Travel Guard Services 

To:                   St. Lawrence Faculty and Staff

From:               Kathy Mullaney, vice president for finance and treasurer

Date:                August 13, 2009

 Subject:          Travel Services for Cost Savings

Last spring, anticipating budget constraints that President Fox has explained in his Summer Letter, we asked a group of seasoned University faculty and staff travelers to form an ad hoc committee whose purpose was to identify ways we can have greater cost savings when University business takes our employees away from campus.  The committee worked on many options, and has recommended to us that we use Travel Guard to provide business travel services for the St. Lawrence University domestic and international travel. 

You may also use Travel Guard for your personal travel planning.

Simply, Travel Guard will guarantee lowest costs for your travel needs, retaining your preferences and requirements as the central guide.  Travel Guard was founded in 1949 and has had extensive experience in collegiate and business travel, and is committed to providing superior service by leveraging technology. Travel Guard was selected because of their experience with higher education travel requirements and a state-of-the-art Web portal which will simplify airline, hotel and car rental and related travel reservations.

Immediately, our travelers will have access to Marathon’s preferred hotel program providing discounts saving up to 15% off the best available rates, rental car discounts not available otherwise, ticket reissues when air fare rates decrease, and low fare guarantee if you find a cheaper flight, for the same traveler, airline, date and flight, on another Web site on the same day as you made your reservation.  Once we have gathered sufficient data about our air travel, we will be able to negotiate better rates with the airlines.

We strongly encourage use of the system during the fall semester; we expect to require use in the second semester.  We want to use the fall as a period for you to test options and share with us ideas for improvements.

 Services Available Through Travel Guard:

• St. Lawrence University Travel Desk staff accessible 24/7/365 with dedicated telephone number
• Online booking tool for domestic and international travel
• Assistance with individual or group travel
• Assistance reserving lodging and ground transportation     
• Assistance for stranded or delayed travelers
• Emergency medical assistance
• Concierge service and roadside assistance
• Continuous airfare monitoring to capture the lowest fare
• No service fee charged for hotel or car rental reservations

 Agent Assisted Reservations:

Travel Guard has provided St. Lawrence University with a dedicated team of agents and a direct phone number. They can be contacted to assist you with reservations here and abroad.  There is a $10 fee for each airline ticket booked using online booking and a $30 fee ($50 for international flights) for each airline ticket booked using an agent.

For further information, please contact
Mary Cosmo
Controller
315-229-5564
mcosmo@stlawu.edu