CW Government Travel, Inc. v. United States

99 Fed. Cl. 666, 2011 WL 4363087
CourtUnited States Court of Federal Claims
DecidedSeptember 16, 2011
DocketNo. 11-298 C
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 99 Fed. Cl. 666 (CW Government Travel, Inc. v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Court of Federal Claims primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
CW Government Travel, Inc. v. United States, 99 Fed. Cl. 666, 2011 WL 4363087 (uscfc 2011).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

GEORGE W. MILLER, Judge.

CW Government Travel, Inc., doing business as CWTSATOTravel (“CWT”), filed this bid protest challenging General Service Administration (“GSA”) Solicitation No. QMAD-JM-100001-N (“Solicitation”), which seeks offers to provide various federal agencies with web-based travel management services. CWT requests declaratory and injunc-tive relief against GSA’s inclusion of certain provisions in the Solicitation. For the reasons set forth below, the Court GRANTS IN PART CWT’s motion for judgment on the administrative record and holds that GSA’s use of the 15-year fixed pricing schedule violates customary commercial practice and is, in the absence of a valid waiver, arbitrary, capricious, and contrary to law. The Court DENIES CWT’s motion with respect to its remaining claims. The Court GRANTS IN PART the Government and defendant-inter-venor’s cross-motions for judgment on the administrative record with respect to all claims other than the 15-year fixed pricing schedule, and the Court DENIES the Government and defendant-intervenor’s cross-motions with respect to the 15-year fixed pricing schedule.

I. Background

A. E-Gov Travel Service 1

CWT is a private travel services corporation with its principal place of business in Arlington, Virginia. Compl. ¶ 5. GSA manages travel policy for federal government agencies and has procurement authority for travel programs throughout the federal government. Def.’s Mot. at 3.

[670]*670In 2003, GSA implemented the E-Gov Travel Service, a system by which federal civilian agency employees procure official travel and accommodations. AR 4670. In November 2003, GSA awarded ten-year contracts for the first generation E-Gov Travel Service contractor program (“ETS1”) to provide federal agencies with commercial web-based travel management services to three contractors: CWT, Hewlett Packard, and Northrop Grumman. AR 4670-71. The contracts were each performance-based, indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (“ID/IQ”) contracts to procure travel management services as commercial items pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation (“FAR”) Part 12. AR 4670-71. The three ETS1 contracts are set to expire on November 11, 2013, and, as a result, GSA is implementing a follow-on procurement for the next generation of automated travel management contracts, currently referred to as E-Gov Travel Service 2 (“ETS2”). AR 4671.

B. ETS2 Solicitation

In preparation for the ETS2 acquisition, GSA conducted various forms of market research, which included participating in industry events focusing on business and corporate travel management, reviewing trade association publications, participating in exchanges with industry representatives, reviewing industry publications, and working with GSA employees with commercial travel industry backgrounds. AR 4671. In addition, GSA surveyed government agencies and firms to determine their ability to configure solutions for customer needs. AR 4284-89. Based on that research and its experience with ETS1, GSA decided to again contract with private third-parties for its travel services. AR 4677.

On August 23, 2010, GSA issued the Solicitation at issue in this case for the provision of travel management services through the ETS2 program as a commercial item. AR 766. The Solicitation contemplates the award of a firm, fixed-price, ID/IQ contract to one or more contractors. AR 36. The performance period is fifteen years, with a base period of three years and three four-year option periods. AR 4. GSA anticipates that ETS2 will provide significant aspects of federal business travel, including travel planning, authorization, reservations, ticketing, fulfillment, expense reimbursement, and travel management reporting. AR 33.

The Solicitation Statement of Work includes numerous tasks, which are categorized as either “mandatory” or as “objectives.” CWT raises several challenges against the following nine categories of provisions contained in the Solicitation:

Federal Travel Policy Compliance. The Solicitation requires that the contractor provide a “Policy Reinforcement Feature” that authorizes the Government or the contractor to update the ETS2 system to reflect changes in federal travel policies and regulations on the effective dates of the changes without the need for reprogramming. AR 44.

Travel Management Centers. Travel management centers provide traditional travel services and are staffed with travel agents. PL’s Mot. at 14. An accommodated travel management center “is a third-party contractor selected by one of the 70 potential customer Federal agencies to serve as the provider of that agency’s travel management center sendees.” Pl.’s Mot. at 14. The Solicitation requires that the contractor accommodate any change in an agency’s travel management center, AR 67, and GSA has estimated the cost to the contractor of accommodating such changes to be between $5000 and $50,000. Pl.’s Reply at 15-16 (citing AR 4290).

Federal Enterprise Architecture. Federal Enterprise Architecture (“FEA”) refers to the Government’s best practices for information systems, and is designed to facilitate the sharing of information and resources among federal agencies. AR 4685-86 (Contracting Officer (“CO”) Statement of Facts). The terms of the Solicitation require that the contractor comply with and incorporate changes in the FEA over the life of the contract. AR 97.

Security Capabilities and Characteristics. The Solicitation requires that the contractor meet or exceed security standards set by GSA, the National Institute of Standards and [671]*671Technology, the Office of Management and Budget, and “other Federal laws and mandates within the accreditation boundary.” AR 103.

Mobile Devices. The Solicitation contemplates that the contractor will seek to provide a full range of ETS2 services on mobile devices, AR 37, incorporate software capabilities to utilize the ETS2 system on mobile platforms, AR 40, 43, provide travel itinerary on mobile platforms, AR 52, and support the capability for travelers to submit electronic images of expense receipts through mobile devices, AR 80.

Reports. The Solicitation requires that the contractor provide standard reports regarding information about the status of travel documents and operational information concerning travel plans whenever such reports are deemed necessary by the Program Management Office. AR 135.

Agency Business Systems. The Solicitation requires that the contractor “integrate with ... agency business systems bi-directionally, such as financial, human resources, [and] charge card vendors.... The Contractor shall include all costs associated with establishing standard integration configuration ... in its voucher fee pricing.” AR 127.

Government Credit Card Vendors. Section C.4.2.26.1 requires that a contractor support an agency’s credit card account transition “either because of the end of the SmartPay 2 contract or [because] an agency changes them SmartPay 2 vendor.” AR 96 (capitalization altered). Such a transition requires the contractor “to develop and deliver a comprehensive, agency-specific Transition Plan that ensures no disruption of service during normal business hours” and to provide resources such as hardware, software, and personnel to achieve a transition without disruption of service. AR 96.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
99 Fed. Cl. 666, 2011 WL 4363087, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cw-government-travel-inc-v-united-states-uscfc-2011.