Travel Helpful Guidelines

How do I configure my Concur profile?

Back in 2011 when GW selected Concur Technologies as its integrated Travel and Expense management system, the focus was on ease of use for YOU, the traveler.

With all the applications and tools that Concur has available, travel reservations and expense reporting have never been easier. We just need to get you set up so that everything will talk to each other. 

In order to have "the perfect business trip" the system needs to recognize you.

Be sure to follow these essential basic steps to set up your Concur profile for fast travel and even faster expense reimbursements.

Why would someone use iBuy Travel instead of calling a travel agent?

There are many reasons: convenience, ease of use, added value, etc. iBuy Travel is designed for GW and MFA travelers who prefer to book their own travel. Some of the benefits of iBuy Travel include:

• Convenience — the services will be available 24 hours a day for the traveler. The services can be accessed from the home, office, or on the road.
• Ease of Use — the service provides travelers with point and click screens. iBuy Travel is highly intelligent and integrates our corporate travel policies, negotiated rates, and traveler preferences into its inventory (air, car, and hotel) displays.
• Added Value — the services will offer seat maps for seating selection, city maps to assist in selecting hotels, destination information, currency conversions, a world clock, and many other features travelers should find of value in planning and making their travel reservations.

Can I use iBuy Travel even if I have to travel at the last minute?

Yes. iBuy Travel recognizes reservations that need to be ticketed immediately and instructs your travel agency to expedite these reservations. Provided you have at least 4 hours before the departure of your first flight segment, you can use iBuy Travel to book your travel.

How secure is my personal information?

iBuy Travel requires your unique UserID and a password to access the application. All personal and sensitive data, such as member ID, password, credit card and travel profile information, is protected with the highest level of 128-bit encryption. All pages displayed and information transmitted on iBuy Travel utilizes https, a secure, encrypted form of http that is used to move sensitive information between a Web browser and a Web server. All credit card information is masked in the tool so that even when you go back into the tool, only the last four digits of your stored credit card is viewable.

Does iBuy Travel store my personal preferences for airlines, hotels and car rentals?

Yes. Your personal preferences are stored in your iBuy Travel user Profile, which you can update at any time. That way you do not need to input your frequent flyer numbers, meal preferences, etc. each time you use the system. It is important that your frequent traveler accounts list your name the same as on your photo ID used for air travel. Names not matching on airline frequent traveler programs can inhibit the booking of travel and/or earning miles.

Please note that iBuy Travel’s lists of airlines in the frequent flyer section of the profile are listed alphabetically. The first section of the listing includes the most common carriers used. The listing then alphabetizes a second time with the less common carriers, including worldwide carriers that may not be as well known to travelers. For example: If you are entering a United Airlines’ frequent travel number, be careful not to scroll immediately to the bottom of the list because United is found in the first common carrier listing. If you choose an airline that does not match the number you have entered, the tool will not allow you proceed to book a reservation. Incorrect numbers and/or names on accounts not matching the name in the profile can inhibit booking of travel.

Can I book Amtrak reservations in iBuy?

Amtrak reservations can be made through iBuy travel. A service fee will be charged similar to the fee charged for an airline ticket.

Can I combine an itinerary that includes an air segment and an Amtrak segment?

No. The Amtrak segment must be booked in a separate itinerary from your air itinerary.

Can I book a car and hotel at the same time I book Amtrak?

Yes, after booking your rail segment, you have the option to add a car and/or hotel to your rail reservation.

Can I cancel my Amtrak reservation?

Yes, Amtrak reservations can be cancelled through iBuy Travel prior to ticketing. However, tickets are not available at the time of booking. Amtrak tickets must be picked up at the Amtrak station kiosk prior to boarding. Once a ticket has been issued, you must contact Amtrak to cancel and process the refund.

Are rail tickets refundable?

Acela tickets are refundable and must be processed for a refund directly with Amtrak. For all other fares, Amtrak will need to determine the value of the refund. Passengers have two options on how to receive the refund value: 1) Passengers may receive the full calculated refund value in the form of a non-refundable exchange voucher valid for future purchases, or 2) Passengers may receive the calculated refund value, less a 10% refund service charge against the original form of payment used. The maximum amount imposed by Amtrak on the 10% refund service charge will be $100 per refund transaction on any single reservation.

