Corporate Travel RFP Template for Indian Enterprises: Complete Guide + Sample Questions
When to Issue an RFP vs. Direct Selection
Not every TMC selection requires a formal Request for Proposal process. The decision depends on annual travel spend, internal procurement governance requirements, and whether the organisation is making a first-time selection or renewing an existing relationship.
| Scenario | Recommended Approach | Minimum Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Annual travel spend above ₹5 crore | Formal RFP mandatory | 12–16 weeks |
| Annual travel spend ₹2–₹5 crore | Structured RFI + 2-vendor comparison | 8–10 weeks |
| Annual travel spend below ₹2 crore | Direct selection with reference check | 4–6 weeks |
| Renewal of existing TMC contract | Benchmarking exercise + limited RFP | 8 weeks |
| Listed company or PSU with procurement policy | Formal RFP regardless of spend | 12–16 weeks |
RFP Structure: 7 Sections
Provide vendors with accurate travel data so they can respond with relevant pricing and capability statements. Include: 12-month spend by category (hotel/air/ground), top 10 origin-destination city pairs, traveller grade distribution, average trip duration, peak travel months, and any planned headcount or office changes. The more precise this data, the more comparable the commercial proposals you receive.
Specify your minimum technology requirements: self-booking tool with mobile app, configurable approval workflows, policy engine with mandatory and advisory rules, management reporting with data export, and any specific ERP/HRMS integration requirements (SAP, Oracle, Tally, Workday, Darwinbox). Ask vendors to confirm compliance for each requirement and provide screenshots or demo access for shortlisted candidates.
Request the total number of directly contracted hotel properties in India with breakdown by city tier. Ask for sample rate comparisons against your current spend data for three to five key corridors. Require vendors to confirm their process for adding preferred properties not currently in their inventory, and their approach to corporate rate negotiations on your behalf.
This section must be unambiguous. Require vendors to confirm: invoice generation within 48 hours of check-out, 100% GSTIN capture at booking, a contractual commitment to correct or reissue defective invoices within 72 hours, and a named contact responsible for ITC reconciliation queries. Ask for their current invoice accuracy rate and the process for handling non-GST-registered properties.
Require an itemised fee schedule covering: per-transaction fees (hotel, air, ground), amendment and cancellation fees, account management fees, implementation and onboarding costs, and any minimum commitment requirements. Ask vendors to separate their own fees from any supplier commissions or overrides they receive. Request a total cost of ownership estimate based on your travel profile data from Section 1.
Specify service level requirements and ask vendors to confirm compliance or propose alternatives. Define escalation paths, account management structure, and the division between self-service and agent-assisted channels. Request the TMC's current SLA performance data for existing enterprise clients of similar size.
Request a minimum of three enterprise client references with comparable travel spend profiles. References should be willing to take a 20-minute structured phone call with your evaluation team. Verify that references represent current relationships (within the last 24 months), not legacy accounts.
40 Sample RFP Questions
Technology (Questions 1–10)
- Provide a live demonstration account for evaluators to test the self-booking tool during the evaluation period.
- Does your mobile application support booking, itinerary management, and expense submission? What platforms (iOS/Android) and minimum OS versions are supported?
- Describe your policy engine: how are policies configured, how are advisory vs. mandatory rules enforced, and how are policy exceptions captured?
- What approval workflow configurations does your platform support? Provide examples of multi-level, amount-based, and destination-based approval rules.
- List all ERP and HRMS systems your platform currently integrates with in India. Provide integration documentation for any system relevant to our environment.
- What is the uptime SLA for your booking platform? Provide historical uptime data for the past 12 months.
- Describe your data security posture: certifications held (ISO 27001, SOC 2), data residency (India vs. offshore), and data access controls.
- How are unused tickets and credits tracked and surfaced to the travel manager? What is your unused ticket recovery rate for enterprise clients?
- Describe the standard management reporting module: available reports, refresh frequency, and data export formats.
- What is your standard implementation timeline for an enterprise of our profile, and who is the primary implementation contact?
Hotel Inventory (Questions 11–18)
- How many hotel properties in India do you have under direct contract? Provide a breakdown by Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 cities.
- List your top 20 India hotel group partnerships and the scope of those agreements (rate, availability, invoicing).
- Provide sample rate comparisons for our top five hotel corridors using our volume as a reference.
- What is your process for loading a preferred property that is not currently in your inventory?
- Do you provide rate auditing against GDS best-available rates? If so, describe the methodology.
- How do you handle hotel GST compliance for properties that are not GST-registered?
- What is your cancellation and no-show management process? How are charges reconciled and disputes managed?
