RFP 2026-0200-0065 - Travel Management Services (Rev2 10.7.25).pdf

STATE OF ALASKA

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

TITLE OF RFP: Travel Management Services (TMS)

RFP NUMBER: 2026-0200-0065

RFP ISSUED DATE: Wednesday, September 10, 2025 The Department of Administration, Division of Finance, is soliciting proposals from vendors interested in providing travel management services to the State of Alaska. It will be a requirement that all state-funded travel, including Medicaid, be booked under the resulting contract.

ISSUED BY

Department of Administration

Division of Finance

Procurement Officer: Brooke Cashion

Phone 907-269-0576

Email Brooke.Cashion@alaska.gov

SUBMIT PROPOSALS

TO:

Via email to: doa.oppm.procurement@alaska.gov

OFFERORS ARE NOT REQUIRED TO RETURN THIS FORM

Important Notice: If you received this solicitation from the state of Alaska’s “Online Public Notice” web site, you must register with the procurement officer listed in this document to receive notification of subsequent amendments. Failure to contact the procurement officer may result in the rejection of your offer.

STATE OF ALASKA-REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS RFP NUMBER: 2026-0200-0065

RFP TITLE: Travel Management Services Revision 2, 10/7/2025

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION & INSTRUCTIONS

SEC. 1.01 PURPOSE OF THE RFP

SEC. 1.02 BUDGET

SEC. 1.03 DEADLINE FOR RECEIPT OF PROPOSALS

SEC. 1.04 PRIOR EXPERIENCE

SEC. 1.05 REQUIRED REVIEW

SEC. 1.06 QUESTIONS PRIOR TO DEADLINE FOR RECEIPT OF PROPOSALS

SEC. 1.07 RETURN INSTRUCTIONS

SEC. 1.08 ENROLLMENT IN IRIS

SEC. 1.09 ASSISTANCE TO OFFERORS WITH A DISABILITY

SEC. 1.10 AMENDMENTS TO PROPOSALS

SEC. 1.11 AMENDMENTS TO THE RFP

SEC. 1.12 RFP SCHEDULE

SEC. 1.13 PRE-PROPOSAL TELECONFERENCE

SEC. 1.14 ALTERNATE PROPOSALS

SEC. 1.15 NEWS RELEASES

SECTION 2. BACKGROUND INFORMATION

SEC. 2.01 ABOUT THE DIVISION

SEC. 2.02 ABOUT THE EXISTING SERVICE

SEC. 2.03 IMPORTANT REFERENCE MATERIALS

SEC. 2.04 EXISTING CHALLENGES

SEC. 2.05 CURRENT FINANCIAL CONTRACT AND STRUCTURE

SECTION 3. SCOPE OF WORK & CONTRACT INFORMATION

SEC. 3.01 SCOPE OF WORK

SEC. 3.02 GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

SEC. 3.03 CONTRACT TERM AND WORK SCHEDULE

SEC. 3.04 DELIVERABLES

SEC. 3.05 MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS

SEC. 3.06 GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

SEC. 3.07 CONTRACT TYPE

SEC. 3.08 PROPOSED PAYMENT PROCEDURES

SEC. 3.09 PROMPT PAYMENT FOR STATE PURCHASES

SEC. 3.10 CONTRACT PAYMENT

SEC. 3.11 ELECTRONIC PAYMENTS

SEC. 3.12 CONTRACT PRICE ADJUSTMENTS

SEC. 3.13 PRICE DECREASES

SEC. 3.14 LOCATION OF WORK

SEC. 3.15 THIRD-PARTY SERVICE PROVIDERS

SEC. 3.16 SUBCONTRACTORS

SEC. 3.17 JOINT VENTURES

SEC. 3.18 RIGHT TO INSPECT PLACE OF BUSINESS

SEC. 3.19 F.O.B. POINT

SEC. 3.20 CONTRACT PERSONNEL

SEC. 3.21 INSPECTION & MODIFICATION - REIMBURSEMENT FOR UNACCEPTABLE DELIVERABLES

SEC. 3.22 LIQUIDATED DAMAGES

SEC. 3.23 CONTRACT CHANGES - UNANTICIPATED AMENDMENTS

SEC. 3.24 NONDISCLOSURE AND CONFIDENTIALITY

SEC. 3.25 INDEMNIFICATION

SEC. 3.26 INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS

SEC. 3.27 TERMINATION FOR DEFAULT

SECTION 4. PROPOSAL FORMAT AND CONTENT

SEC. 4.01 RFP SUBMITTAL FORMS

SEC. 4.02 SPECIAL FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS

SEC. 4.03 OFFEROR INFORMATION AND CERTIFICATIONS (SUBMITTAL FORM A)

SEC. 4.04 PRIOR EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS (SUBMITTAL FORM B)

SEC. 4.05 SERVICE APPROACH- STAFFING PLAN (SUBMITTAL FORM C)

SEC. 4.06 MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR THE PROJECT (SUBMITTAL FORM D)

SEC. 4.07 ONLINE BOOKING TOOL (SUBMITTAL FORM E)

SEC. 4.08 SUBCONTRACTORS (SUBMITTAL FORM F)

SEC. 4.09 COST PROPOSAL (SUBMITTAL FORM G)

SEC. 4.10 MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS FORM (ATTACHMENT 1)

