RFP-ACT-SACT-26-22 Travel Management Services Amendment (1).pdf

NATO UNCLASSIFIED

RFP-ACT-SACT-26-22

NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY ORGANISATION

HEADQUARTERS SUPREME ALLIED COMMANDER TRANSFORMATION

7857 BLANDY ROAD, SUITE 100

NORFOLK, VIRGINIA, 23551-2490

Invitation For International Bidding

Travel Management Services

Amendment 1

(Changes in Red) http://www.act.nato.int/

1. General

2. Classification

3. Definitions

4. Eligibility

5. Duration of Contract

6. Exemption of Taxes

7. Amendment or Cancellation

8. Bidder Clarifications

9. Bid Closing Date

10. Bid Validity

11. Content of Proposal

12. Proposal Submission

13. Late Proposals

14. Bid Withdrawal

15. Bid Evaluation

16. Proposal Clarifications

17. Award

18. Disputes

19. Communications

20. Points of Contact

Enclosure 1: Proposal Content / Checklist

Enclosure 2: Compliance Statement

Enclosure 3: Past Performance Information Form

Enclosure 4: Mandatory Price Proposal Excel Spreadsheet

Annex A: Statement of Work (SOW)

Annex B: Service Levels / KPIs (as provided)

Annex C: (Unpriced Option) – Online Booking Tool (OBT) Services

Annex D: RFP-ACT-SACT-26-22

Annex E: Compliance Matrix and Scoring Sheet for RFP-ACT-SACT-26-22

BIDDING INSTRUCTIONS

1. General

a. This is a Firm Fixed Price Service Fee contract in accordance with the HQ

SACT General Terms and Conditions.

b. HQ SACT General Terms and Conditions Dated 15 January 2026 are applicable to this procurement and can be located on the ACT Website at; WWW.ACT.NATO.INT/CONTRACTING under Contractor Information.

c. Contract Award is contingent upon funding availability; Partial bidding is NOT allowed.

2. Classification

This Request for Proposal (RFP) is a NATO UNCLASSIFIED document.

3. Definitions

a. The “Prospective Bidder” shall refer to the entity that has indicated thereon its intention without commitment, to participate in this RFP.

b. The term “Bidder” shall refer to the bidding entity that has completed a bid in response to this RFP.

c. The term “Contractor” shall refer to the bidding entity to whom the contract(s) is awarded.

d. The term “Contracting Officer” designates the official who executes this RFP on behalf of HQ SACT.

e. “Contracting Officer`s Technical Representative” or “COTR” is the official who is appointed for the purpose of determining compliance of the successful bid, per the technical specifications.

f. The term “HQ SACT” shall refer to Headquarters Supreme Allied Commander Transformation.

g. The term “ACT” shall refer to Allied Command Transformation.

h. The term “NATO” shall refer to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

i. The term “days” as used in this RFP shall, unless otherwise stated, be interpreted as meaning calendar days.

4. Eligibility

a. This RFP is open to governmental or commercial entities:

http://www.act.nato.int/CONTRACTING

b. Established in a North Atlantic Treaty Organization Alliance member nation.

c. Working in the required field and legally authorised to operate in the country and countries in which this contract is to be performed, at the time of bidding.

Has performed the desired past performance including size, cost and scope, as described in this RFP.

d. All proposed key personnel identified to work on this requirement must be citizens of a NATO member nation.

5. Duration of Contract

a. The contract awarded shall be effective upon date of award.

b. Period of Performance: 1 January 2027 – 31 December 2027 with four potential option periods, 1 January 2028 – 31 December 2028, 1 January 2029 – 31 December 2029, 1 January 2030 – 31 December 2030, 1 January 2031 – 31 December 2031

6. Exemption of Taxes

In accordance with the agreements (Article VIII of the Paris Protocol dated, 28 August 1952) goods and services under this contract are exempt from taxes, duties and similar charges.

7. Amendment or Cancellation

a. HQ SACT reserves the right to amend or delete any one or more of the terms, conditions or provisions of the RFP prior to the date set for bid closing.

A solicitation amendment or amendments shall announce such action.

b. HQ SACT reserves the right to cancel, at any time, this RFP either partially or in its entirety. No legal liability on the part of HQ SACT shall be considered for recovery of costs in connection to bid preparation. All efforts undertaken by any bidder shall be done considering and accepting, that no costs shall be recovered from HQ SACT.

8. Bidder Clarifications

a. Prospective Bidders should seek clarification at their earliest convenience.

Any explanation regarding the meaning or interpretation of this RFP, terms, clause, provision or specifications, shall be requested in writing, from the Contracting Officer. All Contracting staff listed on this RFP must receive such requests via email for clarification no later than 19 June 2026

b. In lieu of a bidder’s conference, HQ SACT invites bidders to submit technical and contractual questions not later than 19 June 2026.

c. Information in response to all inquiries / requests for clarification to a prospective bidder shall be furnished to all prospective bidders at the following link: http://www.act.nato.int/contracting as a Question-and-Answer addendum.

http://www.act.nato.int/contracting

All such addendums and any necessary solicitation amendments shall be incorporated into this RFP. Verbal Interpretations shall not be binding.