Will I receive credit for my Amtrak membership number when I book rail online?

Yes, be sure to enter your Amtrak membership number in your profile under the loyalty area for Rail.

Do I receive frequent flyer and other member program reward points for reservations made using iBuy Travel?

Yes, frequent flyer information listed in your traveler profile is automatically included in your travel reservation. You can include airline frequent flyer numbers, hotel frequent guest numbers and car rental frequent renter numbers. Please ensure that your profile has accurate and complete information on your memberships.

Can I book my spouse or a colleague at the same time I’m booking my business reservation?

iBuy Travel books one person per reservation. You can then return to your Trip List and right click on the reservation and choose Clone Trip to book additional travelers.

If I’m booking more than one person on the same trip, how can I assure that both travelers can be seated together on the aircraft?

When booking the first reservation, utilize the live seat map to choose a seat that has an adjacent seat available on all flights. Then, when booking the second reservation, utilize the live seat map again to select the adjacent seats for the second person.

How can I book a visitor to the university?

In your list of authorized travelers, scroll to the bottom of the list and choose Guest Traveler. Make certain when you are speaking with the guest regarding their preferred schedule that you obtain the guest’s gender and birth date for TSA Secure Flight, which is required for purchasing an airline ticket. Also confirm how their name appears on their government issued photo ID that will be used for check-in (as the photo ID and name on the ticket must match).

Need to book travel for a group of 10 or more?

If you are booking travel for a group of 10 or more people, please complete the Travel Leaders Group Worksheet and forward to Frances Gippert at Travel Leaders at [email protected].

I cannot find the flights and fares that I found on another website?

On the search page, select Search by Schedule, select the preferred airline and reduce the time window for search to +/- 2 hrs. iBuy Travel will return all schedules available for your outbound reservations. Select the flights you prefer. iBuy Travel will then return flight options for your return flights. You can then select those flights and iBuy Travel will then price the selected reservations. Flights that are not lowest fare or have unnecessary lengthy time en-route may not be returned as quickly when searching by price.

How will I know if the selections I am making are within my company’s travel policy?

iBuy Travel uses a simple color-coding scheme to allow you to quickly and easily determine if your travel selections are within your company’s travel policy. Any options that are outside of your company’s travel policy will be a highlighted yellow tab. Options that are within company policy are highlighted with a green tab. It will not prohibit you from choosing the option that is not lowest fare. When you choose an option that is outside company policy iBuy Travel will prompt you to enter an explanation as to why you chose a fare that did not comply with your company’s policy.

How do I book multi-leg flights?

On the Travel Center flight tab, choose multi-segment.

What if I just want to reserve a car or a hotel?

If you want to reserve a car or hotel without making air travel reservations, click on the car or hotel tab on the Travel Center page. You can then choose a city and search for a car or hotel. There is no service fee for booking car or hotel reservations.

Can I add a rental car or hotel reservation to an existing reservation?

If you have an existing airline reservation in iBuy Travel, go to your Trip List in iBuy Travel, and click on the trip that is to be modified and choose "Change/Cancel Trip”. You can then select the add car and/or hotel icon to add a rental car or a hotel to the existing trip. Creating a new itinerary rather than adding to an existing itinerary for the same trip will incur an additional service fee.

Can I add air to a previously booked travel car and/or hotel itinerary?

Yes, you can add an air reservation to an existing car or hotel itinerary by accessing the reservation from the “Upcoming Trips” tab and then select Change Trip. You can then click on the “Add Air” link at the bottom of the screen. Note: There are some limitations to consider. Air cannot be added to an existing itinerary with more than one hotel booked on the trip or if there are any other air, rail or limo segments already booked on the trip itinerary. This feature is not applicable if you are booking a multi-city destination itinerary.

Can I select a specific seat as part of my flight reservation?