SEC. 4.11 BID BOND – PERFORMANCE BOND – SURETY DEPOSIT

SEC. 4.12 EVALUATION CRITERIA

SECTION 5. EVALUATION CRITERIA AND CONTRACTOR SELECTION

SEC. 5.01 SUMMARY OF EVALUATION PROCESS

SEC. 5.02 EVALUATION CRITERIA

SEC. 5.03 EVALUATION AND SCORING OF PROPOSALS

SEC. 5.04 PRIOR EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS (75 POINTS)

SEC. 5.05 SERVICE APPROACH- STAFFING PLAN (75 POINTS)

SEC. 5.06 MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR THE PROJECT (150 POINTS)

SEC. 5.07 ONLINE BOOKING TOOL (100 POINTS)

SEC. 5.08 INTERVIEWS (100 POINTS)

SEC. 5.09 CONTRACT COST (COST PROPOSAL)

SEC. 5.10 ALASKA OFFEROR PREFERENCE

SECTION 6. GENERAL PROCESS AND LEGAL INFORMATION

SEC. 6.01 INFORMAL DEBRIEFING

SEC. 6.02 ALASKA BUSINESS LICENSE AND OTHER REQUIRED LICENSES

SEC. 6.03 SITE INSPECTION

SEC. 6.04 CLARIFICATION OF OFFERS

SEC. 6.05 DISCUSSIONS WITH OFFERORS

SEC. 6.06 EVALUATION OF PROPOSALS

SEC. 6.07 CONTRACT NEGOTIATION

SEC. 6.08 FAILURE TO NEGOTIATE

SEC. 6.09 OFFEROR NOTIFICATION OF SELECTION

SEC. 6.10 PROTEST

SEC. 6.11 APPLICATION OF PREFERENCES

SEC. 6.12 ALASKA BIDDER PREFERENCE

SEC. 6.13 ALASKA VETERAN PREFERENCE

SEC. 6.14 ALASKA MILITARY SKILLS PROGRAM PREFERENCE

SEC. 6.15 ALASKA OFFEROR PREFERENCE

SEC. 6.16 USE OF LOCAL FOREST PRODUCTS

SEC. 6.17 LOCAL AGRICULTURAL AND FISHERIES PRODUCT PREFERENCE

SEC. 6.18 ALASKA PRODUCT PREFERENCE

SEC. 6.19 EMPLOYMENT PROGRAM PREFERENCE

SEC. 6.20 ALASKANS WITH DISABILITIES PREFERENCE

SEC. 6.21 PREFERENCE QUALIFICATION LETTER

SEC. 6.22 STANDARD CONTRACT PROVISIONS

SEC. 6.23 QUALIFIED OFFERORS

SEC. 6.24 PROPOSAL AS PART OF THE CONTRACT

SEC. 6.25 ADDITIONAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS

SEC. 6.26 HUMAN TRAFFICKING

SEC. 6.27 RIGHT OF REJECTION

SEC. 6.28 STATE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR PREPARATION COSTS

SEC. 6.29 DISCLOSURE OF PROPOSAL CONTENTS

SEC. 6.30 ASSIGNMENT

SEC. 6.31 FORCE MAJEURE (IMPOSSIBILITY TO PERFORM)

SEC. 6.32 DISPUTES

SEC. 6.33 SEVERABILITY

SEC. 6.34 SUPPLEMENTAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS

SEC. 6.35 SOLICITATION ADVERTISING

SEC. 6.36 FEDERALLY IMPOSED TARIFFS

SECTION 7. ATTACHMENTS

SEC. 7.01 ATTACHMENTS

INTRODUCTION & INSTRUCTIONS

SEC. 1.01 PURPOSE OF THE RFP

The Department of Administration, Division of Finance, is soliciting proposals from vendors interested in providing travel management services to the State of Alaska. It will be a requirement that all state-funded travel, including Medicaid, be booked under the resulting contract.

SEC. 1.02 BUDGET

Since the expenditures are based on pass-through costs subject to the volume of scheduled travel to include federally-reimbursed Medicaid travel, there is no specific identified budget for the services. However, Offerors are required to provide their most competitive unit costs for each identified task defined in the scope of services, and cost will be an evaluated factor as described in SEC. 5.09 of this RFP.

Payment for the contract is subject to funds already appropriated and identified.

SEC. 1.03 DEADLINE FOR RECEIPT OF PROPOSALS

Proposals must be received no later than 4:00 PM prevailing Alaska Time on Monday, October 20, 2025 as indicated by email timestamp; late proposals will not be considered.

SEC. 1.04 PRIOR EXPERIENCE

In order for offers to be considered responsive Offerors must meet these minimum prior experience requirements:

1. The Offeror’s legal entity/firm must have implemented and operated an online booking tool in the last five years for at least one corporate or government client with at least 6,000 traveler profiles. The client must have had travel expenditures of at least $3 million annually at the time the services were provided. Offeror must include a letter from the client to the procurement officer describing the number of traveler profiles that were managed in the online booking tool.

2. A Manager and Assistant Manager: The Contractor shall provide a manager and an assistant manager, designated to this contract and immediately accessible by the state travel team, to manage all contracted travel agents. The proposed individuals must have the following years’ experience managing travel accounts for at least two corporate or government clients. Each client must have had travel expenditures of at least $3 million annually at the time the services were provided:

Manager – 5 years; and

Assistant Manager – 2 years.

3. Offeror must be an enrolled Medicaid provider prior to arranging Medicaid recipient travel. Offerors that are already enrolled providers must include their provider number in the RFP response. Offerors that are NOT yet enrolled providers must indicate in the RFP response that they will become an enrolled provider by November 2026 or commencement of services; failure to become an approved, enrolled provider prior to the scheduled commencement of services may result in the state terminating the contract for default.

