1. Name and Address of Customer
DRI Libya Office
C/o Democracy Reporting International gGmbH Elbestr. 28/29
12045 Berlin Germany
2. About Democracy Reporting International
Democracy Reporting International gGmbH (DRI) is a non-partisan, independent, not-for-profit international non-governmental organization registered in Berlin, Germany, and operating in different parts of the world. DRI has been working on Libya since 2012 and is registered in Libya since early 2019.
3. Objective of the Tender
DRI calls for this tender in order to provide travel agency services for its project staff, consultants and project stakeholders inside and outside of Libya (i.e. Tunisia), including air travel services and hotel reservation services. This tender is advertised for public procurement. The awarding of the framework contract for the travel agency services shall be given to a Libya based service provider which provides the best ratio between price and quality of services.
4. Contract value and duration
The framework contract duration is from the 15 June 2021 until 14 December 2022 with the possibility of extension.
5. Scope of Services
DRI will be organizing several events inside and outside Libya, targeting participants from all regions of Libya (east, west, and south). To facilitate the organization and implementation of these events, we request the following services:
- Booking domestic and international flight tickets on behalf of DRI for its participants on available carriers and through various Libyan airports, that have been chosen by the participants themselves in advance.
- Compensate DRI’s partners and participants based on reimbursement of travel expenses especially the local transportation through Libyan cities and regions provided that the maximum cost is determined by DRI.
- Providing hotel reservation services in various Libyan cities, whether to book venue, coffee breaks or to provide accommodation to participants at hotels, that fall within the accepted reimbursement criteria and have been chosen by the participants themselves during their travel, in coordination with DRI, and in adherence to the activity plan, specifications and standards required.
- Coordinating with DRI staff to facilitate events in different regions of Libya for the services listed above.
6. Description of the services required
a. Bookings via service manager
The service shall be carried out by a person designated for this purpose in direct coordination with DRI and in adherence to the dates, timing and venues agreed upon with DRI. The person providing services under this contract shall be proficient in Arabic.
Requests may be sent by e-mail, or phone calls by an authorised representative of DRI. The list of authorised representatives will be submitted to the travel agency.
The service manager is in charge of advising travellers, confirming reservations, issuing and delivering tickets and carrying out cancellations and re-bookings.
DRI will provide all the required data on the participants at the time specified to the Agency, thus contributing to the quality and timing of service.
b. Booking of domestic and international flight tickets
The travel agency shall be able to find and present various travel options/schedules to the participants especially day flights and connecting flights to a requested destination. The airline company presented in options offered by the travel agency should respect the standard of safety. As a rule, the travel agency shall present the economically most favourable travel options to minimise transit/connection time and stopovers. The travel agency shall always present the cheapest option based on Economy Class rates unless otherwise instructed by DRI. The travel agency shall ensure the following:
- That all levies, taxes are included in the quoted price.
- That all itineraries are presented in English.
- That all itineraries include information about the luggage allowance.
- That it includes at least two itinerary options indicating departure/arrival times (always in local time), price including fare and taxes, deadline for issuing the ticket and conditions of re-booking and cancellations.
The travel agency shall furthermore adhere to the following requirements:
- Reservations are to be kept on hold for the maximum period the airlines are offering.
- All itineraries presented should be logistically feasible for the traveller to make connecting flights.
- Provide information about additional fees and procedure for a given airline related to rescheduling flights, the cancellation policy and the luggage policy.
- For wait-listed bookings, the travel agency shall provide regular feedback on status of flight and continuously endeavour to secure confirmation until it is obtained.
c. Local Transportation service (Reimbursement of road transport expenses)
The participants should choose the means of transportation themselves and pay the costs directly to the owners of these means. The travel agency is then requested to reimburse them for these amounts directly (up to the value limit agreed upon with DRI based on the distances and in accordance with DRI Libya’s travel policy especially with regard to the ceiling of the prices set (in the case of car transport the price is 0.500 LYD per kilometre so that the cost does not exceed 650 LYD per return trip per person the whole trip. (annex)).
The travel agency should coordinate directly with participants about the schedule of their road trip.
The travel agency is to include this cost within the final invoice provided to the DRI. The travel agency may therefore not invoice DRI for more than what is set out in this article, even if it paid a higher amount to reimburse the participant.
d. Hotel and venues reservation service
During the trip, for some participants having to travel long distances to the airports, one-night stay can be covered with meals for the entire trip (except in special cases, another night may be added after coordination with DRI in advance).
Participants should choose their own hotels. The travel agency is then requested to reimburse them for these amounts directly, the full cost of accommodation should not exceed 320 LYD per single room and 530 LYD for the double room road travel.
Hotel accommodation should be reasonable in price and conveniently located in relation to the traveller’s business destination as well as provide an internet connection.
