Helpful Hints and Tips – Travel Bookers
Fundamentals
· Always book as far in advance as possible.
· Do not select “open” fares are these are generally the most expensive
· If you find that you take the same train or plane, go for non flexible fares. Savings often outweigh the risk & penalty of flexibility
· If you have any problems with any aspect of travel, please contact either eCommerce Support on 020 7111 8550 for online bookings, or the offline team on 020 711 8977 for offline bookings.
· Reporting issues to ATP in real-time is essential. We are often unable to recreate the same scenario at a later date.
Air Bookings
Always select your traveller first. If you use the quick start function, the system will presume you require a booking for yourself.
· Use ‘anytime’ when searching for long haul flights.
· If you only want to see direct flights, tick the direct option on the first search page.
· If you want to see a variety of results, remember to have your time window set appropriately.
· If you do not want low cost carriers, and you know the times of the flights you need, use the ‘Search by Schedule’ function. Once you select the flights you want, it will still present other options at the quotation stage.
· If cost is the most important factor, always use ‘Search by Fare’.
· If you know you require a low cost carrier, always use ‘Search by Fare’.
· One tick indicates a normal published airline fare and three ticks will identify that this is the Balfour route deal fare (the same system applies to Hotel bookings).
· Click on ‘All results’ to see the web fares (low cost carriers) alongside the standard scheduled airlines.
· If you book a long haul flight or a flexible economy fare, you can book a seat for the traveller by clicking on the ‘SM’ link which will take you into the seat map (this will only work if the airline has published the seat map prior to the check in process).
· Clicking on the actual fare, will breakdown the calculation and advise the baggage allowance.
· At the summary stage, if you click ‘View details’, this will provide you with the aircraft type and terminal information.
· At the final stage, if you book the same route over and over again, add in a trip name and it will store a template in your travel review section to make the process easier next time round.
· You will need the travellers 3 digit security code from his credit card if you are booking a low cost flight.
· Custom field information must be entered where an asterisk is present. You will not be able to finish a booking without completing the mandatory information.
· When you select the confirm trip button on the last page, this sends the booking to ATP and the ticket is issued immediately. An e-ticket receipt will then be emailed to you.
· When the hold option is selected, this will send the booking to ATP and the flights will be held until the date the fare expires. An email will be sent instantly, titled Pending reservation. An automatic email will also be sent 24hours later to remind you that you still have the trip on hold.
· If booking a low cost flight, you will not be given the option to hold the booking. If you try and hold an instant purchase fare (i.e. a fare where the ticket has to be issued the same day) the system will also not allow it.
Hotels
Hotels are booked via your Dashboard
· Balfour Beatty preferred hotels will show with a green tick and Balfour logo under the Guide Rate.
· When you have found the hotel you require, click on the hotel name, and you will be able to view alternative rates.
· Always select an “ONLINE RATE” where possible, as these are the only rates that give instant confirmation. All other rates (guide, corporate, on request) can take up to 3 hours to generate a confirmation or response.
Additional Information box
This information is mandatory and will need to be filled in to complete all bookings. If the information is already stored in their profile, you can click on the Auto Complete button, which will pre populate the boxes with the traveller’s details.
Conferma Hotel Tool FAQs
· How do I book a group, or multiple guests? You must book multiple guests via the offline team. Group bookings are not possible online.
· Why can’t I find the hotel I am looking for? Try extending the distance you’re searching on, check your spelling is correct and try not to be too specific. The less information you specify the better the search results will be. Eg. use HOLID instead of HOLIDAY INN
· How do I search for Hotels by Train Station? Use the magnifying glass symbol to enter your station and hit search. Choose from the returned list. Set your distance to 2 or 5 miles for best results
· How do I search for Hotels by Airport? Same as the Train Station search above. Change your distance to 1 or 2 miles when using this search
· How do I amend my booking? If you travel date hasn’t already passed and you have an “online” booking you will see an option to “amend room”. Clicking the icon will allow you to enter your new dates and research rates and availability. Any “offline” hotel bookings will need to be amended via your ATPI travel team
· How do I cancel my booking? You will always see a “cancel booking” option on your reservation, simply hit the button, confirm you want to cancel and it will either be cancelled automatically or queued immediately to you ATPI travel team for them to cancel.