4. The Contractor and any Subcontractor(s) are required to comply with HIPAA requirements to protect the privacy of information and to provide for the security of protected health information (PHI) disclosed for the purposes of fulfilling this contract in compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and any other regulations promulgated by appropriate federal agencies, and with other applicable state or federal laws. Compliance with HIPAA includes but is not limited to compliance with Title 45, Section 164 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as may be amended from time to time.

5. Contractor must follow electronic claims processing procedures as directed by the Department of Health, Health Care Services (HCS), using the current Medicaid Management Information System (MMIS). (See https://extranet-sp.dhss.alaska.gov/hcs/medicaidalaska/Provider/Sites/BillingManuals.html for applicable information.)

6. Contractor must provide the State of Alaska with its own ARC (Airlines Reporting Corporation number) and IATA (International Air Transport Association) number, along with ticketing capabilities. The Contractor is responsible for all the associated fees for these numbers and must maintain them at no cost to the state for the entire term of the contract.

7. Contractor must accept the current payment methods outlined in SEC 3.08 Proposed Payment Procedures for each type of travel under the contract.

8. All contracted personnel will be subject to background checks and required to sign and adhere to a state travel confidentiality agreement.

Offerors must document their qualifications that meet these mandatory requirements on the form included as Attachment 1.

SEC. 1.05 REQUIRED REVIEW

Offerors should carefully review this solicitation for defects and questionable or objectionable material.

Comments concerning defects and questionable or objectionable material should be made in writing and received by the procurement officer at least ten days before the deadline for receipt of proposals. This will allow time for the issuance of any necessary amendments. It will also help prevent the opening of a defective proposal and exposure of Offeror's proposals upon which award could not be made.

SEC. 1.06 QUESTIONS PRIOR TO DEADLINE FOR RECEIPT OF PROPOSALS

All questions must be in writing and directed to the procurement officer. The interested party must confirm telephone conversations in writing.

Two types of questions generally arise. One may be answered by directing the questioner to a specific section of the RFP. These questions may be answered over the telephone. Other questions may be more complex and may require a written amendment to the RFP. The procurement officer will make that decision.

PROCUREMENT OFFICER: Brooke Cashion

EMAIL ADDRESS: brooke.cashion@alaska.gov

SEC. 1.07 RETURN INSTRUCTIONS

All proposals must be submitted via email. No hard copies, facsimiles, or electronic files on removable media (e.g. “thumb drives” or external hard drives) will be accepted.

The technical proposal and cost proposal must be saved as separate PDF documents and emailed to doa.oppm.procurement@alaska.gov as separate, clearly labeled attachments, such as “Vendor A – Technical Proposal.pdf” and “Vendor A – Cost Proposal.pdf”. The email must contain the RFP number in the subject line.

The maximum size of a single email (including all text and attachments) that can be received by the state is 20mb (megabytes). If the email containing the proposal exceeds this size, the proposal must be sent in multiple emails that are each less than 20 megabytes and each email must comply with the requirements described above.

Please note that email transmission is not instantaneous. The state recommends sending your emailed proposal with enough time to ensure the email is delivered by the deadline for receipt of proposals.

It is the Offeror’s responsibility to contact the procurement officer at brooke.cashion@alaska.gov to confirm that the proposal has been received. The state is not responsible for unreadable, corrupt, or missing attachments.

SEC. 1.08 ENROLLMENT IN IRIS

Offerors will be required to be enrolled in the State of Alaska’s Integrated Resource Information System (IRIS) database prior to award of a contract resulting from this solicitation. Enrollment can be done online at the following link: https://iris-vss.alaska.gov. Offerors who are not enrolled prior to award of a contract will be notified by the Procurement Officer. Failure of an Offeror to enroll in the IRIS database will delay award of the contract and may delay issuance of contract work.

SEC. 1.09 ASSISTANCE TO OFFERORS WITH A DISABILITY

The State of Alaska complies with Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Individuals with disabilities who may need auxiliary aids, services, and/or special modifications to submit a proposal should contact the Procurement Officer of record as seen on the front page of this RFP no later than ten days prior to the closing of the RFP to make any necessary arrangements.

SEC. 1.10 AMENDMENTS TO PROPOSALS

Amendments to or withdrawals of proposals will only be allowed if acceptable requests are received prior to the deadline that is set for receipt of proposals. No amendments or withdrawals will be accepted after the deadline unless they are in response to the state's request in accordance with 2 AAC 12.290.

SEC. 1.11 AMENDMENTS TO THE RFP

If an amendment is issued before the deadline for receipt of proposals, the amendment will be posted on the State of Alaska Online Public Notice (OPN) website. The link to the posting of the amendment will be provided to all who were notified of the RFP and to those who have registered with the procurement officer after receiving the RFP from the OPN.

After receipt of proposals, if there is a need for any substantial clarification or material change in the RFP, an amendment will be issued. The amendment will incorporate the clarification or change, and a new date and time established for new or amended proposals. Evaluations may be adjusted as a result of receiving new or amended proposals.

SEC. 1.12 RFP SCHEDULE

RFP schedule set out herein represents the state’s best estimate of the schedule that will be followed. If a component of this schedule such as the deadline for receipt of proposals, is delayed, the rest of the schedule may be shifted accordingly. All times are prevailing Alaska Time.

