B-296090.4, Kola Nut Travel, Inc., August 25, 2005

B-296090.4 Aug 25, 2005 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Kola Nut Travel, Inc. protests the Department of the Army's award of contracts to Alamo Travel Group and Wingate Travel, Inc. for travel management services under request for proposals (RFP) No. W91-QUZ-04-R-0003. Kola Nut maintains that the agency failed to properly evaluate its technical proposal and that the awardees' proposals reflect improper contingent fee agreements. We deny the protest. View Decision B-296090.4, Kola Nut Travel, Inc., August 25, 2005 DOCUMENT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE The decision issued on the date below was subject to a GAO Protective Order. This redacted version has been approved for public release. Decision Matter of: Kola Nut Travel, Inc. File: B-296090.4 Date: August 25, 2005 Bryant S. Banes, Esq., for the protester. Josephine L. Ursini, Esq., for Alamo Travel Group and Wingate Travel, Inc., intervenors. Lt. Col. Frank A. March, Department of the Army, for the agency. Glenn G. Wolcott, Esq., and Michael R. Golden, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST 1. Agency's contemporaneous evaluation record reasonably supports the agency's evaluation of protester's technical proposal as merely –acceptable.— 2. Where awardees' consultant will earn a fee based on profits earned during the awardees' performance of the contract, and there is no evidence of improper influence on government officials regarding the contract award decisions--rather, the record reflects that award was made on the basis of the awardees' significantly lower prices and higher rated technical proposals--the agreement between the awardees and the consultant does not violate the statutory and regulatory limitations on contingent fees. DECISION Kola Nut Travel, Inc. protests the Department of the Army's award of contracts to Alamo Travel Group and Wingate Travel, Inc. for travel management services under request for proposals (RFP) No. W91-QUZ-04-R-0003. Kola Nut maintains that the agency failed to properly evaluate its technical proposal and that the awardees' proposals reflect improper contingent fee agreements. We deny the protest. BACKGROUND The Army published the solicitation at issue here in February 2004, seeking proposals to provide travel management and related services for Department of Defense (DOD) travelers whose duty stations are within several specified travel areas.[1] The solicitation contemplated separate contract awards for each of the specified travel areas; accordingly, the agency performed separate evaluations and source selection decisions with regard to each area. All travel areas were set aside for small businesses, and offerors were permitted to submit proposals for any or all areas. Kola Nut's protest challenges the agency's contract awards to Alamo for travel area 67, and to Wingate for travel areas 72 and 82. The solicitation advised offerors that proposals would be evaluated on the basis of the following factors, listed in descending order of importance: technical,[2] price,[3] and performance risk.[4] With regard to proposed price, the solicitation recognized that travel service contractors may receive airline commissions, as well as utilization fees from global distribution system (GDS) providers.[5] Kola Nut acknowledges that each offeror's proposed price is significantly affected by the level of commissions or utilization fees that the offeror is able to negotiate with the airlines and GDS providers.[6] Kola Nut Submission (June 22, 2005) at 3. On or before the specified closing dates, proposals were submitted for the travel areas at issue by several offerors including Alamo, Wingate, and Kola Nut.[7] The prices proposed by Alamo and Wingate were considerably lower than the prices proposed by Kola Nut. In this regard, Alamo and Wingate advised the agency that they were associated with a group of travel agencies who, with the common assistance of a consultant, Mr.