Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Trip Planning and Changing

Trip Planning

How do I get a trip receipt?

You can print the confirmation email you receive when you purchase a trip. See Purchasing the Trip for details.

How do I book a multi-destination trip?

If your site is configured to allow selecting a multi-city trip, click the Multi-City tab that appears at top of the Trip Planner page. For details, see Starting Your Travel Search.

Can I change my trip details in the middle of my planning?

The trip search results are delivered in this order: flight, hotel, and car rental. If you change your trip details within the flight results, the search results for hotel and car rental will be updated with the new criteria. However, if you select a flight and then try to change the dates of a hotel or car rental reservation, you will be advised to carefully review your changes before booking. For best results, it is recommended to start a new search. For details, see Starting Your Travel Search.

Can I plan an entire trip online?

You can book flights, hotels, and car rentals – see Booking a Trip. 

Why should I search for a flight, hotel, and rental car at the same time?

You can save time when making travel arrangements by returning search results for flights, hotels, and rental cars at the same time. For instance, while you are shopping for flights, the service continues to search for hotels that match your search criteria. While you search for hotels, the service searches for rental car options that match your destination airport.

Why should I name my trip?

If you book the same or similar trips regularly, it's a good idea to name each trip with a unique name. That way it will be easier to locate it in the Upcoming section of the Home page, and in the Expense service for reporting trip expenses. See Purchasing the Trip for details. You can also name a held trip – see Putting a Trip on Hold.

How do I find additional travel resources?

Go to the Home page (see Starting Your Travel Search for details) and find the Additional Resources section on the right side of the Travel page. Under this section there are links to information such as travel advisories, maps, passport services and WI-fi locations.

Can I hold an entire trip? For how long?

If your site is configured to allow a travel reservation hold, you can hold a reservation based on rules defined by your company, the airline, the hotel, and the car rental company you are selecting. There are instances in which a travel service can't be held. Each vendor determines its hold policies. If the Hold This Trip button is grayed out, click the More Info link underneath the button next to the "We are unable to hold this trip for you" message. When you hold a reservation, you may be given a deadline by which you must complete your purchase. if you do not complete your purchase by the deadline, your reservation will be cancelled automatically. See Putting a Trip on Hold for details.

What is the "Match my Hotel search with my flight dates" checkbox?

When you select this checkbox, the dates of hotel reservations are aligned with your flight times. See Searching for a Hotel.

What is the "Match my Rental Car search with my flight dates" checkbox?

When you select this checkbox, the dates of rental car reservations are aligned with your flight times. See Searching for a Car Rental.

What travel services can I book for an under-aged child flying alone?

You can book flights for minor children flying unaccompanied.  You will receive a message suggesting you contact the airline directly before purchasing the trip. Some time and airline restrictions may apply.

What does it mean if a service is "Out of Policy"?

Your organization may have established certain policies, such as using travel service vendors with negotiated rates, to help control expenses. A flight option may be considered out of policy for any of several reasons, such as a higher-than-allotted rate or a non-preferred vendor.  Click the Out of Policy message to see why your selection is out of policy. 

Can I still book a service if it's "Out of Policy"?

Depending upon your company policies, you may still be able to book this service. You may be prompted to provide a reason why you are booking the service that is Out of Policy.

What does the orange "P" icon mean?

The "P" icon indicates this particular vendor is a preferred vendor, which means your organization or agency has negotiated a special discount for using the service this vendor provides.

Pre-Trip Approval

What is pre-trip approval (PTA)?

Pre-trip approval is a process put into place to better manage business travel by allowing a trip to be approved or declined before it is ticketed. If pre-trip approval is enabled on your site, the PreTrip Approval Required section appears after the Emergency Contact section of the Purchase page if your travel selections require approval (see Purchasing the Trip for details). The system automatically sends emails notifying your designated approvers and possibly also requesting that they approve or decline the itinerary. You can provide a reason for the trip in the provided text box, which will be included in the emails to approvers. Approvers can click a link in the email to approve or decline the trip.

