Fare comparison

For each trip the coordinator gathers the realistic options: the direct flight and the one-stop, the preferred hotel and the one next to the client’s office, the train and the plane. Each option records its route, the date it was quoted, the fare in US dollars and the travel policy version it was checked against. Options sit under the booking, so the approver sees every alternative the coordinator considered alongside the chosen one.

Options start as Draft. The coordinator submits the preferred option for review with supporting evidence, such as a screenshot of the fare search. Route, quote date, fare and policy version are checked against that evidence, and the submitted version is frozen. An approved option is still only a quote: the supplier’s own confirmation is needed before anything is booked.

• Several options per trip. Record each realistic alternative with route, quote date and fare.
• Policy version on every option. The option names the policy version that applied when it was quoted, so a later policy change does not rewrite past decisions.
• Submit one, keep the rest. The preferred option is submitted for review. The others stay on the trip as the comparison.

Agree how many options a coordinator should gather for each trip type, for example three for flights over 500 USD. Agree how policy versions are named, such as “Travel Policy 2026.1”. Agree what evidence must back a submitted option, and how long a quote stays valid before it must be refreshed. Agree how routes are written, for example origin, destination and connection.

A consultant needs to fly from Boston to Denver for a client workshop on April 8. The coordinator records three options: a nonstop at 612 USD, a one-stop via Chicago at 438 USD and a nonstop the evening before at 455 USD, all quoted on March 20 under policy 2026.1. Policy allows the lowest logical fare within two hours of the preferred time.

The coordinator submits the evening-before nonstop, attaching the fare search. The approver compares it with the other two options on the trip and approves it: it is within policy and avoids an early-morning connection. The nonstop on the day stays on record as the option not chosen.

• Fare Comparison — All options for each trip with route, quote date, fare, policy version and status.
• Approved Options — Options approved for booking, with fare, policy version and decision date.

• Request to approved fare: Compare options and take the preferred one through review.

Review the data model before importing open trips.