made by the airline to departure time and flight number. CTP will assist with changes that are needed. Contacting CTP: Refer to your flight itinerary, the OSU app, or the OSU Travel Website.
Traveler changes flight (e.g., schedule adjustment or cancellation)
In this scenario, the traveler is obligated to arrange changes directly with the OSU Travel Agency (e.g., CTP for individual business travel) to ensure compliance with the Travel Initiative. If the traveler has already checked-in for the flight, the changes must be made by a full-service agent at CTP. Otherwise, Concur may be used for changes to individual business travel. Basic economy tickets are highly restrictive and do not allow for any changes and/or cancellations. If this occurs less than 90 minutes before takeoff: Traveler must cancel a flight 90 minutes prior to departure to retain any of the original ticket value. If this occurs more than 90 minutes before takeoff: Contact a full-service agent with the OSU Travel Agency (e.g., CTP for individual business travel) for assistance. Contacting CTP: Refer to your flight itinerary, the OSU app, or the OSU Travel Website. Change: Change fees should be expected from the airline and the OSU Travel Agency. When changing the flight itinerary, the traveler will receive an unused ticket if the new booking is less expensive, but a more expensive booking will typically be charged to the original credit card used. An unused ticket must be used for future business travel (not permitted for personal use) with the same airline of the original booking and usually expires one year after the original booking’s transaction date. Cancellation: A credit to the card will only be issued if the cancellation is made within the 24-hour void period after booking the flight. After the 24-hour void period, an unused ticket will be issued and located in the traveler’s profile. An unused ticket must be used for future business travel (not permitted for personal use). A service fee for the OSU Travel Agency will apply.

General Reminders:

Be cautious as every airline has unique change/cancellation policies. Contact a full-service agent with the OSU Travel Agency for specific questions.
Download and install the airline’s app on your phone for real-time, up-to-date flight information.
Refer to the Travel website for team/group travel agency information.

For more information, contact the Travel Office.

Booking Business Airfare with Personal Time

While the Travel Initiative accommodates booking business airfare with vacation time, there are some important things to consider.

A cost comparison to demonstrate any variance in costs when combining business travel with personal travel is required. This must be captured prior to the purchase of airfare and retained with the receipt documentation.
Booking options that will ensure compliance with the university’s Travel Initiative include (T# required):
- Split Payment: CTP’s full-service agents can facilitate a split payment between the traveler’s credit card and the university’s credit card for the difference in personal airfare (airline exceptions may apply).
- Traveler Expensed: Apply the full amount to the traveler’s credit card in Concur or with a CTP full-service agent and seek reimbursement for the business portion of the airfare after completion of the trip.
- University Expensed: Apply the full amount to the university’s credit card in Concur or with a CTP full-service agent and provide a check back to the university within 7 business days after the airfare purchase (approval from unit required).

It is important to work closely with your fiscal department or Service Center to ensure you are following any additional internal guidelines. For more information and assistance, contact the Travel Office.

Upcoming Training Opportunities

Travel Workshop Introductory

This workshop explains the fundamentals of business travel for Ohio State. Targeted to the new traveler or arranger interested in an overview in the basics of traveling on behalf of Ohio State. Register for classroom training or Login for pre-recorded webinar.

September 11, 2019 - 8:30AM - 11:00AM
October 8, 2019 - 8:30AM - 11:00AM
November 5, 2019 - 8:30AM - 11:00AM
December 4, 2019 - 8:30AM - 11:00AM

Did you know...

Booking airfare with the OSU Travel Agencies (e.g., CTP) will still allow you to earn frequent flyer miles and points to be used for your future business travel.
During in-state travel status, you cannot earn per diem meal allowances unless there is an overnight stay.

What would you like to hear about in our next newsletter? Share your thoughts!

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