Dispute over future online travel agency may leave departments stranded

Protests against the government's solicitation for a new online travel booking system could push the purchasing time frame beyond the 2013 expiration of its current e-travel contract, resulting in a service disruption or higher costs for agencies, people familiar with the protest process said.

The Government Accountability Office on Friday upheld the second protest lodged by an incumbent vendor, Carlson Wagonlit Travel. Last summer, the General Services Administration issued an initial request for bids on a follow-on to the company's 2003 contract. The existing system has struggled over the past seven years to deliver customer-friendly booking and reimbursement of travel costs, according to federal inspectors.

The next generation of the program is slated to offer mobile applications, on-demand installation through the "cloud," and more user-friendly features. After the request for proposals came out, CWT protested to GAO with numerous concerns, but GSA, of its own volition, fixed the situation by amending the RFP and extending the due date for proposals.

In January, the firm contested the revised version on several grounds, arguing, among other things, that the solicitation exposes vendors to excessive risk by requiring fixed fees for various system updates over the contract period.

Federal auditors on Friday dismissed all but one of the company's protests -- a complaint that the work order was vague about stipulations for so-called objectives an array of luxury benefits, such as the ability to book reservations for nonemergency travel "24x7x365," with no additional transaction fees.

The RFP made these capabilities seem, paradoxically, both mandatory and optional, GAO attorneys agreed. Providers that considered them obligatory could unintentionally eliminate themselves from the competition by including them all, which would make their bids too expensive, said Ralph O. White, GAO managing associate general counsel for procurement law.

"We sustain the protest on the ground that the solicitation is ambiguous about whether the stated objectives are optional or may be requirements for award," GAO General Counsel Lynn Gibson wrote in the protest decision. "We recommend that the agency revise the solicitation to clearly communicate whether the [statement of work] objectives are optional."

CWT officials declined to comment on the verdict.

GSA is expected to fix the ambiguity, as agencies typically follow bid protest recommendations. People familiar with the protest process, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, say GSA likely will have to issue a second, revised RFP, which would allow vendors to further contest the program, potentially delaying the award until after 2013.

Existing and potential contractors have the option of filing protests with GSA, GAO or a court of appeals, where cases can drag on for years.

To continue offering agencies e-travel assistance past 2013 if a new accord is not clinched, GSA would have to issue miniature, "bridge" contracts -- under price terms agreeable to the incumbent vendors -- or else the services will end.

The current system is operated by CWT, Northrop Grumman Mission Systems and HP Enterprise Services, under a deal worth up to about $450 million for each company.

GSA officials on Wednesday said they welcome the opportunity to inject clarity into the solicitation and are reviewing options in response to GAO's recommendation.

"We are confident that GSA can take the necessary steps to ensure that the E-Gov Travel Service 2.0 solicitation will proceed in a timely fashion," said Tim Burke, director of GSA's Office of Travel and Transportation Services.

"We are not going to speculate about plans for potential future events, bridge contracts, or the costs associated with scenarios that may not occur," he said. "We remain committed to providing our federal agency customers with the best-value travel services from GSA that they have come to rely on to meet their missions."