ACTIVITY TIME DATE

Issue Date / RFP Released NA 9/10/2025 Pre-Proposal Teleconference 10:00AM 10/2/2025 Deadline for Receipt of Proposals / Proposal Due Date 4:00PM 10/20/2025 Initial Proposal Evaluation Meeting (approximately) NA 10/23/2025 Interviews (approximately week of) NA 10/27/2025 Proposal Evaluations Complete (approximately) NA 11/7/2025 Negotiations (approximately week of) NA 11/10/2025 Notice of Intent to Award (approximately) NA 11/13/2025 Contract Issued NA 11/24/2025

This RFP does not, by itself, obligate the state. The state's obligation will commence when the contract is approved by the Commissioner of the Department of Administration, or the Commissioner's designee. Upon written notice to the Contractor, the state may set a different starting date for the contract. The state will not be responsible for any work done by the Contractor, even work done in good faith, if it occurs prior to the contract start date set by the state.

SEC. 1.13 PRE-PROPOSAL TELECONFERENCE

A non-mandatory pre-proposal virtual teleconference will be held at 10:00 AM, Alaska Time, on October 2, 2025. The purpose of the teleconference is to discuss the work to be performed with the prospective Offerors and allow them to ask questions concerning the RFP. Prospective Offerors are encouraged to send questions in writing to brooke.cashion@alaska.gov prior to the teleconference. All questions raised during the meeting must be submitted in writing to the Procurement Officer and will be posted along with the answers on the Alaska Online Public Notice website as an Amendment to the RFP, as soon as possible after the meeting.

Offerors with a disability needing accommodation should contact the procurement officer prior to the date set for the pre-proposal conference so that reasonable accommodation can be made. Participants may dial into the meeting using the following number:

Via Microsoft Teams: Dial in by Phone:

Meeting ID: 284 650 348 797 7 +1 907-202-7104,,93318316#

Passcode: GT2Pu2iU Phone conference ID: 933 183 16#

Meeting Link: CLICK TO JOIN

SEC. 1.14 ALTERNATE PROPOSALS

Offerors may only submit one proposal for evaluation. In accordance with 2 AAC 12.830 alternate proposals (proposals that offer something different than what is asked for) will be rejected.

SEC. 1.15 NEWS RELEASES

News releases related to this RFP will not be made without prior approval of the project director.

SECTION 2. BACKGROUND INFORMATION

SEC. 2.01 ABOUT THE DIVISION

The Division of Finance provides statewide accounting, payroll, and travel services for state government. The Division’s scope of work includes general ledger accounting including budgets and vendor payments for all three branches of State government, electronic commerce services including electronic vendor payments and the One Card Alaska charge card payment program, the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report and other statewide reporting responsibilities including oversight of single audit requirements, support of the state enterprise resource management system, and payroll services and leave accounting.

SEC. 2.02 ABOUT THE EXISTING SERVICE

The Department of Administration administers the managed travel program, E-Travel, serving the State of Alaska Executive Branch, including employees, members of boards and commissions, inmates, witnesses, and other individuals that travel on official State business. The E-Travel program was launched in 2009. The E-Travel program provides air transportation, lodging, rental car services and other transportation methods, with approximately 80% of bookings made through the online booking tool.

All state-funded travel is booked under the resulting contract, to include air and ferry services for Alaska Medicaid members; however, Medicaid travel authorized by Tribal Travel Management Offices is booked directly through those offices and is excluded from the scope of this contract. Medicaid travel is concentrated in rural Alaska, though urban and suburban travel is occasionally booked.

During the state’s fire season (typically running from approximately April through October of each year), the Department of Natural Resources (DNR)’s fire-suppression staff require 24/7 support for booking urgent travel related to their fire suppression efforts. Often these flights are to rural, remote areas. Some student travel is booked in groups in spring and fall for Department of Education.

The state has 16 departments, 1139 state travel planners, and 18,263 employees. Additional state entities may also book travel through this contract, such as the University of Alaska.

E-Travel is comprised of:

1. Travel policies contained in AAM 60 [PDF]

2. E-Travel Online, the online booking used for researching, approving, purchasing, and reimbursing

3. Travel Management Contractor, which is currently Corporate Travel Management

4. Other contracts with vendors in the travel industry including airlines, hotels, and rental car agencies

5. E-Travel Management Team (ETMT), which includes the State Travel Manager, as well as others from the Division of Finance that support this program, also known as State Travel Office (STO)

6. Travel coordinators, travel administrators, and travel planners within each department

7. Employees and others traveling on official State business

The State of Alaska's current vendor partner is Corporate Travel Management (CTM). The State of Alaska's current statewide travel management contract is scheduled to conclude in November 2026. For Medicaid recipients, CTM has established a call-in center staffed by approximately 8 travel agents, managing requests via a toll-free designated Medicaid phone number. Medicaid recipients do not utilize the online booking tool for independently booking travel currently; however, recipients may use the tool for emailing the customer service agents for assistance with booking or requesting a specific reservation.

The state has realized significant travel cost savings year over year since the program was initiated:

https://doa.alaska.gov/dof/travel/reports.html. In FY24 the Medicaid and Executive Branch volume of airline tickets was 60,000 and the state realized cost savings of approximately $2,700,000 in FY24 and $3,200,000 in FY23.

SEC. 2.03 IMPORTANT REFERENCE MATERIALS

Alaska Administrative Manual: https://doa.alaska.gov/dof/manuals/aam/resource/60t.pdf Commonly Used Travel Terms: https://doa.alaska.gov/dof/travel/terms.html Medicaid Transportation and Accommodation Provider Manuals:

Transportation and Accommodations Services Transportation and Accommodations Claims Management Arranging Patient Travel Instructions Requesting Travel Quick Reference Guide

SEC. 2.04 EXISTING CHALLENGES

Rural travel in Alaska often involves unique challenges due to the vast distances, limited road access, and harsh climate.