9. Bid Closing Date

Bids shall be received at HQ SACT, Purchasing and Contracting Office, no later than 6 July 2026, 0900 hours, Eastern Standard Time, Norfolk, Virginia, USA. No bids shall be accepted after this date and time. No hard copy proposals will be accepted. Please see Proposal Submission (paragraph 12) for more details.

10. Bid Validity

a. Bids shall remain valid for a period of one hundred and twenty days (120) from the applicable closing date set forth within this RFP. HQ SACT reserves the right to request an extension of validity. Bidder shall be entitled to either grant or deny this extension of validity. HQ SACT shall automatically consider a denial to extend the validity as a withdrawal of the bid.

b. HQ SACT will not accept supplier proposals prepared, in whole or in part, by means of generative artificial-intelligence (AI) tools, including and without limitation to chatbots, such as Chat Generative Pre-Trained Transformer (Chat GPT), or other language generating tools. HQ SACT reserves the right to screen applications to identify the use of such tools. All applications prepared, in whole or in part, by means of such generative or creative AI applications may be rejected without further consideration at HQ SACT’s sole discretion, and HQ SACT reserves the right to take further steps in such cases as appropriate.

11. Content of Proposal

The proposal shall consist of two (2) separate documents (Technical / Price) sent via e-mail as per the instructions. No hard copy proposals will be accepted. The e-mailed documents shall be received no later than 6 July 2026, 0900 hours, Eastern Standard Time, Norfolk, Virginia, USA.

a. Technical Proposal shall be a Signed PDF document and contain:

1) A table of contents for the entire proposal (See Enclosure #1):

2) The bidder’s full name, address, Points of Contact, Telephone, e-mail, Internet site;

3) Compliance statement (See Enclosure#2);

4) Past performance (See Enclosure #3);

5) List of key personnel designated to provide contract support;

6) Company description, management plan, service offerings and supplementary relevant information; and

7) Compliance matrix (See Annex E to Statement of Work).

b. Price Proposal shall be

1) Submitted in U.S. Dollar Currency. Contractor may request payment post award in alternate currency based on agreed conversion rate.

2) Prices shall be on a Firm Fixed Price Basis, fully loaded and include any relevant discount schedule.

12. Proposal Submission

a. Proposals shall be separate e-mail submissions to:

Technical proposal: hqsact.techproposal@nato.int

Price proposal: hqsact.priceproposal@nato.int

b. E-mail subjects shall include the solicitation information along with company name (for example: RFP -ACT-SACT-26-22_Tech_ABC Inc. / RFP - ACT- SACT-26-22_Price_ABC Inc.). Allow sufficient time in sending your submission should you encounter e-mail size challenges.

c. No verbal bids or verbal modifications or telephonic bids shall be considered.

d. It is the ultimate responsibility of a prospective bidder prior to submission that all proposal submissions are reviewed to ensure they meet the technical, contractual and administrative specifications and that offers meet the limitations and expressed conditions.

13. Late Proposals

a. It is solely the bidder`s responsibility that every effort is made to ensure that the proposal reaches HQ SACT prior to the established closing date and time.

No late bids shall be considered.

b. A delay in an e-mail exchange due to server or size restrictions does not constitute a delay by NATO.

14. Bid Withdrawal

A bidder may withdraw their bid up to the date and time specified for bid closing.

Such a withdrawal must be completed in writing with attention to the HQ SACT Contracting Officer.

A bid withdraw will be annotated on the Contract Award Report.

mailto:hqsact.techproposal@nato.int mailto:hqsact.priceproposal@nato.int

15. Bid Evaluation

a. The evaluation of bids and determination as to the responsiveness and technical adequacy or technical compliance, of the products or services requested, shall be the responsibility of HQ SACT. Such determinations shall be consistent with the evaluation criteria specified in the RFP. HQ SACT is not responsible for any content that is not clearly identified in any proposal package.

b. HQ SACT reserves the right to conduct pre-award discussions with proposed key personnel or management team members to accurately assess identified technical competencies. Discussions will be limited to the scope of this RFP and the evaluation criteria identified.

c. Proposals shall be evaluated and awarded taking into consideration the following factors:

1) Successful administrative submission of bid packages as requested in paragraph 11 and as listed in this RFP.

2) Successful determination of compliance on mandatory criteria.

(Compliant/non-compliant).

3) Technical factors / pricing factors rated as follows:

Technical / Price = 70/30 (Best Value).

4) Technical clarifications as determined may be conducted.

5) Acceptance of HQ SACT General Terms and Conditions.

16. Proposal Clarifications

During the entire evaluation process HQ SACT reserves the right to discuss any bid, clarify what is offered and interpret language within the bid to resolve any potential areas of concern.

