Concur Booking Tool Quick Reference Tips

Airfare

• Date of Birth – TSA requirement, must be provided in order to issue airline tickets
• Dates – Departure and return date
• Times – Preferred times of departure
• Form of payment – Charge cards only, in compliance with your institution’s payment policy
  • It’s important to understand the major differences between other favorite online booking sites (airline, Expedia, etc.) and the Concur booking tool. These site’s are set to search based on leisure travel, use cache data (not live) and are only updated periodically, not staying in sync with real-time airfare availability or pricing. Because airlines change their inventory, pricing and availability numerous times a day, the Concur booking tool utilizes live data, 24/7 and always has up to date pricing and availability. Search is different as well, other online booking sites will initially ignore your schedule preference and bring back fares to consider based on the whatever the search default is. By contrast, the Concur booking tool’s default search parameters are based on the business traveler’s schedule and then price. Because of these differences, if you are comparing the booking tool search results with that of another online site, you will almost always have to adjust your search or sort to mirror what you see on another site.
  • One of the most important search criteria when searching for flights is the use of the “window of convenience“. The Concur booking tool is geared toward the business traveler, so your depart and return times are expected to be important factors in narrowing your search to only those flights that suit your business schedule. This is where the typical website search engine settings, like airline sites, Expedia or Travelocity differ from the Concur search settings. The current default window of convenience is set to +/- 4 hours from the desired depart or return times you enter. That means the tool searches 4 hours behind and 4 hours ahead of your preferred departure/return times. If you have some flexibility in your depart/return times, change the drop down window on the depart or return line to +/- 2 – 23 hours (any number from 2 to 23). It is recommended that you use the +/- 2 hours to hone in on a particular flight. You can adjust this setting to suit your preferences – but when setting greater than +/- 5 or more hours there often will be hundreds of flights to look through and opening this larger window will take additional response time! If it’s still an available flight, it’s in the tool!
  • Direct or non-stop flights are typically the most desirable flights for travelers. These are easily found by opening the arrow “<” at the end of the depart and return times lines. If the airline offers direct/non-stop service from your selected airports, a graph will display the direct flights with green hash marks showing the times throughout the day that they occur. Hovering your mouse over the hash mark will show the flight and times. When you press the search button, the system will ask if you want to modify your times to include the direct flights. If you see one you would consider, you can say “yes” and proceed with your search.
  • If you find a flight where the depart or return is desirable, but the other is not, press the “More like this +” button beneath the flight and select which leg of that ticket is desirable; the search engine will bring back those flights with your desirable leg and the possible combinations available with it. Any displayed in green are within policy.
  • If you are unable to locate a flight in Concur or think that the pricing does not compare to the same exact flight found elsewhere, take a print-screen or copy of the flight information and contact your institutional travel manager  as soon as possible.  Your travel manager will work with Fox World Travel to determine if the pricing is still valid and if we can obtain it through other means.
  • There are Concur user guides, job aides  and video tutorials that will assist new employees and first time users – See User Guides and Job Aides.
    

    Hotels

  • Users are required to use Concur or Fox World Agents for individual reservations to access UW System contracts and Partnership program negotiated rates whenever available in the business destination(s).   This excludes travelers reserving externally sponsored conference rates.
  • Advance reservations are highly recommended to receive best pricing and room availability.
  • Concur offers live rates, a variety of room types and room availability directly from the lodging supplier – this means that there are rates and room types over the UW System policy limits.  Users must lookup the rate maximum for the dates of stay and location in the UW TravelWIse Calculator prior to making a reservation.  Room type is limited to single/standard for an individual traveler.
  • If you are a AAA or AARP member, select those options in your Concur User Profile under “Hotel Preferences” for those membership rates to also display in search.
  • All lodging reservations must be paid with a charge card in the traveler’s name at check-out, unless a department card has been authorized by the lodging property for central payment prior to stay.
  • For more details on reserving lodging, see UW System Administrative Policy 415 Purchase & Payment of Lodging or  Lodging Reservation Procedures.
    

    Vehicle Rentals

    • Vehicle reservations are made in Concur or with a Fox World agent.
    • Vehicles must be reserved using the Big Ten contract with Enterprise or National, and only if vehicles are not available, may you use another supplier.
    • When vehicles are not available via the Big Ten contract with Enterprise or National, the WSCA agreement with Hertz is available as a secondary option.
    • Concur only reserves the vehicle – All reservations must be paid with a charge card in the drivers name at the time of rental return.
      • Contracts include CDW/LDW insurance coverages for domestic rentals.
      • Employees age 21 and over may use Concur to reserve under the Big Ten contract with Enterprise or National for personal use.  Students are restricted to domestic rentals for business only.
      • Prior to renting any vehicle, travelers must consult with their institution’s travel office on vehicle class restrictions. Many institutions do not allow the use of 12 passenger or larger vans.
      • All renters must be authorized drivers by their institution prior to renting any vehicles under these contracts.
      • You cannot add additional drivers within Concur, this must be done at the outlet when picking up the vehicle.
      • The daily base rate includes any city differentials for that location. The total reservation price includes any imposed surcharges, and taxes for the rental location, on top of the base rate. While these charges will be broken down on the rental invoice, they are not broken down in Concur or agent reservation.
        • For more details on vehicle rentals including contract pricing, terms and conditions see Car Rental Procedures
        • Any questions on these topics should be directed to your institution’s travel office.