Yes. As you make your flight selections, iBuy Travel will use the seat preferences to select a seat for you. However, you will be able to view an interactive seat map with real-time availability to select or change your desired seat.

How do I know if my reservation has been successfully sent to Travel Leaders?

An email is sent to the email address stored within your iBuy Travel profile every time you make a reservation using iBuy Travel. If you wish, you can print out a hard copy of your itinerary for reference or utilize the mobile application tripit.com, which can be downloaded from the Apple or Android market.

Can I review past trips that I have booked through iBuy Travel?

Yes. Information on past trips that you have booked can be found in the My Travel section of the home page and in the Trip Library at the top of the My Concur screen.

How do I change or cancel a ticketed reservation made in iBuy Travel?

Prior to the trip departure date, you may change or cancel a ticketed reservation online if your reservation meets the following parameters:

All itinerary flights must be for future travel on a single airline only, and an electronic ticket must have been issued. Currently changes to ticketed reservations can only be made if travel is booked on the following airlines:

• Alaska Airlines
• American Airlines
• Delta Air Lines
• Hawaiian Airlines
• KLM
• Midwest Express Airlines
• United Airlines
• US Airways

Note online changes are not applicable to reservations with multiple tickets and/or multiple airline carriers, paper tickets, reservations that have previously been exchanged or instant purchase carriers such as Southwest, AirTran and JetBlue.

To change or cancel a ticketed reservation that does not meet the parameters above or once travel has commenced, you will need to contact a Travel Leaders travel counselor by calling 855-771-9109.

Will I see the air fare difference when I change my reservation online?

Yes, after choosing new flights, the air fare will be calculated and the fare difference will display before you agree to the change.

Can I change airline carriers when changing my ticket online?

No, this feature allows for changes on the same carrier only. The original carrier booked and ticketed will be used for the new trip details. Changes to alternate carriers can be completed by calling a Travel Leaders travel counselor at 855-771-9109. (You cannot change carriers when reissuing a non-refundable airline ticket)

Can I change or cancel my car and/or hotel when changing airline reservations?

Yes, you will be prompted during the change process to adjust the date for car and/or hotel when changing airline reservations or cancel the car or hotel reservation entirely.

How do I make a change to or cancel a ground transportation (taxi or car service) reservation?

Prior to agency ticketing, simply access the reservation from the Upcoming Trips tab and from there you can simply cancel the reservation and make a new booking if necessary.

What happens if I cancel a ground transportation reservation outside of the cancellation policy?

Limo service providers will reject a cancellation if it is outside the cancellation policy. It is recommended to call the limo provider directly when you receive a cancel decline online, and in some cases the vendor ‘may’ be able to accommodate the cancellation without charging a no-show cancellation fee.

I frequently travel to the same city. Do I have to create a new itinerary each time I book a trip?

Trip templates can be used to allow you to quickly recreate a previous trip you’ve taken. There are two ways to create a trip template. You can do so from selecting an existing trip from the My Travel section and selecting the Create Template link. You will be prompted to specify a unique name for the template and make any necessary changes to it. The other way to create a trip template is from the Travel Templates link. There you can create a template from scratch or use the record locator number of an existing trip or use an existing template to create your new template.

How do I reserve airport parking?

Parking options are displayed to users automatically on the Travel Details page. Travelers will be automatically prompted with the option to reserve parking when they are flying from any airport supported by the Park 'N Fly Network. Reservation times are automatically included in the search, even taking check-in requirements for international travel into account. Travelers can choose different airport parking check-in or check-out times if desired, and then search again for availability.

Is this feature available at all airports?

No. This feature is available only at the airports serviced by the Park ‘N Fly network. Park ‘N Fly is continually adding support for new airport locations, as well as additional options at existing locations.

