Lisbon, 8 April 2011
Specifications: Travel agency services for EMCDDA and EMSA
Contract code: FC.11.ADM.028.1.0
1. Title of the contract
Provision of Travel Agency Services for the following European decentralized agencies: the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (hereafter referred to as ‘EMCDDA’) and the European Maritime Safety Agency (hereafter referred to as ‘EMSA’) – open procedure published in the Official Journal of the European Union with the contract notice code: 2011/S 70-113044.
2. Purpose and context of the contract
European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA)
The EMCDDA was established by Council Regulation (EEC) No. 302/93of 8 February 1993 and it is one of the EU’s decentralised agencies.
The EMCDDA is the central reference point for drug information in the European Union. Based in Lisbon, its role is to provide the EU and its Member States with objective, reliable and comparable information on drugs and drug addiction. More information about the Agency and its structure and activities can be found on the EMCDDA Web site http://www.emcdda.europa.eu. The current address is: EMCDDA, Cais do Sodré, 1249-289 Lisbon, Portugal.
European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA)
EMSA has been created by the European Parliament and Council Regulation (EC) No. 1406/2002[(] of 27 June 2002. EMSA is an EU decentralized agency.
The goal of the Agency is to provide technical and scientific assistance to the European Commission and Member States on matters relating to the proper implementation of European Union legislation on maritime safety and pollution by ships. More information about the Agency, its’ structure and activities can be found on the EMSA website http://www.emsa.europa.eu/. The current address is: Cais do Sodré, 1249-289 Lisbon, Portugal.
This tender will result in the conclusion of framework service contracts for the provision of travel agency services, related to the organisation of travel arrangements for staff, invited experts, and any other persons who travel on behalf, or per request, of one of the European Agencies mentioned above.
The services shall comprise, among other services, the supply of transport tickets and any other related services, such as hotel reservations, car rental, rental of infrastructures for conferences and connected services, according to the conditions of the draft contract enclosed in Appendix 1.
These specifications are composed of 2 lots, each one corresponding to one Agency:
- Lot 1: European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA)
- Lot 2: European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA)[1]
Tenderers may apply to one or both lots. Should the tenderer decide to apply for both lots, it is to be noted that tenders shall be submitted separately, one tender for each lot. These specifications are, nevertheless, valid for both lots.
3. Subject of the contract
The object of this call for tender, set by taking into account the internal regulations in force in each European Agency, include the supply of the following services:
· Supply of any information necessary for the organisation of a business trip: schedules, availability, companies, tentative prices including ‘low cost’ air fares, clear conditions for the use of the tickets, etc.;
· Issue of transport tickets and related services, including but not limited to, if necessary, hotel booking, car rental, rental of infrastructures for conferences and related services (technical equipment, interpretation booths, catering, local transport, etc.);
· Provide necessary information in relation to the organisation of seminars and business trips for groups of people: including but not limited to providing prices that take into account all the services requested, organisation of a social program, etc;
· Supply proactively any needed technical assistance to the European Agencies in the course of negotiations/liaison with the concerned contractors or suppliers;
· Provide detailed and complete statistics including and analysing all the services requested (see 4.9 below).
4. General Conditions
4.1 The services are to be performed externally.
4.2 The travel agency services addressed by these specifications shall be carried out in strict compliance with the national legislation of the Country where the travel agency is based and with the European Directives on the matter.
An IATA licence number and a certificate provided by the local authorities necessary to perform as a travel agency will be required before the beginning of the activities on behalf of the European Agencies, in order to ensure that the contractor acts legally and have no on-going or pending litigation.
4.3 The contractor shall take all necessary measures with a view to obtaining (any further) all permissions and authorisations needed for the good execution of the contract, under the terms of laws and regulations in force in the place where the tasks are to be entrusted to the contractor.
4.4 The contract is conditioned upon the possession of the above mentioned authorisations/ permissions. The travel agency shall inform the European Agencies immediately if any authorisation/permission had been suddenly withdrawn from it.
Any change in the statutes of the travel agency, for example, absorption by or fusion with another company, will have to be communicated immediately and in writing to the European Agencies. If the conditions for implementation of the contract are not guaranteed any longer because of the mentioned changes or, if the latter were not transmitted in due time, the European Agencies reserve their right to terminate the contract.
4.5 The services forming the object of the contract relate exclusively to business trips, related stays and other services requested by the European Agencies within the framework of their official operation.
The services shall be provided in conformity with the internal regulations on business trips of each European Agency and following the instructions communicated by their members of staff to the travel agency. For Lot 1, a Handbook for travel agencies will be provided to the successful tenderer. For Lot 2, a copy of the ‘Missions guide’ governing all aspects of official business trips ordered, will be provided to the successful tenderer for full information and for guiding the latter’s staff in the performance of their duties.
4.6 The European Agencies reserve their right to address their requests for providing the services object of this call for tender to other travel agencies, companies of transport, hotels or any other organisation/s, in alternative to the contract concluded with the travel agency.
4.7 The European Agencies reserve their right to conclude bilateral agreements with airline companies, rail companies and any other transport companies, as well as hotel and car rental companies.
The travel agency will use the prices resulting from the above-mentioned agreements (if any) to make the needed bookings, except if a lower price published or negotiated by the travel agency is made available.
The travel agency will respect the procedures for bookings agreed upon with the European Agencies, whatever should be the data-processing support, (booking systems, Internet, Intranet), or means of communication, (fax, e-mail), needed.
