Traveler Suffix Errors Wrong Placement and Misspellings

[rigbycatherine]

Hi Everyone,

For the past 6 months we have received numerous complaints about name suffix inconsistencies, causing misconnect with hotel loyalty accounts, matching hotel accounts with travelers, and incorrectly placed suffixes on airline tickets (security alert/re-ticketing). All Concur travel profile names are accurate, and suffix placed correctly, but names appear incorrect on the Concur Trip Overview. Examples are: suffix placed after first name Smith/JasonJR (flags security), or suffixes containing upper- and lower-case letters SmithIii/Jason (causing misconnect with hotel loyalty accounts). We have tried unsuccessfully for months to solve the mystery including going to the airlines, the hotels, HR feed, and Concur, with no solution. Has anyone experienced this problem and been able to resolve?

I appreciate your insight!

Cathy

[KevinD]

@rigbycatherine this issue has always been a mystery and I've not yet heard of a sure fire resolution. I posted this to internally to see if I can get some sort of answer. I'll keep you posted on if I hear anything.

[YIsaacs]

We have our travelers add the Suffix to their Last Name as that is the only way it works for us.

However, our HR feed can override the Last Name from time to time, so we advise the traveler to always check their profile first.

Not optimal, but all we've been able to figure out.

Thanks,

Yvette 

[KevinD]

@rigbycatherine here is what we have posted internally about this issue: 

The merged name is usually the name format used in the Travel Agency GDS (Global Distribution System) without any spaces between name and suffix. Concur does not format the name field, it only displays the same information being displayed in the GDS.

• Concur sends the traveler name data to the Travel Agency’s system (3rd party tool). The traveler’s surname and suffix are written separately in Concur, which is correct
• The Travel Agency's system sends the name data to the GDS (Global Distribution System) used by the Travel Agency (Ex: Apollo) 
• It is in this transfer that the traveler name data is being formatted to merge the last name and the suffix. It is not written separately

The name format in the GDS is designed without any spaces. Hence, the same information is captured in the itinerary details or booking confirmation.

• The merging occurs when moving the profile from the Travel Agency's system to the GDS. This is how the vendors (Airlines/Cars/Hotels) associated with the GDS receive the details

Note: In these scenarios, the user or Travel Agency should check or update with the vendors in regards to FF application.

[rigbycatherine]

Hi Kevin, Thanks so much for the information. We have an in-house Sabre agent who sees the travelers' name as they should be. And our TMC did a test booking and the reservation flowed to the travel supplier (hotel) accurately and integrating with the traveler's hotel loyalty account. We see the misconnect in the Concur Trip overview. While the profile name is correct, the trip overview contains the incorrect name formatting. 

I appreciate if anyone has any advice! This is problem is so frustrating for our travelers.

Thanks!