17. Award

a. HQ SACT intends to award a firm fixed service delivery contract to the Offeror(s) whose proposal(s) represents the Best Value offer to NATO. Partial awards are not authorized.

b. HQ SACT will collect information from references provided by the Offeror on its past performance. Contractors must provide authorization to contact references.

c. HQ SACT reserves the right to negotiate minor deviations to the listed General Terms and Conditions to this RFP.

18. Disputes

Disputes will be settled between the bidder and the Contracting Officer by mutual agreement through negotiation, while respecting and observing NATO regulations and policies.

19. Communications

All communication related to this RFP, between a prospective bidder and HQ SACT shall only be through the nominated HQ SACT Contracting Officer.

Designated contracting staff shall assist the HQ SACT Contracting Officer in the administrative process. There shall be no contact with other HQ SACT personnel regarding this RFP. Such adherence shall ensure Fair and Open Competition with equal consideration and competitive footing leverage to all interested parties.

20. Points of Contact

(PLEASE INCLUDE ALL BELOW ON ALL CORRESPONDENCE)

Tonya Bonilla, ACT Contracting Officer, 757-747-3575;

Margaret Anderson, ACT Contracting Officer, 757-747-3699;

Inga Love, ACT Contracting Specialist, 757-747-3788

Hqsact.contracting.nato.int

Enclosure 1: Proposal Content / Checklist

PROPOSAL CONTENT / CHECKLIST

Table of Contents

□ Bidder’s name, address, POC, Contact numbers, email address.

□ Compliance Statement.

□ Past Performance (including References).

□ List of Key Personnel.

□ Technical Proposal.

□ Price Proposal (Excel worksheet – Enclosure 4 - provides mandatory price proposal format)

Enclosure 2: Compliance Statement

COMPLIANCE STATEMENT TO SEALED BID RFP-ACT-SACT-26-22

It is hereby stated that our company has read and understands all documentation issued as part of this RFP. Our company proposal submitted in response to the referenced solicitation is fully compliant with the provisions of this RFP and the intended contract with the following exception(s); such exemptions are considered non-substantial to the HQ SACT solicitation provisions issued.

Note: Any requested deviations/adjustments or considerations regarding HQ SACT General Terms and Conditions must be identified here - at the time of bidding -for consideration by the contract awards committee.

Clause Description of Minor Deviation

(If applicable, add another page)

Company:

Signature:

Name &Title: Date:

Company Bid Reference:

Bidder’s proposal must be based on full compliance with the terms, conditions and requirements of the RFP and all future clarifications and/or amendments. The bidder may offer variations in specific implementation and operational details provided that the functional and performance requirements are fully satisfied. In case of conflict between the compliance statement and the detailed evidence or explanation furnished, the detailed evidence/comments shall take precedence/priority for the actual determination of compliance. Minor or non-substantial deviations may be accepted. Substantial changes shall be considered non-responsive.

Enclosure 3: Past Performance Information Form

Company is required to submit minimum of one. Company should be clear how the company meset the requirements of past performance. Reference to a contract must include a detailed description of the work performed relevant to the requirements outlined in the SOW. Generic or Vague references to the contract awarded without clear connection to work performed will be disqualified

(a) Contracting Entity:

(b) Contract No:

(c) Type of Contract (Firm Fixed Price, IDIQ, Requirements):

(d) Title of Contract:

(e) Description of Work Performance and Relevance to Current Acquisition (Type of facility, capacity, estimated patronage, summary of staff used):

(f) Contract Dollar Amount:

(g) Period of Performance:

(h) Name, Address, Fax and Telephone No. of Reference:

(i) Indicate Whether Reference Acted as Prime or Sub-contractor:

(j) Comments regarding compliance with contract terms and conditions:

(k) Complete Contact Information for client:

(l) Permission to contact client for reference: Yes / No

Name/Signature of Authorized Company Official:

This Enclosure is designed to assist the respective company provide HQ SACT with all necessary documents/information required. For clarification, please refer to bidding instructions in part 1 of subject solicitation.

Enclosure 4: Mandatory Price Proposal Excel Spreadsheet

Pricing shall be submitted using the excel workbook provided. Bidders may elect to submit a PDF proposal for pricing in addition to the required excel workbook.

Proposals not submitted in the proper format will not be considered.

Formulas have been added for convenience; however, it is the company’s responsibility to ensure that the formulas are correctly reflecting your expected bid proposal value.

Annex A: Statement of Work (SOW)

RFP-ACT-SACT-26-22 — Statement of Work (SOW)

Travel Management Services (TMS)

Introduction

This requirement is issued by Headquarters Supreme Allied Command Transformation (HQ SACT), Norfolk, VA to establish a Travel Management Services (TMS) contract for the provision of comprehensive travel management services in support of HQ SACT.

Eligibility for use of the resulting contract may be extended to other NATO entities located within the United States, subject to funding authorization and contracting authority approval.

