TMC-QA-14-Appr.docx

(ATTACHMENT 2)

The Questions and Answers (Qs&As) for the TMC solicitation No. STH200-14-Q-0001 Question #1: According to the solicitation cover page, Standard Form 1449, this solicitation is “Unrestricted”, Can you confirm that our U.S. Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) may bid on this contract as a prime contractor?

Answer #1: This acquisition is unrestricted and all responsible interested offerors may submit a quotation. In addition, it should be noted there was an error with the posting of the synopsis, and this error was not corrected prior to issuance of the solicitation. Again this acquisition is unrestricted as referenced on the SF-1449, and all responsible interested offerors may submit a quotation.

Questions #2: Will the Government provide, and pay for, the licenses for the Contractor to utilize the CWGT eTS? Or will this cost need to be added to our quote as an Other Direct Cost (ODC), or otherwise built into our quote's Overhead?

Answer #2: There is no cost paid for the licenses for the Contractor to utilize the CWGT eTS.

Question #3: How many Full Time Employees (FTE) currently support the State Department/MVO Travel Office in Thailand?

Answer #3: There have been changes in the requirements and the embassy has provided the annual estimates within Section 4. It is each offeror’s responsibility to review the requirements listed in the solicitation and determine the number of FTEs it requires to perform these services satisfactorily.

Question #4: Is the Government interested in a quote that includes Concur Government Travel Services Software, rather than, or in addition to, the Carlson Wagonlit Government Travel software?

Answer #4: No

Question #5: The RFP states, "The Contractor is required to provide one Travel Management Center to be used to provide the services required hereunder. This center shall be staffed by the Contractor's personnel and located at: U.S. Embassy Bangkok." Please explain/confirm whether the U.S. Embassy will provide space, internet connectivity and telephone lines, in the U.S. Embassy, or whether this infrastructure must be provided by the Contractor, either in the Embassy, or at another location outside/nearby the Embassy.

Answer #5: The U.S. Embassy will provide space, internet connectivity and telephone lines in the U.S. Embassy, see page 43 Government Furnished Property, but the Contractor shall be responsible for paying for all utilities used: electricity, water, fax, internet and telephone bill.

Question #6: Would the Government be willing to provide contact information for the incumbent staff who is employed with the outgoing contractor, if they wish to seek retention of their jobs in support of the MVO by working for our firm (upon award)?

Answer #6: No.

Question #7: What is the name of the incumbent contractor?

Answer #7: American Express (Thai) Co., Ltd.

Question #8: Does the U.S. Embassy charge for TMC office space, phone, fax or internet; if yes, how much is this charge?

Answer #8: The U.S. Embassy charge for the utilities used, not office space. The estimated utilities cost for electricity and water is 17,500 Baht/month or 210,000 Baht/year and the estimate for telephone, internet and fax charges is 5,000 Baht/month or 60,000 Baht/year.

Offerors are advised these amounts are estimates and they could increase or decrease. However, if there are changes, under no circumstances will the Government consider any proposed increases or decreases in the transaction fees proposed or prices under the contract for the base year or any option year.

Question #9: When is the current contract period of performance scheduled to end?

Answer #9: The current contract expires on May 31, 2014, with the option to extend services for an additional six months.

Question #10: When does the government anticipate the new period of performance to begin?

Answer #10: Answer #9

Question #11: The definition of “Transaction fee” – to reconfirm, the transaction fee will be charged per PNR (itinerary) (page 33, 17.2.1) The Transaction fee per PNR - for example, 10 US Embassy staffs will travel together in a same trip with the same itinerary for the booking made by us. The transaction fee to be charged is only one fee per itinerary (PNR) for 10 tickets issued. Please confirm whether our understanding is correct.

Answer #11: Yes, the transaction fee to be charged is only one fee per itinerary (PNR) for 10 tickets issued.

Question #12: In the RFQ document, Page 5, mentioned that the U.S. firms are eligible to be paid in USD. We are asking whether we will accept the payment by local currency due to the currency exchange rates and inflation.

Answer #12: If a vendor meets the definition of a U.S. firm, it may submit its price in US dollars and be paid in US dollars for the life of the contract, regardless of any currency exchange fluctuations or it may submit its prices in local currency and be paid in local currency for the life of the contract, regardless of any currency changes.