SEC. 2.05 CURRENT FINANCIAL CONTRACT AND STRUCTURE

The state’s current provider is Corporate Travel Management (CTM). This contract has been in place since November 2016. The current contract includes pass-through pricing with a per-transaction fee for booked travel (including airfare and ferries, accommodations and rental vehicles).

The state has executed airfare contracts with Alaska Airlines, as well as air carriers in rural areas.

Additionally, the state has executed vehicle rental contracts through NASPO ValuePoint for rentals in-state and nationwide.

The current travel management contractor has negotiated hotel contracts within Alaska on the state’s behalf; the successful Offeror may be required to assist the state with similar services during the term of the resulting contract from this solicitation.

SECTION 3. SCOPE OF WORK & CONTRACT INFORMATION

SEC. 3.01 SCOPE OF WORK

The state is soliciting proposals from qualified and experienced firms to provide travel arrangements and travel management services for the State of Alaska from a centralized state travel office. With the issuance of this RFP, the state is focusing on providing exceptional customer service coupled with reduced costs for travelers while improving overall value. This RFP provides an opportunity for Offerors to showcase what they bring to the table and demonstrate leadership in these areas. We encourage Offerors to demonstrate a strong customer service component and show how they can achieve significant cost reductions for the state while maintaining quality service. Accurate, consistent, timely, and comprehensive management reporting is also critically important.

SEC. 3.02 GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

The State of Alaska intends to establish a cost-effective, well-managed travel program that secures lower negotiated rates, provides increased data visibility through robust reporting, enables tighter control of spending, enhances access to critical safety and security information for travelers, and ensures comprehensive policy adherence across all state travel. This will be achieved by leveraging expertise in travel management, technology, and a strong understanding of Alaska's unique travel infrastructure, particularly rural air services.

The state is seeking proposals for an Online Booking Tool to facilitate booking for both Executive Branch and Medicaid travel in addition to agent-assisted transactions.

The successful Offeror will:

Provide high-quality, exceptional customer service.

Provide fiscally sustainable, high-quality benefits.

Provide transparency in pricing and fees structures.

Provide high accuracy in claims processing.

Provide ongoing rate negotiation on behalf of the state for booking partners such as hotels, airlines, car rental services not on state contracts, and others.

Demonstrate their ability to manage travel in Alaska and rural travel for Medicaid Support the state in identifying, recommending and implementing innovative quality-oriented processes and procedures to achieve state objectives, reducing costs, and improving quality of service.

Provide effective tools and resources to support travelers and travel planners Provide seamless implementation of an online booking tool for the state, including providing training and assistance to Executive Branch and HCS staff, Medicaid providers, and travelers.

It is the intent of the state to award one single contract for all services detailed in this RFP. Proposals for only a portion of the scope of services (e.g. only an online booking tool with no provision of agent support) will be rejected as non-responsive.

The current contract for these services concludes on November 8, 2026. Implementation of the new online booking tool as proposed by the successful Offeror is anticipated to be completed prior to that date.

SEC. 3.03 CONTRACT TERM AND WORK SCHEDULE

The state intends to execute a contract by the end of November, 2025. During the first calendar year of the contract (i.e. from approximately November 2025 – November 2026), the state anticipates a transition period from the previous Online Booking Tool to the new Booking Tool proposed by the successful Offeror. During this time, the successful Offeror will NOT provide travel agent or assistance services, as this period will run parallel to the current contract with CTM’s final year. The successful Offeror will be expected to manage the transition and to ensure full successful implementation by the expiration of the current CTM contract. Upon written acceptance by the state, the contract will commence with live travel booking and agent services at the start of the second calendar year, approximately November 2026.

The length of the initial contract term will be from the date of award, approximately November 24, 2025, through November 30, 2029, with the option to renew for THREE additional TWO-YEAR terms under the same terms and conditions as the original contract for a total contract term of approximately ten years. Renewals will be exercised at the sole discretion of the state.

Unless otherwise provided in this RFP, the State and the successful Offeror/Contractor agree: (1) that any extension of the contract excluding any exercised renewal options, will be considered as a month-to-month extension, and all other terms and conditions shall remain in full force and effect and (2) the procurement officer will provide notice to the Contractor of the intent to cancel such month-to-month extension at least 30 days before the desired date of cancellation. A month-to-month extension may only be executed by the procurement officer via a written contract amendment.

SEC. 3.04 DELIVERABLES

The awarded Offeror will be required to provide, perform, or deliver the following (including but not limited to):

Profile Management: Establishment and ongoing maintenance of traveler and departmental profiles, with existing profiles being migrated without loss of data.

Web-Based Booking Tool: Provision of an online platform for travel bookings and the migration of existing data from the current tool to the new tool.

Implementation of Online Booking Tool: Manage and provide all support, development, and technical services required to ensure the successful transition from the previous Online Booking Tool to the new Tool proposed by the Offeror. This includes user acceptance testing (UAT), training to all state staff including travelers, and providing technical documents and materials.

Multi-channel Travel Request Processing: Handling travel requests received through the web-based booking tool, telephone, and email, and making corresponding travel arrangements. This includes Medicaid travelers, who previously booked travel primarily via telephone.

Online Resolution System: Implementation of a web-based system for facilitating issue resolution.

Quality Assurance and Reporting: Ensuring quality control over all services delivered and providing regular reports on performance to the state.