- Describe your hotel sourcing process for Tier 3 cities and manufacturing/industrial towns where chain hotels are limited.
GST and Compliance (Questions 19–25)
- Provide a sample GST invoice for a hotel booking, showing all mandatory fields under CGST/SGST/IGST rules.
- What is your contractual commitment on GST invoice delivery timeline after check-out?
- What is your current GST invoice accuracy rate across your enterprise client base? How is accuracy measured?
- Describe your process for correcting or reissuing defective GST invoices. What is the maximum turnaround time?
- How do you support ITC reconciliation — do you provide GSTR-2A matching reports or similar reconciliation tools?
- What are your obligations if a hotel invoice causes a client to miss the ITC filing deadline? Is financial compensation available?
- How do you ensure traveller GSTIN is correctly captured for each booking, including last-minute and emergency bookings?
Pricing and SLAs (Questions 26–33)
- Provide a complete fee schedule, itemising all per-transaction charges, monthly/annual fees, and any contingent fees.
- What fees apply to amendments, cancellations, and rebooking? Are these capped or uncapped?
- Do you receive commissions or overrides from hotels, airlines, or ground transport providers? If so, how are these disclosed and how do they affect the rates shown to travellers?
- What is your minimum contract term? What are the exit provisions if performance standards are not met?
- What SLA do you commit to for online booking confirmation? For agent-assisted booking in business hours? For after-hours emergency bookings?
- What SLA do you commit to for GST invoice delivery post check-out?
- What is your escalation SLA for critical incidents (stranded traveller, medical emergency, flight cancellation affecting multiple travellers)?
- What financial penalties apply for SLA breach? Provide the penalty schedule.
References and Account Management (Questions 34–40)
- Provide three enterprise client references with comparable travel profiles. Include contact name, organisation, annual spend managed, and relationship tenure.
- Who will be the named account manager for our account? What is their current client load? Provide their CV or professional background.
- What is your account management model — dedicated vs. pooled? How is continuity ensured if an account manager leaves?
- Describe your quarterly business review process: agenda structure, data provided, and senior management involvement.
- How do you measure and report on client satisfaction? Provide your NPS or CSAT data for enterprise accounts.
- What is your process for handling chronic SLA underperformance? Has any enterprise client terminated a contract for cause in the past 24 months?
- What onboarding support do you provide? Describe the change management resources available to help employees adopt the new platform.
Evaluation Matrix for RFP Responses
| Section | Weight | Scoring Criteria |
|---|---|---|
| Technology Platform | 25% | Platform demo quality, feature completeness, integration capability |
| Hotel Inventory | 20% | Property count, Tier 2/3 coverage, rate competitiveness |
| GST & Compliance | 20% | Invoice accuracy rate, contractual guarantees, ITC support tools |
| Pricing | 15% | Total cost of ownership, fee transparency, commission disclosure |
| Service & SLAs | 10% | SLA commitments, penalty schedule, escalation model |
| References | 10% | Reference quality, call outcomes, client retention data |
TMC RFP Timeline in India
| Week | Activity | Owner |
|---|---|---|
| 1–2 | Prepare travel profile data, finalise RFP document, identify longlist of 4–6 TMCs | Procurement |
| 3 | Issue RFP to shortlisted vendors, set response deadline (3–4 weeks) | Procurement |
| 4–6 | Vendor response period; respond to clarification queries within 48 hours | Procurement |
| 7–8 | Score responses, shortlist 2–3 vendors for demonstration | Evaluation team |
| 9–10 | Platform demonstrations (90 min per vendor), reference calls | Evaluation team |
| 11–12 | Commercial negotiation with preferred vendor | Procurement + Finance |
| 13–14 | Legal review of contract, final sign-off | Legal + Senior Management |
| 15–16 | Onboarding and implementation kick-off | Procurement + TMC |
Red Flags in TMC RFP Responses
- Vague or non-committal GST answers: Any response that describes GST compliance as "best effort" or "subject to hotel cooperation" indicates inadequate infrastructure.
- Missing fee schedule: A proposal that bundles technology, service, and hotel costs into a single margin percentage without itemisation makes total cost of ownership impossible to verify.
- Undisclosed commissions: Failure to disclose hotel or airline overrides is a material conflict of interest that should disqualify a vendor.
- References outside India or from SME accounts: Enterprise GST compliance, scale, and governance requirements are materially different from small or mid-market accounts.
- No financial penalty for SLA breach: SLAs without consequences are aspirational statements, not contractual commitments.
- Single-person account management: A TMC that cannot guarantee account manager continuity through team backup is a service continuity risk.