Question #13: Form of payment (Page 30, 15.4) – US Embassy will use Citibank CBA and Travel Government Charge Card as a FOP mentioning in the RFQ.

0. RFQ mentioned that we have to pass back all commission to US Embassy (Page 30, 14.4) and price at the agency net fare. In case of payment by credit/charge card, there will be a Merchant fee applied by adding onto Net fare + Tax. Will US Embassy reimburse the TMC for the Merchant fee on the payment by card?

Answer # 13 No. The U.S. Embassy will reimburse only the net fare.

0. Do you also expect any other form FOP such as invoice? Yes, it is stated clearly on page 29, 14,1 and page 32, 15.5.4.

Question#14: Please confirm all commissions received by suppliers such as carriers have to return to US Embassy. Not only the passing back at point of sales, but also lump sum commission payout from suppliers.

Answer #14: See page 30, 14.4. Commissions by Service Providers. The Government accepts no responsibility or liability for payment of commissions received by the Contractor and commercial practices may not apply to payment of commissions on Government rates.

Question # 15: VIP services (Page 19, 3.10.5) – Please advise the scope of VIP services US Embassy would like us to provide.

Answer #15: The requirements are defined on page 19, 3.10.5, Visits by U.S. Government officials to the Embassy.

Question #16: Quality Service Survey (Page 28, 10.1) – Does this include the customer satisfaction survey provided by us? If yes, how often do you require for a survey?

Answer #16: Yes, not less than twice a year, See Page 25, 8.3 for the specific requirements.

Question #17: Online Booking Fee (Page 5) – Please kindly provide the purpose of the requirement to have the online booking tool and how significant to have the online booking tool/fee for US Embassy.

Answer #17: To have the online booking tool/fee for the embassy is the alternate option for the traveler to choose if the traveler wants to go in this direction. You can take a look at the estimate in Section 4 for the annual estimate of these types of transactions.

Question #18: The submission of the proposal – Please confirm whether the proposal will have to be submitted in both hard and soft copy and select only one method to transmit through email or submit via hard copy.

Answer #18:

The complete quotation, including all supporting documents shall be submitted either via hardcopy or via E-Commerce (Email), see Section 3 page 62 for the specific quotation requirements.

Question #19: We would like to request a post award notification from the current contract as per FAR section 15.503 sub section (b);

Answer #19:

The contract award was from a commercial solicitation which is not subject to the requirements of FAR part 15.

Question #20: Currency Volatility protection; The Thai Baht has seen exceptional volatility over the past several years. There is some concern that, over what could possibly be a 5 year contract, that there could be some potentially harmful volatility in the USD/THB rate that could heavily and negatively impact what are very small margins. Within the past 12 months alone the USD$ to Thai Baht rate has fluctuated over 17%.

Shall we simply attempt to price in the potential for this volatility, or possibly even greater, fluctuation? Or can we offer our Firm Fixed Price quote in two currencies (equal and based off of the standard exchange rate of the day), a USD and a THB, for which we can opt to be paid in either by alerting the finance officer on our invoice?

Answer #20 This is the firm fixed price contract. The government shall pay the contractor a transaction fee based on a fixed rate per transaction. Also, see the answer to the Question #12.

Question #21: Contractor is required to provide pamphlets listing procedures for traveler’s use of services. This is to request that the Government make a sample pamphlet available to Offerors. Page 15, Item reference 3.5.6.1 Answer #21:

It is the responsibility of the contractor selected to develop, print and deliver to the government after reviewed and approved by the government. The government is not going to provide a sample pamphlet.

Question #22: Rental Vehicles: Will traveler indicate if vehicle with driver or vehicle without driver is requested at time of reservation request. If driver requested, is there a specified policy which traveler and contractor must adhere? Page 15, Item reference 3.6.6 Answer #22:

Yes, traveler will indicate his requirement. Normally traveler rents a car without driver for oversea trip. For domestic, if driver requested, there is no specified policy which traveler and contractor must adhere.

