Concur Travel and Expense (CTE) Corporate Travel Site
Oct 5, 2012, 4:59 pm
#16
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: CMH
Programs: DL, AA, HH
Posts: 19
its a one way cycle/revolving door. info goes from Concur to the GDS booking system your agency uses. and that GDS updates directly back and forth with the GDS.
concur ->GDS/Agency <->carrier
In order for Concur to update someone has to queue the information back to a concur queue for it to update. that doesnt happen automatically. even if an agent canceles it, it will not updated directly in the concur tool unless that agent queues it back to the tool.
but if you do cancel it in concur directly it will cancel in the gds with the carrier. and all three will be in sync.
thats not a concur limitation, thats how all tools work. an online booking tool is just an interface for a GDS, nothing less.
Oct 5, 2012, 5:00 pm
#17
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: CMH
Programs: DL, AA, HH
Posts: 19
same as my previous message.. to update in concur, someone (your agency that set the tool up for you) has to queue it back to concur to reflect the update. thats why its best to work directly in the tool or with the agency..
May 1, 2013, 9:37 am
#19
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: ORD, MKE
Programs: Bonvoy LT Gold, Hilton Silver, Hyatt Discoverist, Hertz PC, National EE
Posts: 710
Different search parameters, different results
What I've noticed is changing the search parameters can produce different itineraries. Increasing or decreasing the time window, specifying the connection city or not, one way vs. round trip searches can all yield different results. I assume trying all those permutations is how you wasted all those hours (I've wasted a lot of time that way) but I mention it for the record.
May 1, 2013, 9:40 am
#20
Join Date: Jan 2011
Programs: UA S, Marriott P
Posts: 1,154
Odd that the agents can't find what is on UA.com. Are your agents allowed to call the airlines directly or can they only use their own system?
What I've noticed is changing the search parameters can produce different itineraries. Increasing or decreasing the time window, specifying the connection city or not, one way vs. round trip searches can all yield different results. I assume trying all those permutations is how you wasted all those hours (I've wasted a lot of time that way) but I mention it for the record.
What I've noticed is changing the search parameters can produce different itineraries. Increasing or decreasing the time window, specifying the connection city or not, one way vs. round trip searches can all yield different results. I assume trying all those permutations is how you wasted all those hours (I've wasted a lot of time that way) but I mention it for the record.
you are right - specifying exact time when I know the flight exists +-1h, produces drastically different pricing than doing +-12h or even +-8 - all around the same time frame, ie for the one flight I am looking for.
Its retarded that I can get T/L fares outside and only S,W,V on concur - and our company has a contract with UA as preferred carrier!!
May 1, 2013, 4:25 pm
#21
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: ORD, MKE
Programs: Bonvoy LT Gold, Hilton Silver, Hyatt Discoverist, Hertz PC, National EE
Posts: 710
I heard our travel dept complained, and this year all 8 of my domestic UA segments were in K or G, and I just booked an international one way flight in W on Concur for half the price I saw on UA.com.
Are you allowed waivers to book outside Concur? While our corporate travel office doesn't like it (they're all about contracts) my boss and our division controller will take the heat if I can show a big enough savings by booking with UA. I did it a couple of times last year.
May 1, 2013, 5:07 pm
#23
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Minneapolis - Singapore
Posts: 10
Your problems are not with Concur, but with your employer. Concur can show and book almost anything. But, it is expressly designed as a corporate website and can block or allow all kinds of transactions.
.
For instance, some employers allow you to book anything, but a screen requiring a written justification pops up when you are booking other than the cheapest fare or perhaps within $200 of the cheapest fare or in a non-permitted cabin or fare bucket.
Concur can also handle different authorizations for different employees. A senior executive might be able to book in F, while you are in a low bucket steerage.
Concur saves large companies a ton of money because, as others note, it works seamlessly with most major A/P systems. If the software is set up to only allow "cheapest fare" and transmits directly to A/P, there's no need for an A/P person to audit the transaction to determine that it was the cheapest fare.
