Iowa universities stick up for travel agents
When the Des Moines Register reported that two state universities paid more than $1.4 million in travel agency fees over the past five years, it asked if that was "a wise use of public dollars in an era when travel can easily be booked on the Internet."
It sure was, officials at the universities said.
The travel agencies help them find the best rates and most efficient travel schedules, resolve issues like cancellations, shift credit from unused tickets to future purchases (something you cannot easily do with tickets purchased online) and provide after-hours emergency assistance, the schools said.
The study found that the University of Iowa paid Meacham Travel Services an average of $164,128 in each of the last five fiscal years, largely to book air travel, "which generally costs an extra $35 a seat when done through an agency," the newspaper said.
Iowa State paid an average of $116,472 a year to Omaha-based Travel and Transport, which generally charges the school $30.50 per transaction.
The use of travel agencies remains common among large organizations. Sixty percent of respondents in a 2012 Travelport survey of 100 major organizations said they used a travel agency.
Still, Rep. Ruth Ann Gaines, (D-Des Moines) said the amount of money spent with travel agencies warrants further review. "I guess the question is: Can we be more prudent?" she told the Register.
By Cheryl Rosen
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