[Government-Designated Travel Vendor Services]

An employee of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) claimed reimbursement for that part of her official round-trip travel costs which was disallowed by the agency. HUD found that, in consequence of performing personal travel, she did not obtain the lowest available direct airfare as required by travel regulations. The employee argued that she did obtain the lowest airfare available on the date she secured her ticket and fully paid for the increased ticket cost due to her personal side trip. The record indicated that the employee received the lowest fare available for the dates of her reservations and that it was determined by using the most direct route of travel. GAO concluded that the employee should not have been penalized where she acted in good faith and in conformance with applicable regulations, but nevertheless encountered ticket price discrepancies when using Government-designated travel vendor services. GAO stated that the total amount of the reclaim voucher may be certified for payment.