Question #23: States; “Contractor shall answer calls within 20 seconds…” Would the US Government provide an indication of historical daily call volume as well as peak call volume times and volume during peak times? Page 18, Item reference 3.10.4 Answer #23:

The embassy has no record.

Question #24: How many Travel Counsors/Reservationist are on duty during normal posted working hours? Does the Government view this staffing level to be sufficient? Page 24, Item reference 7.3 Answer #24: It is the responsibility of each offeror to determine the number of personnel necessary to comply with the requirements of the solicitation/contract.

Question #25: “Traveler Itineraries – The Contractor shall provide to each traveler a complete printed itinerary document…..” In regard to completed travel document, is it the responsibility of the Contractor to deliver travel documents directly to the traveler? Alternatively, is it the responsibility of the Traveler to collect completed documents from the Contractor at the office location in which Contractor conducts services? Page 15, Item reference 3.6

Answer #25: It is the responsibility of the Contractor to deliver travel documents directly to the traveler. It is not the responsibility of the Traveler to collect completed documents from the Contractor at the office location in which Contractor conducts services.

Question #26: VIP Services: What constitutes VIP services? And, what services are out of the scope of VIP services? Page 19, Item reference 3.10.5 Answer #26: See answer # 15 Question #27: Does the Embassy have an Online Booking Engine (OBE) currently?

Answer #27: It is the responsibility of each offeror to have OBE which shall support the requirements of this solicitation.

Question #28: If no OBE, how does the current agency support on instant purchase tickets on LCC (Low Cost Carrier)?

Answer #28: See Answer # 27 Question #29: At 14.4 Commissions: Not clear on what USE require – Yes or No to Commissions?

Answer #29: See Answer #14, the government will pay the contractor the actual carrier rates without commissions.

Question #30: Section 4 (at 5.1) mentions Financial Capability of TMC. Are P &L / Statements required?

Answer #30: See Section 3,1.2.8 (2) for the technical quotation requirements since Section 4 pertains to the evaluation factors. Each offeror shall include in its technical quotation submission sufficient supporting documentation to clearly demonstrate the offeror can provide the necessary personnel, equipment, and financial resources needed to perform the work.

Question #31: Are you able to provide spent in USD volume on Air (domestic/ international), Lodging and Rental Car?

Answer #31: Based on the number of changes in requirements under this solicitation, the government does not believe this information is relevant nor can it guarantee similar expenditures for the period of performance of this solicitation.

Question #32: What are the transaction numbers and USD$ spend on Lodging and Rental Cars per annum?

Answer #32: The number of transactions estimated for this solicitation are identified in Section 4, paragraph 3.0.

Question #33: What percentage of tickets issued are changed / cancelled /re-issued?

Answer #33: 20 percent. This is the average for each year of performance.

Offerors are advised this amount is estimate and it could increase or decrease. However, if there are changes, under no circumstances will the Government consider any proposed increases or decreases in the transaction fees proposed or prices under the contract for the base year or any option year.

Question #34: How many visas are processed in 2013? Are you able to provide the top 10 countries visa application?

Answer #34: About 1,500 and the countries are Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Vietnam, Myanmar, Philippines and Japan.

Offerors are advised these amounts are estimates and they could increase or decrease. However, if there are changes, under no circumstances will the Government consider any proposed increases or decreases in the transaction fees proposed or prices under the contract for the base year or any option year

Question #35: What mechanism does the USE recommend to assist the TMC in currency fluctuations between the THB and USD$ to maintain fixed firm pricing?

Answer #35: It is the responsibility of each offeror to determine proposed prices taking into account all performance, business and cost risks to perform the services required by this solicitation.

Question #36: How long has the Embassy been using the current agency?

Answer #36: Almost five years.

Question #37: When does current contract expire?

Answer #37: See the Answer #9.

Question # 38: Are you able to provide the current staffing breakdown? Number of travel consultants and other staffs?

Answer #38: See the Answer#3.

Question #39: What is the current GDS used in the Embassy agent? Our best practice is having 2 GDS. Is this acceptable?

Answer #39: It is the decision of each offeror to decide which GDS it uses to meet the requirements identified in Section 1 performance work statement 1, under the contract.

Question #40: How is the traveler profile being maintain in the Embassy?

Answer #40: It is in Global Distribution System.