Support Services: Assisting the state with complex or specialty services such as seasonal support for fire suppression travel needs, multi-origin emergent travel, and other services as agreed upon by both parties throughout the contract term.

Training Services: Delivering essential training to state Executive Branch travel arrangers and all other users of the travel system.

Traveler Satisfaction Measurement: Conducting regular surveys to gauge traveler satisfaction and report quarterly on the findings.

Discounted Rate Negotiation: Actively negotiating and securing discounted travel rates for the state.

Travel Data Management: Comprehensive management, analysis, and reporting of all travel-related data.

24/7 Customer Support: Providing round-the-clock customer support to STO personnel, state-sponsored travelers, and relevant state agency staff (travel desk personnel, travel coordinators, and financial staff).

Quarterly review meetings: Contractor performance will be reviewed by the State of Alaska on a quarterly basis.

SEC. 3.05 MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS

Offerors must submit supporting documentation as part of their proposals to verify that their firm meets the following requirements. Failure to provide substantiating documentation (Attachment 1) will result in the state rejecting the proposal as non-responsive.

Offeror is responsible for ensuring compliance with Alaska Statute, Alaska Administrative Manual (AAM), State Travel Policy, and State Information Security Policy.

https://www.akleg.gov/basis/statutes.asp https://doa.alaska.gov/dof/manuals/aam/ http://doa.alaska.gov/dof/manuals/aam/resource/60t.pdf https://oit-int.alaska.gov/policy/information-security-policies/

1. Offeror’s legal entity/firm must have provided travel services similar to those described in this RFP to at least three corporate or government clients. Each client must have had travel expenditures of at least $3 million annually at the time the services were provided.

2. Offeror’s legal entity/firm must have implemented an online booking tool in the last five years for at least one corporate or government client. The client must have had travel expenditures of at least $3 million annually at the time the services were provided. If the proposed project management staff were not employed by the Offeror’s firm at the time of these implementations, the Offeror’s proposal must include resumes/bios which clearly show the proposed staff have the same relevant experience at their prior employment.

3. Offeror must be an enrolled Medicaid provider prior to arranging Medicaid recipient travel. Offerors that are already enrolled providers must include their provider number in the RFP response. Offerors that are NOT yet enrolled providers must indicate in the RFP response that they will become an enrolled provider by November 2026 or commencement of services; failure to become an approved, enrolled provider prior to the scheduled commencement of services may result in the state terminating the contract for default.

4. The Contractor and any Subcontractor(s) are required to comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) requirements to protect the privacy of information and to provide for the security of protected health information (PHI) disclosed for the purposes of fulfilling this contract in compliance with HIPAA and any other regulations promulgated by appropriate federal agencies, and with other applicable state or federal laws. Compliance with HIPAA includes but is not limited to compliance with Title 45, Section 164 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as may be amended from time to time.

5. Contractor must follow electronic claims processing procedures as directed by the Department of Health, Health Care Services (HCS), using the current Medicaid Management Information System

(MMIS).

6. Contractor must provide the State of Alaska with its own ARC (Airlines Reporting Corporation number) and IATA (International Air Transport Association) number, along with ticketing capabilities. The Contractor is responsible for all associated fees for these numbers and must maintain them at no cost to the state for the entire term of the contract.

7. All contracted personnel will be subject to background checks and required to sign and adhere to a state travel confidentiality agreement.

8. Offerors must accept the payment methods as outlined in SEC. 3.08: Proposed Payment Methods.

Offerors must document their acceptance and qualifications that meet these mandatory requirements on the form included as Attachment 1 to this RFP.

SEC. 3.06 GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

A. State-Funded Travel Requirements

1. Contractor must accept travel requests via telephone and e-mail, but the primary vehicle for arrangements will be a web-based online booking system provided by the Contractor.

a. Normal Business Hours Response time: Contractor will provide staffing sufficient to answer 90% of calls within 90 seconds and return all calls, messages, and/or emails within thirty (30) minutes of receipt and provide assistance with booking or modifying travel.

b. After- Hours Response Time:

Contractor will provide staffing sufficient to return all calls, messages, and/or emails within one (1) hour of receipt and provide assistance with booking or modifying travel when traveler is in travel status currently or will be traveling within the next three (3) calendar days.

2. Contractor will provide complex and/or specialty services, such as Department of Natural Resources seasonal support, Department of Education travel, and other ad-hoc services agreed upon by the parties.

a. Response time: Contractor will provide staffing sufficient to return all calls, messages, and/or emails within 30 minutes of receipt during normal business hours and one (1) hour during after-hours, and provide assistance with booking or modifying travel when a service is designated as complex or specialty.

b. Complex/Specialty Surcharge: Contractor may charge a surcharge for services which are designated as complex or specialty (including but not limited to: booking travel with multiple origins for the Department of Natural Resource’s fire suppression season; booking travel for attendees of the Department of Education’s Mt. Edgecumbe school, etc.).

i. Fees for complex and/or specialty services will be added to the contract via amendment. Under no circumstances may the Contractor invoice the state for fees related to complex or specialty services without an amendment authorizing the fees.

The amendment must be executed prior to the services being provided.

B. Medicaid Recipient Travel Requirements

1. The primary mechanism currently for booking Medicaid-funded travel is via telephone. Contractor must be appropriately staffed and trained to manage incoming telephonic requests for Medicaid air and ferry travel; currently, lodging and ground transportation is not managed through this contract.

