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NYU Global Travel Tips

This newsletter is a collection of handy bits of information and resources to help you use the Travel and Expense system (powered by SAP Concur) to book travel with ease.

TROUBLESHOOTING PROFILE ERRORS

We have received a number of inquiries regarding a booking error when attempting to finalize travel. The error reads “Sorry, something went wrong”, and looks like this:

This is a screenshot of a common error page on Concur.

This is a screenshot of a common error page on Concur.

The majority of these errors are being caused by issues within traveler profiles. We are including solutions below:

Add dashes to phone numbers
For example: should read 212-123-4567 vs 2121234567
Remove all special characters from addresses (personal address, billing address)
Note: CTA card billing address is 194 Mercer Street, New York, NY 10012
Remove extra spaces in any required fields
Note: it helps to delete the fields entirely and re-add them.
Note: often when copying & pasting, an extra space is added.
Remove special characters in fields where they are not permitted
Note: special characters are defined as non-alphabetic or non-numeric character, such as -, @, #, $, %, &, * and +

If the error message persists after attempting all of these solutions, reach out to our team.

On frequent flier numbers:

Any frequent flier numbers associated with a traveler must be registered with a name that exactly matches the name as it appears in the Concur travel profile, including, but not limited to: spelling, prefix, suffix, middle name and/or initial, dashes, etc.

In order to rectify any frequent flier number errors, you must:

Delete the frequent flier number from the Concur profile.
Contact the airline in question and change the name on the frequent flier account to match the Concur profile EXACTLY (prefix, middle initial, etc.)
Once the name change is complete, add the frequent flier number back into the Concur profile. There should no longer be an error.

If the error message persists after attempting all of these solutions, reach out to our team.

INCREASING YOUR SEARCH RESULTS IN CONCUR

If the flight you’re looking to book is available on the airline referenced, then it will show up in Concur as long as the search engine is being prompted with the correct information.

When you are using the search engine, the default setting for domestic flights is a 9am departure plus/minus 3 hours and international flights is a 9am departure plus/minus 5 hours. The same is true for the return. Your search results will be limited based on these default departure/return windows. In other words, if you do not manipulate the search tool, your domestic flight results would only appear if they occur between 6am and 12pm. All other flights will be excluded.

Additionally, the default setting is to search for "economy class." If a flight that you are looking for does not have economy class available, the flight will not appear in the search results.

Here’s how to increase your search results in Concur:

Our recommendation when searching for flights is to adjust the departure and return time window to plus/minus 12 hours, which will then give you results for ALL flights on the calendar day that you are searching.
If you click on the Class dropdown menu and choose “mixed classes”, it will expand the variety of your search results. You will be able to choose from any class that is available on the results page. You can simply click on the class of service so that you are pricing and booking your desired class of service.
Making these changes in your initial search will ensure that ALL available classes of service will appear, including economy if applicable.

This is a screenshot of the Concur Travel search tool that shows the dropdown menus within “Depart” and “Return” where you can manipulate the windows of time (we recommend plus/minus 12) and the dropdown menu for “Class” (we recommend Mixed).

This is a screenshot of the Concur Travel search tool that shows the dropdown menus within “Depart” and “Return” where you can manipulate the windows of time (we recommend plus/minus 12) and the dropdown menu for “Class” (we recommend Mixed).

This is a screenshot of a sample Concur Travel search result that shows the dropdown menu where you can price and book your desired class of service.

This is a screenshot of a sample Concur Travel search result that shows the dropdown menu where you can price and book your desired class of service.

PRE-PAYING FOR HOTEL BOOKINGS

A number of NYU travelers wish to charge their hotel booking to a department CTA card but are asked to provide a personal credit card upon check-in for payment of the reservation. To ensure that the charges are being applied to your department CTA card, please call or have your delegate call the hotel ahead of time to complete the hotel’s prepayment process. Charging a hotel booking to a department CTA card in Concur does not guarantee prepayment.

Here are a few more steps/guidelines to make your hotel stay easier:

Make the reservation first, then request a prepayment authorization form. Most hotels will not send a credit card authorization form without a reservation number.
Ensure that you have confirmed what charges were authorized on the department CTA card. Some departments will cover only room and tax, while others will cover all incidentals as well.
Be prepared to present a personal credit card for the hotel to authorize incidentals. Even if the hotel has the appropriate prepayment authorization, some hotels still require you to present a credit card in the traveler’s name upon check in.
Check out at the front desk! To avoid any charges being applied to the incorrect credit card, we strongly recommend checking out at the front desk and ensuring that the hotel staff is charging the department CTA card prior to your departure from the hotel. While this may not be necessary a lot of the time, sometimes mistakes can be made by the hotel staff when multiple credit cards are tied to one reservation.

Pro tip:
Certain larger hotel chains, such as Marriott, can send a link for the department CTA card details to be added online.

Additional Support

As a CTA/T&E cardholder, occasional Travel Tips will continue to arrive in your Inbox. Please share them with the frequent travelers and travel delegates in your department/unit.

You may find our resources on the NYU Traveler page and contact our team directly with travel-specific questions: procure.travelandevents@nyu.edu.

You may also visit the Travel and Expense website or contact FinanceLink at AskFinanceLink@nyu.edu or 212-998-1111.