As COVID-19 cases have decreased, the travel industry has experienced a surge as people resume traveling. Additionally, a labor shortage has further complicated travel with high airline cancellation rates and other logistical problems. Similarly, the University’s travel volume has tripled within the past few months, creating backlogs for the University's travel agency, Anthony Travel.
The University is responding to this situation and addressing feedback from Pitt travelers in the following ways:
Effective April 25, 2022, the University has updated its COVID-19 Standards & Guidelines to suspend certain requirements. Most notably, travelers are no longer required to book travel using Anthony Travel and the Concur online booking tool.
The Concur online booking tool, Anthony Travel, and the University Travel Card remain the preferred methods to book travel and pay for travel expenses, when available or accepted, to take advantage of university-negotiated discounts. Booking within the University’s Travel Program via Concur and Anthony Travel also reduces audit and compliance risks with federal or state regulatory agencies, especially those that monitor grants. Visit this page to review the full benefits of the Travel Program.
University members are still required to comply with other COVID-19 Standards & Guidelines for travel, which include registering international travel to provide travelers with travel safety information, and to facilitate assistance for in-travel health and other emergencies. If you are not booking via Concur or Anthony Travel, instructions for manually registering your travel with iSOS may be found here.
The University is also removing fees associated with booking travel within its Travel Program. Effective May 1, 2022, the fee to book via the Concur online booking tool ($10) and the Anthony Travel agent-assist fee ($25) will no longer be charged. In addition, students booking travel in connection with an academic program using their own funds will no longer be charged the $5 booking fee if they use Anthony Travel to access Pitt discounts. Moreover, departments will not be charged the 3% fee for foreign currency transactions when using the University Travel Card. We are working with our card provider to eliminate the fee and will provide additional instructions as soon as possible.
To further support University travelers, Anthony Travel recently added temporary “surge” staff, as well as experienced agents that are dedicated to Pitt travelers. When arranging travel, please:
- Book early and be flexible with airlines and travel times.
- First try to self-book using the Concur online booking tool via the MyPitt portal, which automatically registers your travel with iSOS, transfers booking information to your expense report, and offers University-negotiated discounts.
- If the assistance of an agent for complex travel is required and you cannot reach Anthony Travel, or you cannot find the flights, or other travel services using the Concur online booking tool, you may book using other platforms. Please be aware that other travel agencies will charge a fee and there are often additional costs at checkout for baggage, seat upgrades, priority boarding, etc. when you book outside of Concur/Anthony Travel.
For any questions related to travel and travel expenses, please visit the Travel & Expense Management page or contact Purchase, Pay & Travel Customer Service.