Dec 15 2010 Additional questions.doc

Additional questions Q1. 3.10.1The Contractor shall provide service, 5 days a week, compatible with the Embassy’s standard workday from Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. Section 1, continuation of block 20, paragraph 13.0, below sets forth the normal working hours for Contractor personnel providing services under this contract. The Contractor shall provide dedicated telephone service for the account(s) at no cost to the Government, to include:

· toll-free service for Government use, to the servicing location, during regular working hours;

· a 24-hour toll-free number available to travelers which will allow immediate access to a reservation agent to perform emergency itinerary changes outside regular business hours;

· and the acceptance of collect calls when toll-free access is unavailable.

For after hour services, do agents need to be on call, or can 24/7 hour service be handled remotely with proper notice of telephone numbers and emails?

a. In the bullet point regarding 24 hour toll free availability to perform emergency services, are you suggesting that you require this service to be without cost?

A1 These services are to be provided at no cost to the government as stated in the solicitation.

Q2 3.17 ETS Delays. In the event there are delays with the implementation of ETS, the contractor shall only be required to provide the agent assisted or on-site travel management services as set forth in this contract until ETS is implemented, and the OBE is configured to support the Post population

a. What is the targeted date of completion? Will the contractor be responsible for fulfillment at that time? If not, please explain.

b. Will Tier III registration be required in order to support this project?

c. Is the current Contractor handling any fulfillment locally or elsewhere?

A2 a. The target date for the implementation of ETS is unknown. If there are delays, the contractor shall only be required to provide the agent assisted or on-site travel management services. b. CWT is required to interface with the local TMC’s GDS system at no cost to the vendor to facilitate the reservations and ticketing process to include the billing and report processing. The local TMC requirements are identified at Attachment 1 of the solicitation. C. Onsite.

Q3 Are the current staff local residents?

A3 All present staff are local residents.

Q4 Will the government provide sponsorship for visas?

A4 The US government is unable to provide sponsorship for visas.

Q5 3.10.7.If the Contractor's reservation center is remote from the Embassy, the Contractor shall provide toll-free numbers for use by agencies’ employees to make reservations during the Embassy’s regular hours of operations. Remote is defined as areas where agencies would have to make long-distance calls to reach the Contractor

a. Is this in the event that the entire reservations staff is off-site?

b. Historically has staff always been on-site?

A5 As stated in the solicitation, the contractor is required to provide on-site services at the US Embassy during the hours of 08:30 thru 17:00 (see Section 1, continuation of block 10, paragraphs 6.1, 12.0 and 13.) In addition, the Contractor shall provide emergency services outside these hours through a 24-hour, toll-free phone number available to all Government travelers. (see Section 1, continuation of block 10,paragraph 3.10) Q6 What IT/IT security requirements is the responsibility of the Contractor? Please elaborate.

A6 The contractor must provide all IT equipment necessary to provide the services required of this contract and/or utilize the Government provided equipment. The contract has not listed any particular security requirements for this equipment.

Q7 Carlson Wagonlit as the approved vendor for the ET2 services has certain requirements specific to pre-implementation and implementation periods including but not limited to pre-implementation conferences, provision of PNR examples, and surveys etc.

a. Is this a requirement that must be submitted during the RFQ process or post award?

A7 All integration between the contractor and Carlson Wagonlit will be performed after the award of the contract.