In no case will the travel agency be able to use the agreements concluded between the European Agencies and any other companies for other customers than those covered by the contract.
If the travel agency profits, with the mentioned companies, of commercial conditions more advantageous than those obtained by the European Agency, these conditions shall be automatically applicable to the bookings made by the travel agency on behalf of the European Agencies.
4.8 The travel agency shall provide the European Agency with any support and technical aid necessary to apply the agreements referred to in item 4.7 in an optimal and effective way.
The travel agency shall use the air transport fares negotiated beforehand, except if the price of the transaction at the time of the request is lower than the negotiated price.
The European Agencies reserve their right to negotiate directly with the transport companies, with or without the assistance of the travel agency, according to their own criteria.
4.9 The travel agency will have to be ready to produce detailed statistics to be provided at least annually or upon request of the European Agencies taking into account all the transactions carried out on all types of products during the period concerned.
Data to be included in the above-mentioned statistics are specified in Appendix 3 to these specifications.
Upon request from the European Agencies, the travel agency will provide consolidated reports according to criteria jointly determined before the implementation of the contract, on the basis of data contained in the statistics.
4.10 The travel agency shall delegate one representative with sufficient competence and responsibility to represent the travel agency in the meetings convened regularly by the European Agencies and during which the activities and the added value of the travel agency to the activities of the European Agencies will be analysed and discussed (compliance with the internal rules, quality of the services, communication skills of the staff of the travel agency, etc.).
The travel agency representative shall have a minimum of 5 years of experience as ‘Account Manager’, being fluent in English and being able to answer to any problems related to the services of this call for tender. Furthermore, he/she shall possess the necessary know how for the use of statistical tools and have access to cutting edge information on travel industry developments for all services included in these specifications.
4.11 The travel agency shall appoint at least one contact person and put at the disposal of the Agencies a telephone line (or as many as necessary) and an e-mail address especially dedicated to catering for the European Agencies.
4.12 The European Agencies will inform, prior to contract signature, the staff of the travel agency on the specificities of the payment[2] system of each European Agency and on any other relevant issues as requested by the travel agency. The travel agency commits itself to broadly diffuse the information received to its staff, and to also inform all new staff members for Lot 1 to make available an operational handbook to be distributed internally as to ensure the provision of a high quality service, and for Lot 2 a Missions Guide will be distributed to the staff of the travel Agency.
4.13 All benefits acquired by each one of the European Agencies by agreements concluded directly with other companies/suppliers of travel services, before the date of the signature of the contract or during the course of the contract, are reserved to them and the travel agency cannot derive any benefit from them.
5. Services
5.1 The travel agency shall provide as soon as possible to the European Agencies and to the staff members going on a business trip all the necessary services related to the organisation of a given trip, such as useful information relating to the trip, in particular the time schedules, any formalities to be fulfilled, prices, addresses of the booked hotels, if any, and if relevant, suggestions for good hotels in the place of destination, at reasonable prices, etc..
The travel agency shall confirm the final booking to the services of the European Agencies in writing and to the staff member taking the business trip, by transmitting the same information, which will include the route and the conditions for use of the issued tickets. This same information shall appear on any statistics provided.
The travel agency shall provide, at the request of the person going on a business trip, any information relevant to the use of any collective transport, (including shuttle services organized by hotels), for travel between the airports and the town centres.
5.2 The travel agency shall ensure the supply of all the transport tickets, vouchers for hotel bookings and any other related services required by the European Agencies for their staff participating in a business trip or the people travelling on their account.
5.3 The travel agency, as a matter of principle, shall propose, for each trip, the solution most favourable to the interests of the European Agencies, mainly from the financial point of view. Offers shall include ‘low cost’ fares. In doing so, the travel agency shall take into account the cost of transport, the cost of subsistence expenses and the number of people going to the same destination. As a general rule, the travel agency shall issue tickets in line with the most economic fares available in the market at the moment of the booking. Should there be constraints that prevent the person going on a business trip taking advantage of the most economical offer made by the travel agency, the latter will, in any event, provide the ticket requested against presentation of a written request duly signed by the responsible person to make the booking.
The travel agency shall endeavour to assist the European Agencies in benefiting fully from promotions or specific preferential rates negotiated by the travel agency, and immediately inform the concerned services of the European Agencies.
In the case of a group trip, the travel agency shall be capable of organising any special means of transport required, and means of transport for groups, as well as any other service related with the organisation of this type of trip by ensuring the most economical expenditure.
In the case of ‘low cost’ fares, the travel agency shall advance the payment of the ticket to be invoiced with the monthly invoice to the European Agencies.
As a matter of principle, proposals made to the European Agencies shall not involve flight schedules which include a change of plane with an interval of less than one hour between the two flights.
The validity of the proposals made shall be of a sufficient duration as to enable the staff member going on a business trip to evaluate the proposal and to give an answer in due time but not necessarily in the immediate time following the offer made (i.e. the proposal of a travel schedule with a validity of less than 12 hours or less should be avoided).
Priority shall be given to requests marked as urgent.
All transactions, regardless of the type, shall be mentioned in the annual statistics.
5.4 The travel agency will always enquire, for each booking request from the European Agencies, if there will be a segment of the trip in the private interest of the person going on the business trip. If so, the additional expenses that would result from this private segment will have to be invoiced directly to the person going on the business trip without any intervention from the European Agencies. Any noted overcharging, for a reason formally ascribable to the travel agency, will be supported by the latter, and, in such a case, will be compensated from future payments due to the travel agency.