The objective of this contract is to provide secure, compliant, efficient, and cost-effective Travel Management Services (TMS) in support of HQ SACT mission requirements. The services shall support military and civilian personnel engaged in official duty travel, including high-volume, short-notice, mission-critical, and global travel requirements.

2. Background and Scope of Work

2.1 Background

The Allied Command Transformation (ACT), located in Norfolk VA, requires contractor support for the provision of comprehensive Travel Management Services. This Statement of Work (SOW) defines the scope, responsibilities, performance standards, and system requirements necessary to perform all functions related to travel arrangements, reservations, ticketing issuance, and changes to travel plans for authorized travel per established North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and Headquarters, Supreme Allied Command Transformation (SACT) [and others as applicable] policy.

2.2 Contractor Support

The successful contractor must demonstrate proven experience in large-scale government or international organization travel management, robust cybersecurity and data protection controls, financial stability, and the ability to deliver services in accordance with NATO regulations, confidentiality obligations, and applicable national and international standards. The successful Contractor must be able to book official U.S. Government fares for authorized patrons.

3. Type of Contract and Period of Performance

3.1 Type of Contract: Firm Fixed Price/Fixed Fee Service Contract.

3.2 Period of Performance: Base Period: 01 January - 31 December 2027 with four potential 12-month option periods; 01 January – 31 December 2028, 01 January – 31 December 2029, 01 January – 31 December 2030, 01 January – 31 December 2031.

4. Tasking (Core TMS Services)

5. Place of Performance: The primary place of performance shall be on site at HQ SACT, 7857 Blandy Road, Suite 100, Norfolk Virginia 23551.

a. HQ SACT reserves the right to transition on-site services to full remote services throughout the period of performance.

The Contractor is responsible for end-to-end Travel Management for the following Core Services:

a. Ticket Management (Air/Rail/Ferry)

b. Hotel Reservation

c. Car Rental Reservation and Booking

d. Airport Shuttle Reservation and Booking

e. Remote Travel Management Services

g. Reporting

h. Online Booking Tool Services

Note: Online Booking Tool (OBT) services are excluded from the base scope and are addressed only in Annex C (Unpriced Option).

6. Ticket Management

6.1 Ticket Requests

Ticket requests will be processed offline onsite or remotely (via e-mail or telephone).

The Contractor must be able to manage all types of requests.

6.2 Minimum Service Requirements (Air and Rail)

a. Ticket issuance shall not occur without the associated end-approval

b. The Contractor shall be able to reserve, issue and deliver transport tickets for trips by air and rail for all locations and entities in scope;

c. Types of Tickets: Round trip, one-way ticket, circular trips, and “open jaws”;

d. Contractor will issue US Government Fares where allowable;

e. Contractor will issue e-tickets without any delay;

f. Contractor will issue itinerary to benefit from the best financial conditions in case of change or cancellation after tickets’ issuance;

g. Except for an urgent request (confirmed by the HQ Travel Officer), the contractor will treat the travel requests by order of arrival;

h. Ticket confirmation and itinerary will be sent to the traveler not later than 1 hour after the ticket has been issued;

i. The Contractor guarantees the continuity of the services (reservations, changes, cancellations, and issuance) 24h/24 and 7d/7;

j. Transport tickets shall, in addition to the regular flight/train details, contain the following information:

1. Up-to-date travel agency contact information

2. 24-hour service contact details

3. Travel security and safety information as necessary

4. Additional information as may be reasonably required

k. The Contractor shall advise NATO of excess baggage rules and fees, which may vary from the country of origin. Additional excess baggage shall be booked, as and when requested by NATO, at no additional handling fee (including when it is done on airline websites where technically possible).

l. The Contractor shall provide information about travel insurance and baggage insurance as indicated by the airline, if requested.

7. Hotel Reservation

The Contractor shall:

a. Provide a range of hotels in line with NATO published per diem rates by default.

b. Propose the entire range of hotel sources (public rates, promotional rates, Contractor negotiated rates, NATO and US Govt negotiated rates, etc.) in proposals if requested;

c. Clearly and systematically mention to travelers the cancellation policy for each reservation so that they may assess the financial impact (cancellation fees, no show fees, etc.) of a reservation change or cancellation;

8. Car Rental Reservation

The Contractor shall:

a. Provide a range of rental cars at the lowest discounted rate by default.

b. Propose the entire range of car rental sources (public rates, promotional rates, Contractor negotiated rates, NATO and US Govt rates) in proposals if requested;

b. Clearly and systematically mention to travelers the cancellation policy for each reservation so that they may assess the financial impact (cancellation fees, no show fees, etc.) of a reservation change or cancellation.

