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Fare Matching

Fare Matching - Policy & Procedures

Monash University's agreement with HRG and Voyager is that they will endeavour to match or beat any available international airfare from another travel agency. In this circumstance, an available fare means that -

  • The fare being matched has to be for a confirmed itinerary - not just a quotation. In this regard, a seat must be bookable on the nominated flight.
  • The airfare must be bookable via the GDS (Global Distribution System that travel agencies use to access airline inventory). This means that a seat has to be available on the same flight. This precludes matching, in most cases, to Internet-based, international fares.
  • Fare matching only applies to business related travel and does not apply to any leisure related travel booked through HRG's leisure travel service.

Policy

HRG and Voyager are the University's contracted travel managers and, as such, they must be given an opportunity to service our needs in most circumstances. The University has a contract with HRG and Voyager to match or better fares wherever possible and, as the contracted provider, they must be given the final opportunity to match or beat a fare. If they do match or beat a fare then the staff member is obliged to accept that and complete the booking with HRG and Voyager.

In this regard HRG and Voyager will endeavour to match or better a competitor's fare as per the conditions listed above with the following exceptions:

  1. HRG and Voyager will not match international, Internet-based airfares (see reasons below why the University discourages the purchasing of international fares on the Internet ).
  2. HRG and Voyager cannot match the VFR (Visiting Family & Relatives) fares - sometimes called "ethnic" fares which are specials occasionally released to some ethnic-based agencies and available to those agencies only.
  3. HRG and Voyager cannot match Student fares. These are specially discounted fares only available to students and not accessible to HRG and Voyager.

Procedure

Information required

Before asking HRG and Voyager to match a fare you should first source the following from another agency -

  1. Ensure you have a Confirmed Itinerary - not just a quotation. This ensures that a seat was available at time of booking.
  2. Ensure that the costing includes the Base Airfare.
  3. Ensure that all Taxes (and GST, if applicable) are itemised separately.
  4. Submit your request early. The later it is to your departure date, the less likely you are to get a lower priced seat.

Forwarding your request to HRG or Voyager

  1. Forward details of your request as in 1, 2 & 3 above and any other trip options that can be accommodated.
    Please submit your details to HRG or Voyager within 24 hours of getting the alternate itinerary . This provides them with an equal opportunity to source the same, available discount fares. Naturally, the cheaper fares are used up first and availability diminishes over time, so time is of essence.
  2. Provide your contact details (phone and email).
  3. Forward (by fax or scanned copy via email) to HRG and Voyager.

Decision on fare matching

  1. HRG and Voyager will then endeavour to match or better the fare or even provide a more logical and cheaper alternative with regard to your flexibility.
  2. If HRG and Voyager match or better the fare then you are required to complete the booking with them.
  3. If HRG and Voyager cannot match the fare then they will inform the Travel Advisory Office who can then provide permission for the airfare to be booked with the other agency.

Supporting reasons for requiring that travel is booked by our nominated TMCs

Why you should book your travel through HRG or Voyager

There are a number of reasons why the University requires that travel is booked via a preferred travel manager (HRG and Voyager). These are -

  • HRG and Voyager provide a direct, automatic feed of travel data from their GDS system to Flightlock - the system that is used to track Monash travellers. There is no other means of entering data into Flightlock.
  • Monash has an agreement with HRG and Voyager to return set travel commissions to the traveller at point-of-sale. This should return a better price in most instances.
  • The University has a substantial deal with Qantas via the National Universities Agreement to provide heavily discounted fares (up to 30%). These Qantas discounts are only available through our nominated TMC which is either HRG and Voyager.
  • When bookings are made via HRG and Voyager we can capture, measure, report and consolidate travel expenditure. This data is important to further negotiation and maintenance of discount deals with Qantas and other major carriers. If you book outside of HRG and Voyager this information is not captured.

Why are there so many different fares available in the travel industry?

The travel industry is complex. In particular, airfares are difficult to classify, variable by day/hour and very dependent on the yield management strategies of an airline carrier used to maximise the financial return from a particular flight. In this regard, a carrier might release blocks of seats at varying prices - some at standard business class and economy class and other in cheaper, discounted categories. As the flight books up, the availability of cheaper priced seats can fluctuate both up and down.

In addition, the travel industry is one that also operates very much on relatively low margins where incentives, commissions, rebates and over-rides can also affect the price of an airline ticket. Obviously, therefore, the price of ticket can vary considerably with time and choice of travel agency.

Often there is multiple options available when planning a trip and getting from A to B to C etc. It is reported that there are over 40 different fare type to get from Melbourne to London - these are available on different carriers, by different routes, at different times, with different flexibility and varying stop-over options. The challenge for the travel consultant is to meet your individual needs and do this at the lowest logical cost. Sometimes flexibility and convenience can be more important than price.

Best fare of the day or lowest logical fare?

An experience travel consultant should be able to search out, using their TMCs systems, the Best Fare of the Day (BFOTD). However, this may not be the most convenient itinerary to suit your needs and a common term, often used in the travel industry, is the Lowest Logical Fare of the Day(LLFOTD).

Given the need for traveller comfort and convenience the LLFOTD is the most appropriate as this will take into account the following conditions that affect the overall trip experience -

  • Is the trip on a carrier that you prefer and trust?
  • Does the trip start and end at the most convenient times to meet your needs?
  • Is the overall flight time excessive and is there a shorter trip time available?
  • Are there long stop-overs en route? Is this a hassle or a desirable break on a long trip?
  • Is the ticket flexible? If you want to cancel or change your trip can this be done without serious financial penalty?

The choice of fare is therefore dependent on you providing the consultant with the information that enables them to book the most logical and best priced itinerary for you. Therefore, providing as much detail, up-front when booking is the best way to ensure your needs are met. It also highlights the value, particularly for more complex international itineraries, of an experienced travel consultant working - often over the phone - with you.

Why does the University discourages booking international air fares via the Internet?

The advent of the Internet has very much changed the travel industry and the booking of air travel via the Internet is common place these day. This provides the traveller with instant information that will enable them to best tailor their trip. Why, therefore, does the University discourage the booking of international air fares via the Internet? The reasons are -

  • Internet fares are instant purchase.
  • Internet fares are often non-refundable, non-changeable and, if they can be changed, often expensive to change.
  • You do not get travel advice on the need for visas and travel permits when you book via the Internet. If these are not in order at time of departure you may be barred from travelling.
  • The University cannot capture critical traveller information that is sent to Flightlock via a TMC -based booking.

What about booking domestic trips on the Internet?

The above reasons for discouraging the booking of international Internet fares are less critical when applied to domestic trips and most experienced travellers are aware of the terms, conditions and flexibility of domestic trips booked direct on the Internet. Why therefore should you book your domestic trip via HRG ? There are a number of advantages -

  • HRG and Voyager have a Self-Booking Tools (SBT) called ResX and Serko, respectively that are more convenient than a direct connect to a carrier-specific Internet site.
  • ResX and Serko are Internet-based tools that provides details on all three major domestic carriers (Qantas, JetStar and Virgin Blue) in the one screen dependent on the time parameters entered before the search.
  • ResX and Serko provide Internet fares as well as the special fares available to Monash from Qantas under the National Universities Agreement (up to 30% discount on the more flexible fares). These discounts are not available in a direct connect to Qantas's website.
  • ResX and Serko automatically and securely transfer traveller profile data to the booking without the chore of having to manually enter personal and credit card details - this speeds up the process.
  • ResX and Serko allow you to also book hotels and hire vehicles from the same system in the same session. This speeds up the time taken to book your whole trip, end-to-end!