Support resources and payment options for the University's new travel provider
The University’s upcoming travel program will launch on April 1, 2019 and will include a partnership with Christopherson Business Travel (CBT), an updated travel policy and procedures, improved booking experience in Concur and will be supported by a University travel manager.
Training and Resources
On April 1, University travel (including hotels, airfare and rental cars) should be booked through Concur or by calling a CBT agent directly. To assist with this change, the following e-learn course is available:
The following courses will be available in the coming weeks:
- Booking Individual Travel
- Travel Policies and Procedures
- Booking Group Travel
When available, enrollment details will be posted to the Professional Development Pathways site.
Open Labs and Informational Sessions will be held during the first two weeks of April.
- Register for Informational Sessions
- Discuss the changes related to University business travel, introduce CBT and provide a live walk-through of the Concur travel booking process.
- Register for an Open Lab
- These are intended to help individual’s book actual travel, live in Concur.
- Walk-ins are welcome but these sessions will be on a first-come, first-serve basis due to room occupancy.
Payment Options
The following payment options will be available in Concur and through a CBT agent. The “Booking Individual Travel” course covers each option. These details will also be available on the Finance website beginning April 1.
- Airfare: Airline tickets must be paid for on a University card unless a prior exception has been approved. The Central Travel Card (CTA) is available for all employees to utilize when booking air travel for themselves, other employees, students and guests. This card provides life insurance for all travelers. A PCard or travel card can still only be used to book airfare for the cardholder.
- Lodging: Hotels can be paid for with a University PCard, travel card or with a personal card, with reimbursement after travel.
- Rental Cars: If booking Enterprise or National car rentals through CBT, the car will be paid for via the CTA card and the traveler will not need to provide a card when picking up the vehicle. All other car rentals will require a PCard, travel card, or personal card upon car pickup.
- Rental Car Insurance: Enterprise and National are covered by the University insurance plan so additional insurance is not required, nor will it be reimbursed. If booking directly with Enterprise or National (outside of Concur/CBT), the Business account number must be provided to ensure the insurance is applied. The University contract only covers insurance for National and Enterprise. Liability insurance must be purchased when booking with all other rental car companies and is reimbursable. When traveling outside of the USA, rental car insurance must be obtained, as available and required in country, and is reimbursable.
Travel Manager
The OHIO Finance department has contracted with CBT to supply an on-campus travel manager to provide direct support between our travelers and CBT. The new travel manager, Sedrick Ratchford, joined us in March and is assisting with the implementation of the university’s new travel program and will stay on-site to provide services to the university account for the duration of our contract with CBT.
He will be able available to assist with travel related questions and provide guidance on the most cost effective travel processes. His contact information will be included in communications and published on the travel web pages on April 1.
How to prepare
Last week communication was distributed to all faculty and staff providing detailed instructions on the steps that should be taken to prepare for the travel transition on April 1. Please refer to the How to prepare for the transition to the University's new travel provider for more details.
- Set up Concur Profile if you haven’t booked travel in Concur previously: Travel Profile Quick Reference Guide
- Note unused tickets: How to view unused tickets in Concur
- Download itinerary for travel booked with Altour that occurs on or after April 1: Save a copy of Travel Itineraries in Concur
Transition dates and support
Below are key dates and information that you will need to be aware of during the transition period.
Concur downtime & expense reports
- Concur will be unavailable from 5:00 PM on Thursday, March 28 through 8:00 AM Monday, April 1 for transition to the new travel provider.
- The last expense reimbursement prior to the system downtime will run as usual, and is scheduled for the morning of Thursday March 28.
- Any pending expense reports must be submitted and approved by 5:00 PM on Monday, March 25 to be processed for reimbursement on Thursday March 28.
- Normal processing of travel expense reports will resume on Monday, April 1.
- Concur will be available at 8:00 AM on Monday, April 1.
Travel support during Concur downtime
During the transition period (March 28 at 5:00 PM – April 1 at 8:00 AM), if you need to book travel or need support with travel that was already booked through Concur, please contact Altour at 866.451.5567. CBT will not be able to provide support until April 1 at 12:00 AM.
Questions?
new travel program web page and Travel FAQs page are available and will continue to be updated.
Please direct comments or questions to travel@ohio.edu, Finance Customer Care at 740.597.6446 or the Travel Services Workgroup.