9. Contractor Supervision and Reporting

9.1 Monthly Reports

The following report deliverables are to be provided on a monthly basis and separately for each entity using this contract vehicle:

a. Type of traffic and evolution

b. Transaction Fee Summary

c. Percentage of tickets booked fewer than 14 and 7 days prior to trip

d. Percentage of tickets issued with restrictions

e. Number of Tickets issued for staff (Military and Civilian) and Contractors (separately)

f. Reason code in case of non-application of Lowest Logical Fare (LLF)

g. Tickets issued benefiting from negotiated contracts

h. Number, percentage and nature of travel policy exemptions

i. Top 50 travellers and total number of travellers (YTD)

j. Top 30 city-pair

k. Top Airline Comparison Report (Total tickets issued by Airline)

l. Refundable, unused and cancelled tickets report

9.2 Format

Deliverable reports should be produced in electronic format. Invoice deliverable shall be submitted IAW para 11 and Annex D.

9.3 Supervision

a. The Contracting Officer will assign a Contracting Officer’s Technical

Representative (COTR) to administer all technical contract details. The Contracting Officer has final authority (in consultation with the COTR) to determine if the contract/SOW should be amended, extended, modified or cancelled for evolving requirements, new tasking, and/or technical non-performance.

b. The COTR shall:

i. Resolve outstanding disputes, problems, deficiencies, and/or questions on the technical aspects of the SOW;

ii. Review (and approve) all Contractor duties for completeness and accuracy;

iii. Review the Contractor’s work at a minimum of monthly, or more often if needed.

c. The COTR’s written approval of work reported and products submitted is mandatory for contractor invoices to be successfully processed.

d. The contractor shall submit monthly reports to the COTR and the

Contracting Officer as detailed in Para 9.1 above. Additionally, the contractor shall include any current or anticipated problems/deficiencies and recommended solutions.

e. The COTR reserves the right to amend the reporting requirements to receive alternate/additional data and information on a more frequent or less frequent basis, and to request other reports that detail designated aspects of the work or methods to remedy problems and deficiencies.

10. TMS Service Requirements

The following concern all requests:

10.1 The Contractor shall provide expert advice on itineraries, make reservations, issue tickets and provide fare quotations (which may not result in a ticket) for all modes of transportation including air, rail and rental car in compliance with NATO travel policies. The services shall issue the US Government rate wherever allowable.

10.2 The Contractor shall support the Requestor in adhering to the applicable Headquarters travel policy.

11. Commercial Agreements

The following concern all requests:

11.1 The Contractor shall integrate present and future NATO and US government negotiated agreements (airfare, hotel, car rental, taxis, etc.) into its offer.

11.2 The Contractor shall adhere to order of priority identified by the HQ Travel Officer for making air travel selections.

11.3 The Contractor shall ensure that all key personnel (account management, operations, agents, etc.) are aware of and comply with the established guidelines and pre-requisites.

11.4 The Contractor shall conduct a once per year fare audit to ensure that US Government and NATO negotiated rates are accurately applied and provide a copy of the audit report to the COTR NLT 31 December.

12. Order Processing

12.1 The Travel agent(s) will carry out any transaction, whether simple, complex or urgent following the established NATO booking process defined for each entity.

12.2 For reservations, hotel and/or car bookings reserved at the same time as a plane or train ticket shall be handled in one single file (PNR) and billed as a single transaction (bundled transaction fees). Once the reservation is finalized, the agency should supply the traveler with one single file, even if the hotel, car and air bookings are made separately.

13. Emission Mode

The Contractor shall offer delayed ticketing when requested due to associated approvals, except for purchase of Low-Cost Carrier (LCC) tickets which require immediate issuance.

14. Profile Management

Traveler profiles shall be managed and stored by the Contractor.

14.1 At the start of the contract, the Contractor shall agree with the HQ on the most efficient process to create an initial set of traveler profiles.

14.2 The Contractor shall ensure the regular update and synchronization of traveler profiles.

15. Offline (On-Site/Remote) Booking Requirements

15.1 The Contractor shall reserve, issue and pay all tickets on behalf of NATO and execute changes or cancelation requests if needed:

a. No more than two (2) working hours for emergency requests (confirmed by

Travel Officer)

b. No more than six (6) working hours for simple trips

c. No more than ten (10) working hours for complex trips

15.2 The Contractor shall apply the most efficient optimization techniques to reduce costs by, among other approaches, proposing restrictive tickets (non-flexible or semi-flexible), comparing alternative modes of transportation, etc.

15.3 The Contractor shall book the most direct and most economical flight possible, regardless of carrier preference.

15.4 The Contractor shall select routes which have the least number of stops to the final TDY destination. Itinerary shall reflect the following details:

a. Itinerary shall be clear and contain conditions associated with the ticket, such as booking class and costs for changes/cancellations.

