Best Practices for Writing a Travel RFP in the NGO Community

Including Travel RFP Template

Written by Russ Ferguson, GTI’s Chief Commercial Officer

Introduction

I have worked in the travel industry for twenty-five years, eighteen of which I’ve spent focused on partnering with the global non-profit community, helping organizations to manage their travel programs more effectively.  

During this time, I have been involved in many RFPs and selection processes for travel management services and implemented hundreds of travel programs. Some good, some bad, almost all complex.

TMCs often provide stock answers to questions, sometimes even automated responses.  This fails to demonstrate that they have listened to needs and taken the time to understand objectives before proposing solutions, leaving NGOs feeling frustrated.  

Likewise, NGOs typically don’t provide an opportunity to engage and qualify requirements, or there isn’t enough of the right type of information provided for TMCs to be able to propose a solution that truly meets the objectives.  This is counter intuitive, meaning both sides spend time and effort going through a lengthy process with mutual lack of understanding, often resulting in an ineffective partnership. 

In writing this paper I hope to be able to provide tips and best practices to simplify the review and selection of travel management providers and to demystify the process, making it less daunting overall.  In particular, explain how a TMC approaches the RFP process, and what questions you should ask, and in what way, in order to get the information that you really need to know. 

The following pages provide five important areas of focus that I feel are important to consider when thinking about reviewing travel providers and/or conducting an RFP. I have also included an RFP template which can be used/adapted for your own process.