· What does Online Rate mean? This means that the hotel has a direct rate available for online instant confirmation. We always recommend booking these rates where possible so you do not have to wait for a response.
· What does Guide Rate/No online availability mean? Guide Rate is the lowest rate that has been booked. If this rate is selected it will send a manual request to the team. Guide Rate is often lower than the rate actually available.
· What does Accommodation Enquiry mean? This means your booking has been queued to ATPI for manual fulfilment
· What does Provisional Cancellation mean? This means your cancellation has been queued to ATPI for manual fulfilment
· How do I copy a booking? Once you have made one reservation, you will see a symbol next to the dates you have booked (2 pages overlapping one another). Use this option to copy your booking – details will transfer to a second booking – you can change any detail from the previous booking made.
· Can I see further information about a hotel? Use the (I) option next to the hotel name – any additional information loaded by the hotel will be visible here
Rail
· Remember to insert your travellers email address in the ‘Invoke Users’ email box – this will save you manually entering cost centre/employee numbers and credit card information.
· If you are booking a ticket to London and wish to include an underground ticket, please enter Manchester to London Zone 1 (up to zone 6) and this will then price the journey accordingly. A Tube map can be found under the ‘Assistance’ tab at the top of the screen, so you can check the zones.
· We recommend leaving the default to ‘Any’ in the class of service box so all fare types are displayed.
· Rail cards can be entered, just select ‘Yes’ to the ‘Apply rail card’ question and then select the relevant one from the list. The appropriate discounts will then be applied.
· If searching for a return fare, always click on the ‘Show singles’ tab, as two one way journeys may be cheaper.
· To check the rules of the fare, click on the description – e.g. Standard Advance Single. This will open up another window listing the full restrictions.
· When booking an advanced ticket, you will always have to book a seat. If booking an open ticket and you are unsure on the train the traveller will be using, you can select the ‘No seat option’.
· Remember there is an option to specify extra seating such as ‘Table Seats’, ‘Internet Connection’ etc.
· If you book the same trip over and over again, store it as a favourite journey and it will appear in a drop down list on the front screen next time round, to speed up the booking process.
· The default ticketing option is Ticket on Departure. You can change this and request the tickets to be posted. You can over type the address listed if you wish for the tickets to be posted elsewhere. Tickets are sent by 1st class post. If you require special delivery please add a comment in the special requirements box.
· There is no ability to hold a reservation on the rail system. Once booked, the tickets will be issued.
· When booking for a traveller for the first time, after you have entered the card details, click the ‘Save card details’ box and this will remember the information for all future bookings.
· Once you have accepted the booking, the traveller will be sent an instant confirmation. This will also list the ticket collection reference if it’s a ticket on departure booking.
· If you require a copy of the reservation, click on the ‘View Printable Reservation’ button. From here you can either click print the confirmations, or go to ‘File - send page by email’ and you can then forward to your own inbox.
· To access a booking after it has been confirmed, click on the ‘Bookings’ tab at the top of the screen and select the ‘Bookings Manager’ option. This will allow you to search for a booking by a reference number, or by the traveller’s name.
· You cannot modify or cancel any ticketed reservations – you must do this offline.
· Within the rail tool, there is also an ‘Assistance’ tab at the top of the screen. You can access booking guides, see frequently asked questions, view tube maps and check stations facilities from this tab.
Car Hire
· Car rentals should be booked via Balfour Beatty’s preferred partner Nexus, the link to which can be found on the dashboard under ‘More Services’. The ‘Car’ link on the landing page should only be used for bookings outside of the UK which must include insurance cover.