What is GSA Travel Category
The Travel Category is one of the twelve large categories in the new Multiple Award Schedule, introduced since MAS consolidation in 2020. The category encompasses various services related to travel, lodging and personnel relocation.
The volume of sales in this category is huge, really huge. In 2019, the GSA reported $558 million of sales under the GSA Schedule 599 “Travel Services Solutions”. With just about 70 contractors in this Schedule, this means a whooping $8 million per vendor on average!
A contract in the GSA Travel Category allows you to sell mostly to federal agencies. However, local, municipal and state governments may also purchase via the Disaster Recovery Program. Moreover, the contracts are IDIQ contracts, which makes the Travel category a great channel of constant sales for the entire period of validity of the contract.
What legacy schedules does the GSA Travel Category replace?
Before Multiple Award Schedule Consolidation, the legacy Schedule offering the same list of services was GSA Schedule 599 – “Travel Services Solutions”. Now, the large category includes a number of SINs arranged into 3 subcategories:
- Employee Relocation
- Lodging
- Travel Agent and Misc. Services
All SINs of the GSA Travel Category
Employee Relocation
| 531 | Employee Relocation Solution. The given SIN includes all services related to employee relocation, such as home sale assistance, property management, and household goods shipment coordination. |
| 541511T | Employee Relocation Management Software. This one includes relocation software and automation/technology tools that help agencies track, manage and report on their relocation programs. The SIN also includes authorization, planning, repatriation, expense management, tax gross ups, expense entry, communications, and integrations with financial systems, etc. |
Lodging
| 531110 | Long Term Lodging. Includes corporate lodging services in an apartment, condominium, or similar long stay type of property. |
| 561599L | Lodging Negotiations and Management Services. A full suite of lodging negotiation and management services for transient, extended stay and corporate housing needs are available which includes, but is not limited to, electronic lodging request for proposal systems and services, lodging locator and reservation services, pricing and negotiation assistance and support, leasing/rental support, lodging management services, marketing, rate/compliance audits, benchmarking, and reporting. Services also include lodging management support for disaster planning, recovery support, and pre-positioning support for first responders, incident management teams, evacuees/victims, and associated personnel supporting the emergency effort. |
Travel Agent and Misc. Services
| 561510 | Travel Agent Services. This subcategory contains commercial services for the provision of travel agent services which includes, but is not limited to: travel arrangement, reservation, ticketing and traveler support for air, rail, lodging, car rental and ancillary services, which includes arrangement, booking, ticketing, business services, delivery services, destination services, documentation, frequent flyer and loyalty programs, help desk, international services, invoicing, reconciliation, profile management, quality control, reporting, stand alone bookings for lodging and rental car |
| 561599 | Travel Consulting Services. This SIN encompasses commercial services for the provision of travel consulting services which includes, but not limited to: travel systems analysis, assessment, travel policy development and analysis, market research, requirements development, supplier negotiations, supplier management, training, travel management, security, technology support, travel expense management, benchmarking, cost and revenue reports, travel management publications, risk management, and study/survey services. |
Getting onto the GSA Travel Category, step by step
OK, so the Travel Category is potentially extremely lucrative. But how does a vendor become a government contractor? What do you need to do to get onto the GSA Travel Category that used to be legacy Schedule 599?
Well, fortunately, the general principles are the same for all Schedules. After all, the GSA is interested in making the process as uniform as possible. However, there are specifics in each particular Schedule, and the Travel Category Schedule is no exception. Surely, as a business owner you may not know all the details of GSA requirements to vendors in a specific category. That is why it may be worthwhile to hire a GSA consulting agency that already knows all ins and outs thoroughly.
Steps to get a GSA Travel Award
- Prepare and submit your documents. To apply for a Schedule, you need to gather a whole lot of documents required by the GSA: financial and bank statements, payments and loans, TAA compliance, labor categories, price lists and so on. Submit your documents via the GSA eOffer system.
- Wait, while the GSA reviews your submission. The GSA assigns a contracting officer that will thoroughly review each of your submitted documents, check the fairness and completeness of your submission, and will conduct a research to check the provided data and facts. The process may take one or two months, or longer.
- Negotiate prices and terms. After your submission is accepted, the contracting officer will contact you to negotiate conditions of the contract.
- Finally, you are awarded a contract. But don’t stop now! You are still required to fulfill the minimum sales requirement, maintain your contract, check for product compliance, and periodically check for GSA updates to quickly make the necessary changes. Get ready for a long race: winning a contract is just your very first checkpoint.
