To download above documents:

Overview

Pre-trip approval (PTA) is a process put into place to better manage business travel by allowing a notification to be sent or submit a trip to be approved or declined before it is ticketed. It offers an automatic method of controlling travel spending by designating travel approvers who can approve or deny a user's travel request.

Benefits, Limitations and Need to Know

Benefits

Limitations

Offline bookings

Need to Know

Useful Terms

Enabling PTA - Who to Contact

Contact Deem Channel Sales Director

Enable PTA on additional domains

PTA can easily be enabled on additional domains.  Admins will only need to file a support ticket if they plan to use the travelers profiled approver.

Notes:

Gather information

Approvals or Notifications

Determine if approvals/notifications will be sent to a static email or manager within the profile

Determine if clients require approvals or notification:

PTA Triggers

Identify parameters which will drive the PTA process.  Examples of parameters that can be used are:

More examples can be found here.

If you require customized scripting for PTA triggers, please submit a request via a support ticket.

Queues

Identify processing queues

I think the instructions for the main configuration for PTA within the agency configuration should be listed first followed by the custom fields for PTA before PNR Edits and Queues.

Configuring Custom PNR and Queues

Configuring a custom PNR

Configure pending queue under Custom PNR

  1. Click the Services tab

  2. Click Travel Agency.

  1. Click Custom PNR.

  1. Select mapping to be configured.

  1. Navigate to the bottom of the mapping and click Add PNR Line.

  1. Enter or select values for the following:

  2. Click Save.

Enable PTA and Set Queues

Queues Programmed under Agency Configurations

  1. Select the Service tab.

  2. Click Travel Agency.

  3. Click Agency Settings.

  4. Select the active settings name.

  1. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Add PTA Configurations.

Note: You may see Edit PTA Configuration if previously set up.

  1. Enter Pseudo-city and Queue for each Approved, Declined and Expired bookings.

  2. Enter the time windows for the primary and secondary approvers to approve or decline the trip.

Notes:

Tips:

  1. Click Save.

Setting Up Approvals and Notifications (Custom fields)

Creating Custom Field Collection

To configure the PTA Triggers:

  1. Click the Services tab.

  2. Click Custom Fields.

  1. Click Custom Field Collections.

  1. Click Add a New Collection.

  1. Complete the following:

    1. Name: Enter a name, such as PTA, PTAManager, PTAGuest. Label clearly, name in a way that it define the collection clearly. No spaces or special characters.

    2. Label: Will prefill from what is enter in the Name field. Update as needed. Spaces are acceptable. 

    3. Description: This will be the header displayed to the user on the purchase page alerting them that the reservation requires approval.  HTML is supported here if you wish to change font size or color.

  1. Select Ask for User Input on the Purchase Page (required).

  2. Select Save.

You will be brought back to Custom Field Collections, where you will add the Pre-Trip approval notifications triggers to the collection.

Creating Custom Fields

Configure Pre-Trip Approval within Collection 

  1. Click on the Collection Name under Custom Field Collections.

  1. Click Add Custom Field.

  1. Complete the following:

  1. Click Approval required or Notification only.

  2. Decide whether to send the approval email to the manager within the profile, or to a default approver.

    1. Click Send approval email to traveler’s profiled approver: if manager within profile is required.

    2. If the setting for "Send approval email to traveler’s profiled approver" is used, the default approver email value is required.
      Notes:

      • The default approver is ignored unless the traveler doesn't have a profiled approver. The default approver will be used in the case the traveler does not have an associated approver within their profile.

      • If approvers are to be taken from traveler profiles additional steps are required to first grant permission to approvers and then to associate travelers to approvers.

    3. Leave Send approval email to traveler’s profiled approver: unchecked if default approver required.

    4. Enter the email addresses for the default approver and the secondary approver. If the default approver has not approved or declined the itinerary within the defined period, a reminder email is sent to the primary approver and an approval request is sent to the secondary approver.

  3. Select the following options:

    1. Auto cancel declined PNR's?: Check box if trip should be cancelled if declined by approver.

    2. Auto approve or cancel expired PNR's?: Select action that should be taken if trip has expired.  Has not been approved within desiccated time established within Agency Settings. 
      Note: Only online generated reservations can be auto cancelled.

  4. PTA Rules Description: Enter message which will be displayed on both the purchase page as well as email notifications. This should reflect the reason the trip has been submitted for approval (out of policy, class of service, price etc.)