City-Airport Codes

• Albany, NY-ALB
• Anchorage, AK-ANC
• Atlanta, GA-ATL
• Baltimore, MD-BWI
• Boston, MA-BOS
• Buffalo, NY-BUF
• Chicago, IL-MDW and ORD
• Cincinnati, OH-CVG
• Cleveland, OH-CLE
• Columbus, OH-CMH
• Dallas, TX-DAL and DFW
• Denver, CO-DEN
• Detroit, MI-DTW
• Ft. Lauderdale, FL-FLL
• Hartford, CT-BDL
• Houston, TX-HOU and IAH
• Indianapolis, IN-IND
• Kansas City, MO-MCI
• Las Vegas, NV-LAS
• Los Angeles, CA-LAX
• Memphis, TN-MEM
• Minneapolis, MN-MSP
• Nashville, TN-BNA
• New Orleans, LA-MSY
• New York, NY-JFK and LGA
• Newark, NJ-EWR
• Oakland, CA-OAK
• Oklahoma City, OK-OKC
• Ontario, CA-ONT
• Orlando, FL-MCO
• Philadelphia, PA-PHL
• Phoenix, AZ-PHX
• Pittsburgh, PA-PIT
• Portland, OR-PDX
• Providence, RI-PVD
• Raleigh, NC-RDU
• Salt Lake City, UT-SLC
• San Francisco, CA-SFO
• San Jose, CA-SJC
• Seattle, WA-SEA
• Spokane, WA-GEG
• St. Louis, MO-STL
• Tampa, FL-TPA

What do I need to present at the parking location as proof of payment?

Travelers must print out the Park ‘N Fly voucher that is emailed to them with their itinerary. This voucher must be presented to the Park ‘N Fly attendant upon exiting the parking facility as it provides proof of payment. The voucher can also be presented if the traveler arrives at the lot and sees a sign that says the lot is full. Showing the voucher will guarantee that the traveler can enter the parking facility.

What happens if I need to change or cancel a reservation?

Changes and/or cancellations can be done directly on the iBuy Travel site. However, travelers must cancel parking reservations 4 hours prior to the date of departure to avoid paying the parking rate.

How do I change a parking reservation?

You may change parking reservations by selecting the Trip under the “Upcoming Trips” tab on the Travel Center home page. Click on the “Change Trip” link and the parking segment will be cancelled. Click on “Add Parking” link for a new parking reservation and follow the prompts to return to the Travel Center home page. Note: changes must be made 4 hours prior to the original date and time of departure.

How do I cancel a parking reservation?

You may cancel parking reservations by selecting the Trip under the “Upcoming Trips” tab on the Travel Center home page. Click on the “Change Trip” link and then “Cancel this parking space” link.

Can I book Park ‘N Fly on a one way segment?

No, Park ‘N Fly is not available on a one-way itinerary.

Concur Technologies is the provider of GW’s iBuy+ Travel Services system. Included with the booking tool are two apps, Concur Mobile and TripitPro, that assist travelers prior to the trip, while traveling, and in the expense reimbursement process. 

• Concur Mobile: Concur for Mobile allows travelers to manage anything expense and or travel related, wherever they are. From booking and managing itineraries to capturing receipts and submitting expense reports, your smartphone can do it all with Concur Mobile. Log in to iBuy+ Travel, access the App Center, and activate Concur Mobile. Then, use the market on a mobile devise to download Concur Mobile.

• Tripit: Tripit is a planning and organizing tool that works in conjunction with iBuy Travel. Tripit combines the traveler's reservations purchased through iBuy+ Travel with those that had to be purchased thru other sources into one complete itinerary. TripIt also gives travelers the option to choose with whom they wish to share their travel information through social media. TripIt Pro, an upgraded version of Tripit, includes email communication to the traveler's smartphone regarding flight status, gate changes and other helpful options. GW travelers are automatically enrolled in TripIt Pro at no additional cost.
  
  GW Travelers who wish to enroll in the TripIt or TripIt Pro should first log into iBuy+ Travel and activate TripIt from the App Center. Afterwards, users can go to the market on their mobile devise to download the tool. Please use the following website which contains additional information and outlines the benefits of TripIt and TripIt Pro: TripIt website.

• iBuy+ Travel, the university’s online booking tool, supported by Travel Leaders at 855-771-9109, is available 24/7 to provide air, rail, car rental and hotel services. 
• Contact Jeanne Bentz, P2P Travel Manager, at [email protected] or 571-553-4269 for assistance.