2. A crucial requirement for this contract is the ability to effectively manage travel in rural Alaska. This demands a strong understanding of the region's geography and its vendor community. The state highly values travel agents who can demonstrate this expertise. Contractor must follow electronic claims processing procedures as directed by the HCS using MMIS.

3. Contractor must refund the cost of any unused ARC or non-ARC tickets within 30 days of determining that the ticket is unused as defined below:

a. ARC tickets: A ticket is considered to be unused if the traveler has not used the ticket within 30 days of the travel start date.

b. Non-ARC tickets: A ticket is considered to be unused if the carrier has not invoiced the Contractor within 120 days of the travel start date.

4. The Contractor must notify HCS of any interruptions in service that impair travelers’ ability to book travel that have lasted or are expected to last 20 minutes or more. The notification to HCS must happen as soon as the Contractor is aware of the interruption.

5. Contractor must provide a process that enables the Contractor to respond to urgent and/or emergency travel requests within 30 minutes during normal business hours and within one hour during after-hours. For the purposes of this contract, emergency travel is defined as commercial travel for Medicaid recipients who are on the organ transplant list and have been notified that an organ is available. Urgent issues are defined as issues requiring assistance while the recipient is in travel status currently or will be traveling within the next three (3) calendar days. The Contractor must have full-service staffing available for these requests and be able to provide all contractual services (i.e.:

taking messages or solely providing answering services does not constitute an acceptable “response” or “service” for emergency or urgent requests).

6. Contractor will be responsible for collecting a Recovery Fee on behalf of the Department of Administration, Division of Finance and issuing payment of the fee to the Division on a monthly basis for all Medicaid bookings. The Recovery Fee will be added to the contractor booking fee at the time of booking.

7. Contractor will be responsible for consolidating Executive Branch fees and billing a designated Department of Administration CTS on a weekly basis; a detailed fee report should be provided. The Department of Administration will distribute the fees to the departments.

8. Travel for a Medicaid recipient may be approved up to 1 year in advance of the travel date. The contractor must allow the Medicaid recipient to make reservations up to 1 year in advance once the travel is authorized. Scheduling a flight up to 1 year in advance is dependent on the air carrier booking availability for the requested flight.

C. Booking Requirements

1. Contractor must secure reservations for all domestic and international travel, including airfare, lodging, water and ground transportation, and other travel requirements as necessary.

2. Contractor must ensure that all travel purchases are made in accordance with applicable state travel policies and incorporate them into the online booking tool.

3. Reserve commercial rental vehicles at the lowest possible cost to the State, confirm the rate at which the reservation is made, and include such information on the traveler’s itinerary.

4. Any vehicle size and operating (mileage) costs must be consistent with the minimum size vehicle needed to achieve the traveler’s mission and State’s interest in economy.

5. Contractor shall issue all necessary travel related documents to travelers to include at a minimum:

a) Airline Tickets: Electronic ticketing will be the method preferred by the state under this contract.

b) Invoice/Itinerary: All invoices, preliminary and final itineraries must be distributed electronically (either securely over the internet or via email) and must be able to be printed by the traveler in a standard format reflecting, at a minimum, the following:

Passenger name, including state agency/division when applicable;

Carrier(s);

Flight number(s);

Preferred seat assignment or reason provided for inability to obtain preferred seat assignment;

Departure and arrival times for each trip segment;

Origin and destination for each trip segment;

Mileage program member number where applicable;

Ground transportation arrangements;

Any confirmation numbers supplied by the various travel providers;

Name, phone numbers, and location of lodging establishments;

Class of service;

Special service information;

Billing information, including invoice number and last 4 digits of credit card used;

Name and phone number of person requesting reservations;

Contact information (on and off hours) of the state travel office.

c) Confirmation Notices: Confirmation notices, when applicable, must be supplied to the traveler and the agency’s travel desk when received from the travel providers.

d) Changes in Travel Documents: The Contractor shall make all necessary changes in travel documents that may be required due to rescheduling on the part of the state or on the part of the travel provider prior to the commencement of the trip, or during the trip or travel segment.

Travelers may opt to work directly with providers once travel has commenced.

6. Contractor must assist in correcting discrepancies between vendor quotes and actual billed amounts in accordance with State of Alaska contracts and Contractor agreements. For agreements between Contractor and third-parties (such as hotels and vehicle rental) to which the state is not a party, Contractor shall bear responsibility for resolving discrepancies.

7. Contractor must provide a narrative detailing all hardware, software, equipment, and licenses already in place and ready for use under this contract.

D. Online Booking Tool Requirements

1. Contractor must provide an online request and booking tool, hereafter referred to as the “online booking tool”, that is configurable for state travel contracts and policies. Booking capabilities must include airline, lodging, rail, ground, and water transportation, for domestic and foreign travel. The online booking tool must have access to live inventory in all Global Distribution Systems (GDS) markets, and preferably to multiple travel providers’ websites, to ensure state travelers have access to the lowest available fares and rates. Some rural on-GDS travel may not be available for direct booking through the online booking tool; however, the online booking tool must accept requests and generate itineraries, with travel agent intervention as necessary, for all travel requests regardless of GDS interface for the specific travel providers. All travel booked, including phone and e-mail requests, must be recorded as similar transactions for customer convenience and reporting purposes, regardless of GDS interface for travel providers.

2. Offerors need not propose one platform for all offices (e.g. Medicaid travel, Executive Branch travel, other state agencies such as University of Alaska, etc.) as long as each proposed platform meets the stated requirements of each office.

3. The online booking tool must be able to enforce the use of the authorized transportation, lodging provider(s), and other approved travel service-related suppliers for business travel. Exception reporting and information alerting must also be available.

