Group Travel
Find information on booking group travel, meetings, and events for ten or more people.
Group Travel is defined as pre-approved travel arranged by the University for ten (10) or more travelers. This includes:
1. Group Air Travel
Management of blocked space on flights, deposits, ticketing, reporting, and other activities for efficiently managing the group's air travel needs:
- Ten or more people traveling together from the same point of origin to the same destination on the same flights.
- Ten or more people traveling from different points of origin to the same destination.
2. Hotel Room Blocks
Applicable for 10 or more rooms, divided into two categories:
A. Columbia Sponsored Room Blocks
- Columbia is responsible for payment.
- Financially responsible for cancellation and attrition fees.
- Requires execution of a contract.
B. Attendee Self-pay Room Blocks
- Courtesy block held by the hotel.
- Columbia is not responsible for payment, cancellation, or attrition fees.
- Attendees are responsible for payment and cancellation of reservations by the specified deadline.
- May require execution of a contract.
Note: Columbia sponsored rooms of 9 or less rooms may be booked individually in Concur when Columbia is responsible for payment. Attendee self-pay rooms of 9 or less rooms may be booked on the Visitors & Personal Travel website when Columbia is not responsible for payment.
3. Strategic Meetings Management (SMM) Services
Services include hotel/venue sourcing, contract negotiations, attendee management, and other logistics for meetings management for ten or more travelers. The process involves:
- A discovery call with the World Meetings and Events (WME) team to discuss requirements for the specific meeting or event being planned.
- Providing an estimated cost for services based on the specific event being planned.
- Once services and fees are agreed upon, a Statement of Work, (SOW) will need to be executed by the School/department.
Booking Group Travel
In order to book Group Travel, through World Travel, Inc. (WTI)'s Higher Education Group team, Meeting Planners will need to have the “CU Travel Arranger” role which can be applied for via the Financial Systems Security Application (FSSA).
Booking Group Air Only and/or Hotel Block Space
To begin the process identified Columbia Travel Arrangers should:
- Complete the WTI Higher Education Travel Request Form (TRF).
- Provide the scope and service requirements for Group Air and/or Hotel Block Space services.
- Manually check the "Send me a copy of my responses" box at the bottom of the TRF to receive a copy of your submission.
- Meeting Planners/Travel Arrangers must complete their Concur Profile prior to booking group travel.
- Based on the scope of services requested WTI’s Higher Education Group team will contact the Columbia Travel Arranger to discuss requirements for the specific event being planned.
Strategic Meetings Management (SMM) Services
Meeting Planners/Travel Arrangers can leverage the expertise of the World Travel, Inc. (WTI) World Meetings and Events (WME) team for Strategic Meetings Management (SMM) services.
To begin the process identified Travel Arrangers should:
- Complete the WME Meeting Services Request Form (MRF).
- Provide the scope and requirements for SMM services.
- Manually check the "Send me a copy of my responses" box at the bottom of the MRF to receive a copy of your submission.
- Meeting Planners/Travel Arrangers must complete their Concur Profile prior to booking group travel.
- WTI’s WME team will contact the Meeting Planner/Travel Arranger to discuss requirements and estimated costs for services for the specific event being planned.
- Once services and fees are agreed upon, a Statement of Work (SOW) will need to be executed by the School/department.
Fees and Cancellations
- A minimum cancellation fee of $500.00 will apply if Group Air or Hotel Sourcing activity sourced by WTI’s WME team is canceled.
- Airlines, hotels, and other suppliers may charge their own cancellation/penalty fees above the WTI fee.
- Please review the Group Travel Fee Chart for a complete description of Group Travel transaction fees and cancellation fees.
Consultations
- Initial consultations with the Meeting Planner/Travel Arranger prior to sourcing are at no cost.
- Additional fees/penalties will be discussed and agreed upon during initial consultations and will be included in the SOW for each group/event, for review and execution by the School/department.
Note: In the event that Sponsored funds are used, Columbia Meeting Planners/Travel Arrangers should verify guidelines, restrictions, policies, and procedures prior to making group reservations.
WTI’s Higher Education Group Team and WTI’s WME Hours of Operation:
- WTI’s Higher Education Group Team and WTI’s WME team are available Monday - Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET.
General questions:
- Questions on Group Air or Hotel Room Blocks may be emailed to WTI’s Higher Education Group team.
- Questions on Strategic Meetings Management (SMM) services may be emailed to WTI’s WME team.
- These include:
- Discounted airfares based on the airline, destination, size of group, and lead time of travel
- These include:
- Block space on flights can be booked up to 11 months prior to the trip
- These include:
- Flights can be secured with a deposit and with full payment between 45-60 days prior to departure date
- These include:
- Flexibility to make name changes
- These include:
- Group may qualify for free tickets based on the number of travelers
- These include:
- International flights booked through WTI will be automatically registered for International SOS itinerary monitoring to receive pre-trip advisories and automatic real-time push alerts for destination countries
- These include:
- Coordination of ground transportation between airport and hotels/venue in sync with flight arrivals and departures
- These include:
- Re-ticketing in the event of flight changes or flight cancellations to ensure that the entire group is rebooked together
- These include:
- Structured and competitive sourcing of hotels and meeting venues
- These include:
- Negotiation of value-added amenities and additional concessions at hotel properties and meeting venues
Only Meeting Planners/Travel Arrangers who have the "CU Travel Arranger" role, may book and pay for Group Travel through World Travel Inc.’s (WTI) World Meetings and Events (WME) team. Payment methods include:
- Columbia Air/Rail Central Pay Account for Group airfare
- Columbia Corporate Card for Strategic Meetings Management (SMM) services
Note: The University is a tax-exempt organization and Travel Arrangers booking Meetings or Events in tax-exempt states should request that tax not be collected. To secure an exemption from sales tax all purchases must be made with University funds. Purchases made with personal funds, including purchases that will be reimbursed by the University, are not eligible for sales tax exemption.
Please visit Exemption & State/Sales/User Taxes for a list of states that provide sales tax exemption. Should a tax exemption certificate be requested by a supplier, it may be obtained through the Finance Service Center.
Expenses related to Group Travel must be reconciled by Meeting Planners/Travel Arrangers via Concur Expense. Each air/rail ticket issued will show as an individual charge in Concur to be reconciled in Concur.
Refunded deposits for block space on flights must also be reconciled by the Meeting Planner/Travel Arranger in Concur.
Still have questions?
General questions:
- Questions on Group Air or Hotel Room Blocks may be emailed to WTI’s Higher Education Group team.
- Questions on Strategic Meetings Management (SMM) services may be emailed to WTI’s WME team.
- For all other questions, visit our Finance Service Center.