16. Changes, Cancellations, Waiting Lists & Refunds

16.1 Ticket Changes

a. The Contractor shall perform all required changes and cancellations for air, rail, hotel or car rental reservations, upon Traveler or Travel Agent’s request. A ticket change will not lead to the application of a transaction fee.

b. When it is possible to lower the price of a ticket, the Contractor shall change only the price instead of issuing another ticket to avoid additional transaction fees and other costs associated with the issuance of new tickets.

c. The Contractor will inform travelers in the case of modified or cancelled flights (strikes, bad weather, technical problems, changes in schedule) and will handle the changes to ensure that NATO travelers can travel as rapidly as possible once the problem has subsided.

d. In the case of a major event preventing numerous NATO travelers from travelling (i.e. closed airspace), the Contractor will provide daily updates of the traveler’s whereabouts and their situation (date of next reserved trip or whether no alternative has yet been found). The Contractor will take all appropriate actions to provide effective timely support to the stranded travelers (hotel/car reservation).

16.2 Ticket Cancellation

a. After issuance, air, rail and rental car reservations shall be handled exclusively offline by the Contractor.

b. The Contractor is responsible for ensuring that tickets and refunds are provided even if the Traveler does not cancel his/her air ticket.

16.3 Waiting Lists

a. Should a traveler be placed on a waiting list, the Contractor shall contact the airline to unblock seats. Reservations placed on waiting lists must be communicated without delay to relevant NATO’s Travel Manager, so he/she may contact the airline in parallel.

16.4 Refund Management

a. Refunds are handled by the Contractor exclusively offline and according to ticket conditions of sale.

b. Regarding non-refundable tickets, the Contractor shall obtain, at least, the reimbursement of all taxes such as the airport tax.

c. The Contractor shall identify monthly all refundable and unused tickets (air, rail) and report them to the HQ travel officer.

d. Refunds will be processed through an electronic funds transfer or credit to HQ credit card.

17. Account Manager

The Contractor shall nominate an Account Manager as the single point of contact for contract/administrative and technical matters and responsible for:

1. Managing day-to-day Contractor activity;

2. Giving advice and recommendations;

3. Supporting requirements to optimize travel costs.

18. Travel Agency Personnel

a. Contractor’s travel agents must possess sufficient expertise, both in domestic and international contexts, to successfully deal with any travel request, independently of its complexity. The Contractor will ensure the availability of an appropriate number of experienced agents to satisfy NATO’s needs, adapting to changes in travel volumes.

b. Contractor will provide a minimum of 3 dedicated travel agents and shall ensure they are:

1. Available for customer service on site between the hours of 0800 – 1130 and

1300 – 1630 EST.

2. Available for customer service remotely between the hours of 0700 – 1630

EST.

3. Fully briefed and aware of NATO travel policies, security guidelines and general practices, including the 24/7 service offered by the Contractor.

4. Client-focused and able to accommodate NATO requests.

5. Part of or assimilated into a stable organization to guarantee continuous service in case of emergency or absence.

6. Instructed in latest travel industry technology with access to all airlines to offer cost efficient and accurate global travel options.

7. Have relevant education and minimum three (3) years successful progressive travel services/ticketing experience worldwide similar in scope to NATO requirements, plus demonstrated customer service abilities.

19. Security Requirements

The Contractor shall comply with established NATO security regulations.

20. Online Booking Tool (Option – See Annex C)

HQ SACT anticipates that an Online Booking Tool (OBT) will be implemented during the contract period of performance to further modernize and streamline Travel Management Services. While OBT services are not included in the base period scope and will only be performed if separately authorized in writing by HQ SACT via contract modification/option exercise, the Contractor shall remain prepared throughout the contract term to rapidly plan, deploy, integrate, accredit (as applicable), and sustain a compliant OBT solution—including associated licensing/subscription, configuration, training, and helpdesk support—in accordance with the requirements set forth in the OBT Option Annex. Exercise of the OBT option shall be subject to a Fair and Reasonable Price Determination by the Contracting Authority prior to authorisation.

21. Electronic Invoicing.

a. The contractor shall submit detailed electronic invoices for each travel request under format specified by ACT which include the following information:

• reference of the Purchase Order and purchase order line number;

• name of the traveller(s);

• travel request number;

• date of travel departure and return;

• travel itinerary;

• mode of travel;

• currency and the amount of the ticket cost;

• OGM (if existing);

• the transaction fee billed, in accordance with the agreed pricing model.

All invoices shall be submitted electronically in an ACT approved format. Invoice deliverables shall include PDF and, where required for processing, CSV and/or Excel or other structured e-invoice format as approved by ACT (see Annex C).