  1. Click Advanced to enter JavaScript if specific conditions are required to trigger PTA.

  1. Enter JavaScript code.

  2. Click Save

Use Case JavaScripts

Example Script

Simple script:

//INTERNATIONAL SEGMENT

var Int=UserPnrData.UserBooking.HasInternationalSegment;

if (Int=="Y") {out.print("true");}

else {out.print("false");}

Flying to specific airport:

//Alaska and Hawaii

if((UserPnrData.UserSession.AirSearch.FlightLeg[0].DestinationAirportCode=="ANC")||

(UserPnrData.UserSession.AirSearch.FlightLeg[0].DestinationAirportCode=="FAI") ||

(UserPnrData.UserSession.AirSearch.FlightLeg[0].DestinationAirportCodee=="HOM")||

(UserPnrData.UserSession.AirSearch.FlightLeg[0].DestinationAirportCode=="JNU") ||

(UserPnrData.UserSession.AirSearch.FlightLeg[0].DestinationAirportCode=="HNL") ||

(UserPnrData.UserSession.AirSearch.FlightLeg[0].DestinationAirportCode=="KOA") ||

(UserPnrData.UserSession.AirSearch.FlightLeg[0].DestinationAirportCode=="LIH") ||

(UserPnrData.UserSession.AirSearch.FlightLeg[0].DestinationAirportCode=="ITO"))

  

{out.print("true");}else

{out.print("false");}

Add to Custom Field Set

Add PTA Collection to the appropriate Custom Field Set

  1. Click Back to Custom Field Configuration.

  1. Navigate back to Custom Field Configurations and click Custom Field Sets.

  1. Select the Set to which you would like to add PTA

  1. Click on Add Collection to Set.

  1. Click the check box next to collection you would like to add to the set and click Add.

  1. Optionally, adjust the order in which the fields appear and select Save.

  1. Confirm Travel Service Rules are updated properly, by ensuring you have the correct custom field sets assigned to the correct groups.

  2. Commit Changes shown at the top of the screen.

  1. Test your settings thoroughly.

Suggest verbiage here around different ways approvers can be added and associated to travelers here.  This being manually then instructions on uploading.

Setting up Permissions

Designating  Approver Status Manually

  1. Click the User tab.

  2. Click Account Permission.

  3. Click Travel Approver Permission.

  4. Click Save.

Assigning Manager Manually to Traveler Profile

  1. Click the Users tab.

  2. Click Personal and Employee Info.

  3. Click Travel Approver Name.

  4. Select an approver from list.

  5. Click Save.

Upload Approver

You can upload a file to establish user-approver relationships. Templates are available under the Profile tab

You may need to upload two separate profile uploads to establish an approver roll, and then a file to assign an approver to the user’s account. If you upload all files at the same time, there may be random issues with one of the files.

Note: Column Header and role is case sensitive

To create an upload and establish Approver Role (See attached template), the following is needed:

To create upload to assign manager to user profile (See attached template) the following is needed:

Note: Ensure all custom fields, corresponding collections, and custom field sets, are created first before uploading profiles containing custom fields. If not, the upload will fail. Follow the same procedures as you would when uploading the Profile Upload.

See HR Feed with Pre-trip Approval for more information.

Pre-trip Offline booked PNRs

  1. The Agency queues the PNR to PNR Synchronization queue listed in Agency settings.
    Note: Deem does not have an independent queue for for Pre-Trip Approval.

  1. Deem will determine if the reservation requires approval via the PTA configurations:

  2. Once approved or declined it will be sent back to the designated queues for processing.

Note: In the event the fare expires, the hotel is within the cancellation policy,  or a trip will commence within the first approvers time window, the system will auto-approve the trip. This is not a configurable item. 

Pre-trip approval messaging

Pending Approval Message

Reminder Approval Message

Approval Message

Declined Message

Declined Auto Cancel Message

Expired Approval Message

Notification Only Email

Pre-trip Status

Status and Explanations

Waiting for Approval: Bookings have not been approved or declined and are within the configured amount of time for review.

Trip Declined: Bookings has been declined by the travel approver.

Canceled: Bookings have been canceled either manually or by the pre-trip approval process if pre-trip approval has been configured to auto-cancel.
Note: Remember to manually cancel any expired trips if pre-trip approval is not configured to auto-cancel. Although the air ticket is not issued, the trip is not auto canceled and could incur hotel penalties.

Confirmed: Bookings which have been approved by primary or secondary approver and sent to ticketing.

Suggest to add section with instructions for approvers to action approval email.  Calling out ability for approver to send message back to the traveler once the decision has been made.