What should be included in an RFQ document to corporate travel suppliers?

AGUSTÍN CASADO, travel manager at Eptisa

 

The first thing to do is to clearly establish the definitions of the services demanded. In this sense, it is advisable to unify criteria and concepts, such as the aérea transaction or reimbursement. The definitions of the remuneration models with the travel agencies can be particularly difficult. It is also essential to reflect the volume of expected expenditure. The request should include an estimate of this amount, as well as the number of transactions by type of service. The information must include at least the period of one year.

With regard to the configuration of the service, and in the case of the travel agencies, the most common modes must be taken into account: inplant, outplant, service center, etc. It can also be combined with the use of a self-booking tool. It is usual to ask for offers for more than one configuration in order to compare quality and price.

In addition to these basic criteria, the extras also carry a great deal of specific weight. We are talking about crisis management systems, CO² emissions reports, consultancy or VAT recovery facilities, among others.

The best way to measure the quality of the service are the SLAs or Service Level Agreement, which can also be defined in the specifications. Quality certificates can provide guidance on the supplier's processes, but not necessarily on the quality of service.

The document must define the reports that must be available, as well as the periodicity, the support and the date of access, although some companies hire third-party services to group the information from different sources.

The payment means must be marked by the type of service if it is not the same for all. In addition, specify if there is payment with vouchers in domestic hotels. There are companies that by policy do not accept certain forms of payment.

Finally, it is advisable to provide a template where participants can include their offers, so that it is easier to analyze them. At present, contracts over two years are risky as the market is changing rapidly.