Invoice files and data shall support ACT’s automated invoice processing and purchase order matching and shall contain all information necessary to validate the charges.

b. In addition, the Contractor shall provide for each ACT Command on a weekly basis an Aggregated Invoice / Statement of Account (AI/SOA) consolidating all invoices that can be uploaded directly in the ACT ERP

Oracle system using standard set-up. A template of the ACT Command

AI/SOA is provided at Annex C. The Contractor shall also provide a consolidated monthly bulk invoice in an ACT-approved format.

c. In case the invoice included in the AI/SOA does not conform to the instruction given in the ACT Travel Authorization, the ACT Command shall only pay the amount authorized.

d. Whenever the Contractor has incurred or paid the expenditure involved in a currency other than USD, neither Party to the contract should gain on exchange rate fluctuations at the expense of the other party. The counter value in USD should always be provided.

e. The contractor shall be paid through an electronic transfer of funds upon submission of the electronic AI/SOA. The payment term will be within 30 calendar days after receipt of the ACT Command AI/SOA. Any invoices questioned by the ACT Command should be resubmitted within one month together with such explanations and/or clarification as may be required.

f. The Contractor shall provide a monthly reconciliation detailing invoiced amounts versus services rendered and shall promptly investigate and resolve any discrepancies notified by ACT.

g. Billing will be done in principle in USD. If previously agreed by the ACT

Command and in accordance with the local legislation, billing may be done in the currency of the country where the ticket was issued.

Annex B: Service Levels / KPIs (as provided)

SERVICE AREA / KPI / EXPECTED SERVICE LEVEL / Monitoring Frequency

• Number of Confirmations: 80% of confirmations issued within 4 hours

(methodology based on detailed statistics of average booking confirmation time after a reservation request has been sent via “NATO internal tools”)

• (Offline) tariff proposals provided within 4 hours; 95% on time

• (Offline) ticket approval sent within 4 hours of receipt of traveler confirmation;

95% on time (MONTHLY)

• Tickets issued within 4 hours of receipt of ticket approval; 95% on time

• Phone: 80% calls answered within 20 seconds (MONTHLY)

• Emails: 95% answered within 4 hours (MONTHLY)

• Bi-Annual traveler satisfaction survey: minimum average satisfaction 8/10 (BI-

ANNUAL)

Annex C: (Unpriced Option) – Online Booking Tool (OBT) Services

A1. Option Status and Exercise

A1.1 This Annex is an unpriced option and is not included in the Base Scope pricing.

A1.2 OBT implementation, operation, maintenance, licensing/subscription, accreditation activities, training, and helpdesk for OBT users shall only be performed if separately authorized in writing by HQ SACT (e.g., contract modification/option exercise/CR) with agreed scope, schedule, and pricing.

A2. OBT Requirements (General)

A2.1 The Contractor shall support two types of online transactions:

Touchless transactions (no agent intervention), Agent assisted (“touched”) transactions (re-treated by a travel agent).

A2.2 The Contractor is responsible to: Receive, control and issue all services reserved in the OBT; Issue and deliver all tickets upon approval.

A3. OBT Implementation

A3.1 Contractor shall implement an OBT for HQ SACT (and other U.S. NATO entities if ordered).

A3.2 Contractor shall manage implementation project; configure interfaces and settings; provide required resources.

A3.3 Contractor shall provide a dedicated project manager.

A3.4 Contractor and HQ SACT shall agree an implementation plan and schedule;

Contractor shall maintain a fully staffed on-site/remote service during implementation.

A3.5 Contractor shall work with HQ SACT travel team to define ticketing parameters and approval workflow for OBT transactions.

A3.6 Contractor shall work with CIS Security Accreditation team to ensure OBT meets NATO security accreditation requirements.

A4. OBT On-line Assistance and Help Desk

A4.1 Contractor shall provide OBT support via 3-level support structure:

1. First-level: navigation/basic usage support.

2. Second- and third-level: helpdesk services in exchange for a fee per call.

A4.2 OBT helpdesk must be accessible worldwide 98% of the time, assuming continuous hours of operation.

A5. Training

A5.1 Contractor shall provide training to users for smooth implementation/operation of the OBT.

A5.2 Contractor shall supply a quick desk guide.

A6. OBT Security Requirements A6.1 OBT security requirements will be provided upon request for optional work package.

A7. OBT Functional Requirements (System Features) A7.1 Connection and Authentication

1. SaaS platform for simple/complex trips.

2. Unique login/password; automatic disconnect after defined period; in-progress booking data saved.

A7.2 Home Page and Communication

1. Display user identity after logging in.

2. User-customizable home page elements.

3. Admin communications spaces for broadcasting messages to all/individual travellers (entity-specific).

4. Booking status is easily accessible.

A7.3 Information Emails

1. Automatic emails after booking and validation.

2. Sent to trip creator; include at least: online booking info, rate info, validation time.

A7.4 Roles and Assignment

1. Standard user; Travel arranger; Approver; Administrator.

2. Multiple roles per user ID permitted.

A7.5 Search Results Display

1. Search by at least: city, dates/times (departure/return time slots), service type.

2. Filters/sorting detailed per segment.

A7.6 Content and Rates

1. Integrate GDS/non-GDS/NDC/NDC aggregator content.

2. Integrate NATO negotiated rates and travel agency rates database.

3. Integrate rates of providers selected by NATO over contract duration.

4. Entity-specific customizable display rules (policy compliance, price order, NATO rates first, third-party content first).

