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The Reporter: Dec 1994, Vol.5, No.4
Personnel News
Holidays
New Travel Agency
Travel One, which took over in July as Columbia's official travel agency, reports that business is about half of what it expected from university clients.
"It's annualizing about $1 million worth of business right now, and we were expecting at least $2 million," says Charles Roumas, vice president of marketing and sales for Travel One. "July and August were slow, and so was the beginning of September."
Established in 1970, Travel One is currently ranked as the 14th largest travel agency in the United States. It provides travel services to affiliates of Columbia, including a 2.5 percent discount for both business and personal air travel.
"Business is coming in drips and drabs from all over the campus, but the last two weeks of September were busy," Mr. Roumas says. "It's just a question of getting the word out."
Travel response cards, which are given to each employee who uses the agency, indicate that Travel One is doing an excellent job for Columbia affiliates, according to Maurice Feigenbaum, Columbia deputy vice president for administrative services. "In the last two months, 49 of 50 evaluations that have come in indicate superior service."
Travel One provides a wide range of services, including the lowest available rates and fares for transportation (air, rail, car rentals) and lodging. It delivers tickets free of charge in a timely fashion (via Federal Express, messenger, or other means acceptable to the traveler). Tickets are accompanied by other parts of the travel packet-travel itinerary, car rental and hotel confirmations, and an itemized list of all rates and charges.
Travel One provides a 24-hour toll-free telephone number and ticketing locations for emergency situations or change of travel plans. It also features Discount Delta Airline Shuttle Tickets for business travel on scheduled flights between New York and Washington, D.C., or Boston.
Columbia has a dedicated phone line at Travel One-(800) 872-8528. Representatives are available from 8:45 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. Cindi Kane, the account manager, can be reached at (800) 243-1600.
Moving Discounts
Columbia University recently finalized a new agreement with North American Van Lines that increases discounts of the ICC's published rates for interstate moves (from 38 percent to 48 percent) and provides additional discounts for storage-in-transit, warehouse handling, and replacement cost protection. These discounts, available only through Advance Relocation and Storage, are offered to all employees for interstate moving of households.
Charges for storage-in-transit, warehouse handling, and pick-up and delivery to or from storage-in-transit will be reduced by 45 percent when performed in Fairfield County, Conn.; all counties in New Jersey; the New York boroughs of the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island; and the New York counties of Nassau, Putnam, Rockland, Suffolk, or Westchester. When performed at other locations, a 35 percent discount applies.
Information is available only from Advance Relocation and Storage at (212) 576-1800 or 1-800-645-2798.
Q&A
Q: What's the difference between a personal day and a vacation day?
A: Vacation days are to be scheduled in advance, says Sybil Williams, assistant vice president for human resources. Personal days, provided by the University, enable employees to take care of personal business and emergencies without prior planning. "Employees may call in and say, 'I need to take a personal day,'" Ms. Williams says. Both union employees and officers of Health Sciences are entitled to one personal day every six months. Personal days the same as floating holidays described in some benefits materials.