Contact Information for University Travel Agencies can be found on the Procurement web page:
https://www2.umbc.edu/adminaffairs/procurement/TravelMemoRevised03042013.pdf
If you use a University Travel Agency to arrange air and/or rail travel, you (or the preparer) must select the appropriate agency from the drop box on the Pre-Approval (the screen shot below is used for example purposes only).
The traveler/preparer must separately contact the appropriate agency prior to completing the Pre-Approval to obtain a quote for transportation tickets. The value of that quote must be entered in the "Agency Quote:" field (mandatory field when travel agency is selected). The Travel System is integrated with the University Travel Agencies using DocuSign. The "Agency Quote" field is very important in this process.
Please note that the transportation cost must also be entered in the "Estimates" section of the Pre-Approval for budget purposes.
Once all approvals have been obtained, DocuSign will automatically route to the selected travel agency. The agency will enter the actual cost of the ticket as part of their DocuSign signature process. If the actual cost of the ticket(s) exceeds the amount entered in the "Agency Quote" field beyond the defined thresholds, the Pre-Approval will be denied and will return to "entry" status.
Overage thresholds for tickets are currently defined as 10% or $200 (whichever is greater) actual cost over the quoted estimate.
Upon Travel Agency signature, DocuSign will automatically notify the traveler/preparer with the final approved travel and itinerary.
All questions regarding travel tickets arranged through University Travel Agencies should be directed to the travel agent.