In case of the team members travel or DRI is organizing an event within Libya, DRI may want to request the offers of several hotels, community halls or other venues based on the security service provider assessment in accordance with the standards of safety and specifications required and prices. This service might include provide group bookings or single bookings and renting equipped meeting rooms inside or outside hotels, with coffee breaks, extra meals if needed.
All costs of the required services (hotel, meeting room) during the organization of events in various Libyan regions, are covered by the travel agency and invoiced to DRI in accordance with DRI Libya’s travel policy.
Itineraries shall be presented in English and where possible, indicating the accommodation fees, meals, departure/arrival date with a price and the conditions of re-booking and cancellations.
7. Quality of Service
The travel agency agrees by submitting their bid that their service manager can be reached by phone or email from Sunday through Thursday from 9:00 to 18:00. The travel agency shall provide emergency services outside regular working hours through a 24-hour phone number, available to DRI. The bidder should ensure a response with an itinerary within six hours after the initial request.
8. Invoicing
The travel agency shall, after ensuring that the service is provided as agreed without defect, provide a clear, comprehensive, and detailed service and cost invoice backed by supporting documents (ticket copies, hotel bills, and distance maps in case of land transport).
Therefore, DRI is committed to pay the full amount in Euro according to the official exchange rate announced on the day of receipt of the invoice, via bank transfer to the Euro bank account of the Agency (account in the name of the Agency).
Thus, the travel agency shall provide fees for its services within the final invoice by specifying the price of the service it bought in addition to the fee the travel agency charged DRI for securing the service. The fee for securing the service could vary depending on the nature of the service being provided. The following are a few examples:
- Fees for booking an internal air ticket
- Fees for booking international air ticket
- Fees for booking a hotel
- Fee for booking an event venue
- Etc.
The Travel Agency shall submit its offer based on determining a percentage of the service cost.
DRI will not be obligated to compensate or pay any additional amounts not included in the plan or the agreement between DRI and the Agency. If additional costs arise due to changes in circumstances, the Agency must notify DRI and obtain prior approval.
The travel agency shall be capable of accepting payments through bank transfer (for all services). Payments of services provided shall be released within (30) thirty days after submission and acceptance of invoices and original supporting documentations. DRI shall not be held responsible for any delay that might have been caused by the banks during transfer.
9. Required Documents to be Submitted
- Bidder Information Form (Annex I)
- Financial Bid (Annex II)
- Declaration of Honour (Annex III)
- Presentation of the designated team (e.g. years of experience, required language skills)
- Presentation of the buying behaviour of the travel agency (How does the travel agency ensure that the most economical rate is booked at the time of booking? How can we ensure that the travel agency receives the best rate at the time of booking? Are web rates considered? Are Low-Cost Airlines considered? How will the travel agency ensure that the booking is in compliance with DRI’s travel policy?)
- Presentation of service quality (service/availability outside the required office times—Sunday through Thursday 9:00–18:00—; 24h emergency number; cancellation policy; complaint management; knowledge and skills of the designated travel agency staff; who will be the contact person(s) for DRI; guaranteed response time after receiving a request/communication from DRI (max. 6 hours); presentation of the travel portal with desirable trial access)
- List of current corporate clients serviced by the travel agency (DRI reserves the right to contact one of the clients for a reference check with prior notice to the travel agency)
- Business licence and official registration and other relevant ministerial documentation
- Certificate of cooperation with a CO2 offsetting company or a self-declaration that such cooperation will be entered once the contract is awarded if available.
The Annexes can be downloaded here
Note: Only fully completed bids can be considered in the selection process.
10. Disclaimer:
The submission for this tender document does not entail any commitment on the part of DRI, either financial or otherwise.
11. Submission of Bids:
Completed tender document with original signed Annexes should be submitted via courier/post until 6 of June 2021, 1:00 pm (Tunis time), in a sealed envelope clearly marked with
“Tender – Travel Agency Services – Do not open”
to the following address:
Democracy Reporting International gGmbH
12 bis, Rue du Lieutenant Bejaoui Menzah V, 2091 Ariana
Tunisia
Or by email to [email protected]
The bids received after the deadline shall not be considered. Documents sent by fax shall not be accepted.
12. Questions:
Any requests for clarification about the contents of the tender document shall be sent no later than 30th of May 2021 to the following email address: [email protected] DRI will endeavour to provide a response/clarification expeditiously; any delay in providing such information will not be considered a reason for extending the submission deadline. DRI will share the responses on its website which will be available to all bidders. Bids with incomplete submissions may be rejected.
13. Award Procedure
Proposals will be evaluated according to Annex-IV – Technical & Financial Evaluation Form and the contract will be awarded on best value for money basis.
14. Operational Language
Written communication regarding this tender may be in English or Arabic.
15. Additional Information
Submitting a bid implies acceptance by the bidder of all terms and conditions outlined in this document and its annexes.
16. Confidentiality:
The entire evaluation procedure is confidential.
17. Notification of Award:
The successful bidder will be informed in writing that their tender has been accepted.