5. Always display lowest rates from agreed sources.

6. Cancellation/modification conditions visible and in English.

A7.7 Reference Rate (same transport class)

1. Collect: best available fare on selected flight/train; best trip fare; best policy-compliant fare; average market price (method specified); best negotiated rate; variance vs best available rate.

A7.8 Air Specificities

1. Combine different booking classes on a round trip.

2. Modify/cancel while ticket not issued.

A7.9 Car Rental Specificities

1. Direct collection of e-receipts available.

A7.10 Modification/Cancellation

1. Cancel/modify online before issuance and after issuance.

2. Add a segment before issuance.

A7.11 Additional Features

1. Duplicate trips (template/previous booking).

2. Trip history showing previous bookings.

Annex D: RFP-ACT-SACT-26-22

Sample AP Invoice Wizard

The representative sample above is provided for illustrative purposes only. See excel spreadsheet Annex C for actual invoice wizard with properties.

Annex E: Compliance Matrix and Scoring Sheet for RFP-ACT-SACT-26-22

Mandatory Compliance Matrix Pass/Fail

1. Company headquarters in NATO member nation.

2. Minimum 3 years worldwide travel services experience for all key personnel

3. 24/7 reservation and ticket support

4. Capability for global air/rail/hotel/car bookings

5. Ability to issue U.S. Government fares

6. Dedicated account manager

7. Contractor company has the ability to provide mandatory electronic invoicing as per ACT guidelines and Annex D.

100 Total Points Possible for Scored Criteria

1 - Staffing & Delivery – Total 15 points possible

Evaluation Standard Score Range

1a - Proposed support staff demonstrates 9+ years plus NATO/military or other national government expertise and advanced certifications

1b - Proposed support staff has 6-8 years of experience plus experience working with military, government or international clients.

8-9

1c - Proposed support staff have 4-5 years relevant experience 5-7

1d - Proposed staff have 3 - 4 years limited experience (no with military, govt. or international client)

3-4

1e - Proposed staff have < 3 years’ experience 0-2

Bonus Points:

1f - Proposed staff have multilingual capability, Experience with VIP/Military booking (FOGO/Ambassador level) or International Fare Expertise

5 points

Customer Service Methodology – Total 10 points possible

Evaluation Standard – Quality of proposed staff, customer service approach, traveller support, surge/emergency staffing

Score Range

Exceptional customer support model with measurable service standards 9-10

Strong traveller support methodology 7-8

Meets basic service expectations 5-6

Limited customer support detail 3-4

Inadequate support approach 0-2

Account Management – Total 10 points possible

Evaluation Standard - Score Range

Highly experienced governance / account management structure 9-10

Strong management oversight 7-8

Adequate structure 5-6

Weak oversight approach 3-4

Unclear management governance 0-2

Staffing Continuity & Surge Support – Total 10 Points possible

Range

Comprehensive continuity plan with surge staffing and redundancy 9-10

Strong continuity planning 7-8 Meets minimum staffing continuity requirements 5-6

Weak backup staffing approach 3-4

High staffing risk 0-2

Travel Reservation & Ticketing Methodology – Total 15 Points possible

Evaluation Standard – Efficiency and NATO policy compliance Score Range

Demonstrates advanced global travel management capability, robust automation, NATO/DoD or other national government familiarity, proactive itinerary optimization, and exception process maturity

9-10

Strong operation methodology with low execution risk 7-8

Meets requirements but lacks innovation or detail 5-6

Limited methodology detail or unclear workflow management 3-4

Fails to demonstrate compliant ticketing capability 0-2

Bonus Points:

Company has experience and ability to handle VIP/Military booking (FOGO/Ambassador level) and arrange for special lounge and escort services

5 points

Cost Optimisation Methodology – Total 10 points possible

Range

Demonstrates sophisticated Lowest Logical Fare optimization, fare auditing, routing analysis, and savings tracking

9-10

Strong cost management approach 7-8

Basic compliant optimization methods 5-6

Minimal detail on cost controls 3-4

No meaningful optimisation approach 0-2

Past Performance Quality – Total 10 points possible

Range

Past performance establishes exceptional confidence 9-10

Past performance establishes high confidence 7-8

Past performance establishes satisfactory confidence 5-6

Past performance establishes limited confidence 1-4

Past performance established no confidence 0

Security & Data Protection – Total 10 points possible

Evaluation Standard Re. traveller profile protection, cyber controls, MFA/Access control, incident response, NATO security familiarity, SaaS accreditation readiness.

Score Range

Mature cybersecurity and data governance environment 9-10

Strong security posture 7-8

Meets baseline security requirements 5-6

Limited cybersecurity maturity 3-4

Significant security concerns 0-2

Security & Data Protection – Total 10 points possible

Evaluation Standard Re. dashboard maturity, automation, monitoring, traveller analytics, audit readiness, data accuracy

Score Range

Advanced analytics/reporting environment with automated KPI management 9-10

Strong reporting maturity 7-8

Meets reporting requirements 5-6 Limited reporting sophistication 3-4

Inadequate reporting capability 0-2