How does PTA impact my booking travel?

Your travel plans may need to go to an approver before the trip is ticketed. Pre-trip approval can be set up to send only a notification to the approver, or to require approval before ticketing.

Why are only some of my travel plans being reviewed?

To better manage business travel, a set of rules has been put in place to define which trips trigger the process and which trips don't trigger it. Contact your site administrator for a better understanding of your site’s approval process.

How will I know if my trip triggered the PTA process?

A message appears a the top of the Trip Confirmation page. In addition, the PreTrip Approval Required section appears after the Emergency Contact section on the Purchase page if your travel selections require approval (see Purchasing the Trip for details). 

Will an approver be notified when my trip is pending review?

Yes. If the trip triggers the PTA flow, the approver receives a notification email about the trip. If pre-trip approval is set up to require approval, approvers receive a notification email with the Approve or Decline link that takes them to the Approve or Decline Trip page. The approver can click the Approve or Decline button.

Can the approver enter a comment for me to see (perhaps explaining why it was declined)?

Yes. Approvers can enter comments on the Approve or Decline Trip page. 

Can I enter a comment for the approver to see (perhaps to explain the trip)?

Yes. You can add a comment in the PreTrip Approval Required section on the Purchase page if your travel selections require approval (see Purchasing the Trip for details).

How will I know my trip has been approved or declined?

After the approver takes action on the trip, you receive an email about the status of your trip. You can also check the Upcoming Reservations section of the Home page – click the expand triangle for the trip in the Upcoming Reservations section to expand the trip information. The trip will move from a status of “Waiting for Approval” to either “Confirmed” or “Trip declined”.

Can trips be approved or declined using mobile devices?

Yes. The process is completed by email, which can be accessed on a computer or mobile device.

Will all trips trigger an approver to take action?

Action needs to be taken only on the trips defined as requiring action by your site administrator.

If I am an approver, what happens if I don't take action in time?

If you are the primary approver and you don't take action within the pre-defined period of time, the notification email is sent to the secondary approver. If the secondary approver doesn't take action within the pre-defined period of time, the trip will show as “Expired” on the Upcoming Reservation section of the Home page, and the trip will be canceled if pre-trip approval is set up on your site to cancel trips.

If I am an approver, what information do I see in an approver notification email?

If pre-trip approval is set up to require approval, you receive a notification email with the Approve or Decline link that takes you to the Approve or Decline Trip page. You can then click the Approve or Decline button and enter a comment if you wish. If pre-trip approval is set up for notification only, you receive a notification email without the links. 

The subject line of the email contains the traveler’s name and the trip name given to the trip by the traveler on the Purchase page (see Purchasing the Trip for details). The body of the email provides additional trip information and messages configured for your site.

Changing and Canceling Travel Services

How do I change a reservation I booked online?

See Changing a Booked Trip for details.

How will I know if my changes were saved?

You are notified in three ways: on the confirmation page, in an email confirmation, and in the Upcoming Reservations section of the Home page, where the changes are shown. See Changing a Booked Trip for details.

How long before a trip am I able to make changes?

You can modify services in your reservation up to a certain point, determined by your company and by the service or provider's policies. You are notified of any change or cancellation fees.

How do I cancel a travel service reservation?

See Canceling a Booked Trip for details. 

How long before a trip can I cancel?

You can cancel services in your reservation up to a certain point, determined by your company.  These can vary by each service or providers policies,as well.  You will also be notified of any change or cancellation fees.

How long before pick-up can I change or cancel my car service reservation?

You can modify or cancel your reservation up to 24 hours before your departure time, unless your organization's travel policy has a different time frame.

Do changes made by phone appear in the Upcoming section of the Home page?

If you called a provider directly to change or cancel a reservation, it will not be reflected in the Upcoming Reservations section. However, changes you make online or through your agency will appear with the correct information.

Does it make a difference if my trip change includes a change in destination?

You will need to cancel the existing reservation and start a new booking with the new destination.