4. The online booking tool must allow the state to establish business rules and policies which must be acknowledged and adhered to by the traveler or traveler’s arranger upon submission of the travel booking request and subsequent expense management process and reporting.

5. The online booking tool must be able to support policy and procedure enforcement at the enterprise level and at lower organization levels.

6. The online booking tool must be able to identify rules for acceptable travel types by traveler, agency, and department. System capabilities must include mechanisms to manage and/or change traveler choices to ensure compliance with preset rules. This functionality is required at the enterprise level and the state prefers the ability to tailor it to individual agency travel policies.

7. The online booking tool must be able to capture information about travel arrangements at the time of booking.

8. The online booking tool must support traveler profiles as described in Traveler Profiles and data reporting as described in Travel Data and Organizational Requirements.

9. The online booking tool must track the status of all travel requests and arrangements. Real-time reporting must be available to enable the state to track the status of individual or multiple travel requests.

10. It is strongly preferred that all reporting is accessible via a secure website and does not require the use of client side scripts, downloads, or other installed software to operate with full functionality.

11. The systems must have the ability to manage and maintain the organizational hierarchies (Department, Division, etc.) that encompass multiple tiers and levels within the State.

12. The systems must accommodate travelers who may travel for different agencies in different roles (e.g. employee and board member).

13. The system must be secure: at least password protected with the ability to create a unique password. If Offeror proposes to integrate with the state’s Single Sign-On system, Offeror must dedicate technical support to collaborating with the state’s Office of Information Technology and Information Security teams to establish security protocols.

14. The system must be able to accept secure payments via any of the Payment Methods described in

SEC 3.08.

15. If Offeror is proposing a new tool, within 30 days of contract execution, the successful Offeror will work with the state to refine the proposed implementation plan that must include, but is not limited to:

a. A kickoff meeting, setting milestones and timelines

b. Service configuration

c. Finance and accounting

d. Technology

e. Infrastructure

f. Travel management

g. Trainings

h. Testing, review, and approval by the state

i. Go-live date and ongoing support

j. Knowledge plan and transition support for duration of resulting contract term, including optional renewal periods

E. Travel Discounts Requirements

The Contractor will be responsible for negotiating discounts for state travel with travel providers. The state will consider a savings-sharing arrangement as part of the Offeror’s proposal.

The Contractor(s) will assist the state in negotiating or otherwise establishing government discounts to the state’s benefit with major air carriers, hospitality providers and rental car providers to assure that state travel is accomplished at the lowest possible fare/cost.

Booked travel shall be monitored for downgraded tickets or reservations, and any corresponding discount or credit shall be passed onto the booking entity.

F. Traveler Profiles Requirements

1. The Contractor shall convert existing traveler profiles into the format necessary for travel arrangements. This effort will be supported by the state and the incumbent Contractor. The state currently maintains profiles for over 6,000 travelers. The profiles include identification, billing and organizational information, and personal demographic and preference information. State business-related portions are maintained by administrative staff and personal travel information is maintained by individual travelers.

2. The Contractor must establish new profiles based on feeds provided by the Division of Finance and ensure that all profiles are kept current with information provided by the state.

3. The Contractor must ensure that all profiles are kept current with information provided by the state.

Methods for conveying information should include secure feeds from the state, secure online updates from departmental administrative staff, and secure online updates from the travelers themselves. Appropriate security, as determined by the state, must be maintained to ensure that only authorized sources update specific fields in the traveler profiles. Electronic storage of state credit card and account data in traveler profiles will adhere to Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI-DSS). The Contractor shall ensure GDS and travel providers from which state travel is purchased adhere to PCI-DSS.

G. Travel Data and Organizational Requirements

1. The system must provide ad-hoc querying and routine reporting capabilities available to the state by both user specific and administrative levels varying from top level data to line-item data. Examples of required reports include compliance, exception, cost savings, vendor usage, legs of travel, and average ticket price. Data must be available for reporting purposes for a minimum of three years. It is preferred that the systems provide a variety of robust reporting and analytics capabilities at no additional cost to the state.

2. The systems must support data exports in readily accessible formats including, but not limited to, comma separated values (CSV) and Excel spreadsheets.

3. The Contractor must maintain adequate security and disaster recovery for any systems used by the state. SAS 70 audits, FedRAMP or GovRAMP certification (or state-approved equivalent) will be required to evidence this fact.

4. It is strongly preferred that the system have the ability to accept other supplemental information that augments transaction information received from the credit card provider(s). For example, the system may have the ability to store mileage between major cities or folio information directly from lodging providers.

5. All reporting must support multiple user privilege levels that allow access to be controlled by user role and organizational unit.

H. Customer Support Requirements

While the following represent the State’s minimum anticipated requirements, Offerors are expected to provide additional details of their customer support plan in their response.

1. Contractor must provide a Customer Service Support function that maintains a toll-free number to assist state travelers, perform itinerary changes and/or create new reservations.

2. Contractor must provide live travel agent support Monday through Saturday from 8:00am to 5:00pm and Sunday 10:00am to 4:00pm (all times are Alaska Standard Time), excluding State of Alaska holidays, for standard assistance and services. For the purposes of this contract, these are considered “normal business hours.”

3. Contractor must provide 24-hour, 7-days a week emergency live travel service for all personnel in travel status, all DNR fire-suppression travel, and for Medicaid travelers who are on the organ transplant list and have been notified that an organ is available.

4. Service Level: 90% of calls to customer support during normal business hours must be answered within 90 seconds.