You also do not likely know the specifics of corporate deals which your employer may have cut. There might be cost savings on a given ticket, but overall the savings may be significant. Corporate deals may also include treating discounted fares as Y for -UP purposes, may offer discounts on F travel, GS for certain employees and the like.
The culprit in OP's situation is likely his employer and it's a decision for OP to make as to whether the issues are sufficient enough to warrant follow up with the people responsible.
.
For instance, some employers allow you to book anything, but a screen requiring a written justification pops up when you are booking other than the cheapest fare or perhaps within $200 of the cheapest fare or in a non-permitted cabin or fare bucket.
Concur can also handle different authorizations for different employees. A senior executive might be able to book in F, while you are in a low bucket steerage.
Concur saves large companies a ton of money because, as others note, it works seamlessly with most major A/P systems. If the software is set up to only allow "cheapest fare" and transmits directly to A/P, there's no need for an A/P person to audit the transaction to determine that it was the cheapest fare.
You also do not likely know the specifics of corporate deals which your employer may have cut. There might be cost savings on a given ticket, but overall the savings may be significant. Corporate deals may also include treating discounted fares as Y for -UP purposes, may offer discounts on F travel, GS for certain employees and the like.
The culprit in OP's situation is likely his employer and it's a decision for OP to make as to whether the issues are sufficient enough to warrant follow up with the people responsible.
My point is....it's not the software..... It's your employer.
May 1, 2013, 5:14 pm
#24
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Minneapolis - Singapore
Posts: 10
I guess my other point is, do you really want to be "that guy"? My company has over 19,000 employees, of which nearly 2,300 travel regularly via air. Life is too short for me to fight our corporate travel system as I'm only 1 of 2,300 that fly every week.
Additionally, keep in mind many of the fares and prices YOU see, include anywhere from 2% to 18% rebates to the company. So you may think you saving $250 on a $1,800 flight is a big deal, your employer might be getting nearly that back in rebates and bonus monies.
Additionally, keep in mind many of the fares and prices YOU see, include anywhere from 2% to 18% rebates to the company. So you may think you saving $250 on a $1,800 flight is a big deal, your employer might be getting nearly that back in rebates and bonus monies.
May 1, 2013, 6:26 pm
#25
Suspended
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: DCA
Programs: UA US CO AA DL FL
Posts: 50,262
I guess my other point is, do you really want to be "that guy"? My company has over 19,000 employees, of which nearly 2,300 travel regularly via air. Life is too short for me to fight our corporate travel system as I'm only 1 of 2,300 that fly every week.
Additionally, keep in mind many of the fares and prices YOU see, include anywhere from 2% to 18% rebates to the company. So you may think you saving $250 on a $1,800 flight is a big deal, your employer might be getting nearly that back in rebates and bonus monies.
Additionally, keep in mind many of the fares and prices YOU see, include anywhere from 2% to 18% rebates to the company. So you may think you saving $250 on a $1,800 flight is a big deal, your employer might be getting nearly that back in rebates and bonus monies.
Concur can show you anything which is for sale. It's a question of how your employer has chosen to configure the software. If you're not seeing a routing you want, there's a reason and it's got zippo to do with Concur.
May 1, 2013, 7:40 pm
#26
Join Date: Jan 2011
Programs: UA S, Marriott P
Posts: 1,154
Are you allowed waivers to book outside Concur? While our corporate travel office doesn't like it (they're all about contracts) my boss and our division controller will take the heat if I can show a big enough savings by booking with UA. I did it a couple of times last year.
May 3, 2013, 3:57 pm
#28
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: ORD, MKE
Programs: Bonvoy LT Gold, Hilton Silver, Hyatt Discoverist, Hertz PC, National EE
Posts: 710
If you have a flight credit that can be used for E+, would your travel agency be able to apply it for you? I've never tried for E+, but most of the times I've tried to apply a flight credit to airfare our travel agent has had to manually intervene.
Oct 15, 2013, 11:48 am
#30
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: ORD
Programs: AA PLT
Posts: 2,781
Best advice is just to play around with it for a bit. It also helps if you use other software (such as ITA) to find the connections you want, then be as specific as possible when entering the information into Concur's search. There could be desirable options that are thrown out if you enter a +/- range that is too wide.