CW Government Travel, Inc.--Reconsideration; CW Government Travel,, B-295530.2; B-295530.3; B-295530.4, July 25, 2005

CW Government Travel, Inc.--Reconsideration; CW Government Travel,, B-295530.2; B-295530.3; B-295530.4, July 25, 2005 TITLE: CW Government Travel, Inc.--Reconsideration; CW Government Travel,, B-295530.2; B-295530.3; B-295530.4, July 25, 2005 BNUMBER: B-295530.2; B-295530.3; B-295530.4 DATE: July 25, 2005 ********************************************************************** Decision Matter of: CW Government Travel, Inc.--Reconsideration; CW Government Travel, Inc.; CI Travel; The Alamo Travel Group; National Travel Service; Bay Area Travel; Knowledge Connections File: B-295530.2; B-295530.3; B-295530.4 Date: July 25, 2005 Lars E. Anderson, Esq., Benjamin A. Winter, Esq., and Julia M. Kiraly, Esq., Venable LLP, for CW Government Travel, Inc.; and Josephine L. Ursini, Esq., for CI Travel, The Alamo Travel Group, National Travel Service, Bay Area Travel, and Knowledge Connections, the protesters. Marc Stec, Esq., for SatoTravel, an intervenor. Raymond M. Saunders, Esq., and Maj. Anissa N. Parekh, Department of the Army, for the agency. Jonathan L. Kang, Esq., and Michael R. Golden, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST 1. Protest challenging solicitation's price evaluation scheme is sustained where offerors are not required to propose binding transaction and management fees for the services being procured under the solicitation, thereby precluding the agency from meaningfully evaluating proposals' cost to the government, and where the agency has not explained why it cannot request and evaluate this pricing information. 2. Request for reconsideration of prior bid protest decision is denied where new information regarding agency's determination of solicitation's guaranteed minimum amount provides no basis to disturb the decision. DECISION CW Government Travel, Inc. (CWGTI), CI Travel, The Alamo Travel Group, National Travel Service, Bay Area Travel, and Knowledge Connections protest the terms of request for proposals (RFP) No. W91QUZ-04-R-0014, issued by the Department of the Army for commercial travel office services under the developmental, automated Defense Travel System (DTS) program.[1] The protesters primarily contend that the price evaluation scheme of the RFP is flawed. CWGTI additionally requests reconsideration of our decision in CW Gov't Travel, Inc., B-295530, Mar. 7, 2005, 2005 CPD Paragraph 59, in which we concluded that the RFP's guaranteed minimum amount was legally adequate. We sustain the protests in part and deny them in part. We also deny the request for reconsideration. The RFP anticipates multiple awards of indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (ID/IQ) contracts for Department of Defense (DOD) worldwide travel agent services. The base ordering period is 2 years, with three 1-year option ordering periods. RFP amend. 9, at 22. Subsequent task orders will be competed among the ID/IQ contract awardees. The RFP seeks to consolidate and standardize travel services within DOD under a single procuring activity. The DTS services are intended to replace "traditional" travel services, which require direct communication between government travel customers and travel agents, with an automated, paperless system. However, because of ongoing DTS transition efforts under a separate contract, the contractors will be required to provide both traditional non-automated as well as DTS services. Task orders will be issued for various regions, and the task order amounts will consist of transaction fees paid to contractors for processing travel arrangements and fixed-price monthly management fees for provision of travel support services. During the performance of task orders, individual DOD activities will place travel orders with the contractors which have received task orders; the contractor will process the travel transaction using the ordering activity's funds, and will receive a fee for each transaction processed. The RFP states that award will be made to responsible offerors whose proposals are "the most advantageous/best value" to the government based on the following factors, in decreasing order of importance: performance risk, technical, extent of participation of small and small disadvantaged business concerns, and price. RFP amend. 9, at 23. The non-price factors, when combined, "are significantly more important than price." Id. The RFP requires offerors to respond to two sample tasks to evaluate "[o]fferor's capability to perform travel services in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Request for Proposal[s] under the Full and Open solicitation." RFP amend. 10, Sample Tasks, at 1.