Where can I go to make travel reservations in person?
> Omega Patient travel is located at 9000 Rockville Pike, Clinical Center, Building 10, Room 1-4553, Rockville, MD.
Does Omega have a web site I could visit?
> Omega's website is www.nihtravel.com.
Does Omega have an 1-800 number that patients could use
to make travel arrangements?
> The number is 1-866-227-9339.
Does Omega have a local number that patients could use
to make travel arrangements?
> The number is 301-496-5597.
When using E-ticketing, is it possible to get the passenger
receipt from Omega via fax to eliminate the necessity
of picking up the receipt at Building 10 or having it
sent in the mail?
> On a regular basis, Omega will email or fax the passenger
itinerary and the record locator number (confirmation
number) to the requesting office. Omega will also send
a hard copy via the accountable mail system to the
address provided.

I am confused about the fees being charged for Omega
services. Will I get charged just for calling Omega
to get an estimate on airfares or to check on the status
of an existing reservation?
> You will not be charged a service fee for
simply calling to check on a reservation or to ask for
a cost estimate. A necessary part of this new contract
was to include non-refundable fees which are charged for
each transaction that involves an airline or train ticket
being issued. This includes all travel booked through
Omega (patient, official government, and travel for authorized
non-government travelers). These fees were required to
offset the losses faced by all travel agencies as the
airlines continue to cut the commissions the agencies
were receiving. The service fees are based upon the type
of reservation (staff/patient and meeting) and method
(phone/in-person, email/fax) used to make the transaction.
An Omega fee-for-service fact sheet with tips and examples
can be found on the Worksite Enrichment Programs Branch
web site.
What if a ticket has been issued,
and then the traveler is unable to go thus causing
the travel or purchase order to have to be canceled?
How will Omega be paid the non-refundable service
fee?
> The travel order (or purchase order) should
not be canceled. It should be handled as though a non-refundable
ticket had been purchased. For travel orders, you would
need to voucher out the order and the only cost that
would be incurred would be the non-refundable service
fee which you would have entered in the GTA field. If
it is a purchase order, you would cancel all line item
charges except for the service fees, and then enter
receiving for the appropriate amount. This way, Omega
will be paid the fees they are due.
Where should the service fees be placed on
travel orders?
> Only the cost of the ticket should be placed on the Transportation screen. Payment method GTA or GTA reimbursable for Omega tickets. All other TMC fee amounts should be placed on the Expense screen using the list of Expenses and selecting the TMC fee item. You may list each fee separately by selecting the TMC expense line multiple times or "bundle" the TMC fees if there are more that one and place the total cost under one line item.
When a caller to Omega is given a total amount for
a ticket, should the additional service fee be added
to that ticket, or will it already be included?
> Omega agents will quote only the airline
price unless the ticket is booked and a final itinerary
is issued. They will not quote the service fee when
telling you how much a flight is because you can call
to just get pricing information and then a few weeks
later email or fax the reservation request which is
a different fee than a phone reservation.

Can Omega make car or hotel reservations for me?
> Effective January 1, 2001, GSA has mandated that all
hotel (unless explicitly exempted) and car reservations
be made through your agency's official TMC. Aside from
airline reservations, Omega offers a full range of
services to its NIH customers such as car rental, hotel
reservations
and train reservations. Omega also offers leisure travel
assistance and has a variety of comprehensive services
available to assist ICs with conference planning and
coordination. As a side note, there is no service fee
associated with
making car or hotel reservations.
What is the difference between electronic booking
and electronic ticketing (E-ticket)?
> E-ticketing is a paperless ticketing mechanism
where you purchase a ticket from the travel agency and
instead of requiring a ticket at the airport, you only
need to give the record locator number provided by the
travel agency.
Electronic booking is an actual method for you to personally
make your reservations (i.e., Microsoft Expedia and
Travelocity) from your PC and thus bypassing the travel
agency. The NIH is not ready for this type of system
presently as we do not have the financial and accounting
systems in place to utilize it. The Department of Transportation
is currently developing a government-wide system, and
we hope to be one of the first government agencies to
pilot it.
When making travel reservations, how
soon before travel starts should I fax an approved
copy of the Travel Order to Omega?
> If at all possible, Omega appreciates having
the Travel Order in their office two weeks prior to
the trip start date. While Omega is aware that last
minute travel can occur, the majority is planned well
enough in advance so that the two week time frame should
not cause any hardship on the requesting offices.
What are acceptable justifications for use of non-contract
carriers?
>There are three acceptable justifications for use of
non-contract carriers:
- Space or flights not available in time to accomplish
mission, or contract flights would entail overnight
lodging and an increased overall trip cost
- Contract flight schedule conflicts with Agency policy requiring
travel during business hours (if applicable)
- Non-contract carrier offers lower publicly available fares
which result in lower overall cost of trip (considering total
of all trip expenses).

I see that Omega mentions that they offer conference
and meeting planning services. What types of tasks and
services will this include, and what are the applicable
fees for using these services?
> Omega will provide the same types of conference and
meeting planning support that are also offered on other
NIH Conference
Support contracts. Examples of Omega services include,
but are not limited to, airline and hotel reservations,
conference space reservations, obtaining beverage and
food service coordination, preparing name tags, and
acting as the liaison for the NIH and off-site conference
facility
managers.
Fees are based on the amount and types of services requested
of Omega. For more information on Omega conference services
and fees, please contact the Omega Meeting Planner, at
703-528-7178 to discuss your requirements.
Does the Division of Travel and Transportation Services write
all the NIH travel policies?
> No, travel policies fall under the auspices of the
Office of Financial Management. The NIH travel policies
are in section 1500 of the NIH Manual Chapters and can
be found at http://www3.od.nih.gov/oma/manualchapters/management/1500/index.html.
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