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WILLIAMSBURG AREA DESTINATION MARKETING COMMITTEE & GREATER WILLIAMSBURG CHAMBER & TOURISM ALLIANCE Request for Proposal Destination Booking Engine Software and Services Proposals are due by the close of business on April 14, 2016

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Page 1: Request for Proposal Destination Booking Engine …wadmc.clubwizard.com/IMUpload/Visit Williamsburg RFP for Booking... · Request for Proposal Destination Booking Engine Software

WILLIAMSBURG AREA DESTINATION MARKETING COMMITTEE & GREATER WILLIAMSBURG CHAMBER & TOURISM ALLIANCE

Request for Proposal Destination Booking Engine Software and Services

Proposals are due by the close of business on April 14, 2016

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Table of Contents

Background 3 Structure 4 RFP Overview 4 Terms of Contract 5 Contact information 5 Timeline 5 2017 Services & Project Details 6 Response Guidelines 6 Decision Making Criteria 12 Bidder Certification Form 13 General Terms and Conditions 14

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Background One of America’s favorite family destinations, the Greater Williamsburg region includes Jamestown, Williamsburg and Yorktown, offering a unique juxtaposition of contemporary and historical experiences for all ages. Visitors can choose from hands-on interactive attractions, scenic outdoor adventures and sophisticated arts and culture experiences, making Greater Williamsburg a top choice among travelers.

Major Attractions:

Busch Gardens®: is an action-packed, European-themed adventure park with 17th-century charm and 21st-century technology, boasting more than 100 acres of fun-filled exploration.

College of William & Mary: The second oldest university in the United States, and a cutting edge research university, the College of William & Mary are situated on 1,200 acres in historic downtown Williamsburg.

Colonial Williamsburg: Colonial Williamsburg interprets Virginia’s 18th-century capital of Williamsburg, Va., as a 21st-century center for history and citizenship with more than 400 restored or reconstructed original buildings, museums and educational programs.

Historic Jamestowne: Site of America’s first permanent English settlement, Historic Jamestowne continues to make history as an active archeological dig site, offering a tour with the archaeologist or behind-the-scenes tours in the lab with the curator.

Jamestown Settlement: Traces America’s colonial beginnings through expansive gallery exhibits and film, and historical interpretation at outdoor re-creations of the three ships that sailed to Virginia in 1607, the colonial fort and a Powhatan Indian village.

Water Country USA®: Virginia’s largest water park offering live entertainment, water rides and attractions all with a retro surf theme.

Yorktown Battlefield: The National Park Service welcomes visitors to explore interpreted trails and sites from the last major battle of the American Revolution.

Yorktown Victory Center: The American Revolution is chronicled through exhibits, films and re-created military encampment and Revolution-era farm. The site will become the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown in late 2016, with new exhibition galleries and expanded outdoor living-history areas.

In addition to the area’s major attractions, the Greater Williamsburg area has a wealth of additional offerings including arts and culture, culinary experiences, more than a dozen golf courses, fantastic shopping, incredible scenic beauty and outdoor adventure that collectively come together to create one of the top vacation destinations in the country. For additional information about the region, please go to www.VisitWilliamsburg.com

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Structure

Founded in 2004, the Williamsburg Area Destination Marketing Committee (WADMC) was created

by the state of Virginia to represent and promote the Historic Triangle area (which includes all of

the City of Williamsburg, James City County and York County), as an overnight tourism destination.

Funding for this advertising campaign is received from revenues collected via an additional $2.00

per night room tax on destination transient lodging stays as well as partner funding. WADMC, an

11-person board made up of various industry representatives, oversees the use of these funds to

market the Greater Williamsburg area as an overnight travel and tourism destination. In 2012, the

WADMC determined that the Greater Williamsburg Chamber & Tourism Alliance (GWCTA), as the

Destination Marketing Organization for the Williamsburg area, should manage and execute the

marketing campaign and associated contractors, as approved annually by the board.

WADMC has traditionally utilized a variety of paid and earned media opportunities to drive

overnight visitation to the region. Past media has included television, magazine, digital and paid

search. The advertising is concentrated on the domestic leisure traveler, located a sufficient

distance so as to require an overnight stay of at least one night.

RFP Overview

Williamsburg Area Destination Marketing Committee (WADMC) is seeking an online

referral/reservation system that will increase its effectiveness in serving travelers with

accommodation bookings, promotional packages and destination tickets through the official

vacation planning website for the destination. Proposals are requested from a Destination Booking

Engine Software/Services firm with significant experience in travel and tourism.

The GWCTA Senior Vice President, Tourism and the Director of Destination Marketing will oversee

the RFP process; make a decision on the firm selected and present to WADMC for formal approval.

A select group of area marketing professionals and tourism stakeholders will be consulted for

input throughout the process. WADMC shall be the Client on all services rendered under this

agreement.

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Terms of Contract Length of Contract The initial contract period will be a term up to four years. A contract for ongoing Destination Booking Engine Software/Services may be renewed for up to three one-year periods at the discretion of both parties, based on adequate performance measurements. The terms of the contract will be negotiated at least 60 days prior to the expiration date of each contract period. The new terms, if any, will be incorporated upon renewal.

Contact Information

Corrina Ferguson Director, Destination Marketing Greater Williamsburg Chamber & Tourism Alliance 421 North Boundary Street Williamsburg, VA 23185 757.253.0196 [email protected] PLEASE DIRECT ANY AND ALL CORRESPONDANCE AND QUESTIONS TO MS. FERGUSON ONLY.

Timeline

Task Completion Date

RFP published February 3

Submit signed NDA, receive Appendix A February 18

Questions due to WADMC March 4

Responses to questions posted March 23

Proposals Due April 14

Notification of finalists May 6

Finalists presentations June 1 - 2

Agency selection completed August 16

* Timeline subject to change.

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2017 Services & Project Details Our primary goal is to promote the Greater Williamsburg area as an overnight destination. The

annual destination marketing campaign directs all communication to VisitWilliamsburg.com for

further information.

With the recent launch (November, 2015) of a brand new VisitWilliamsburg.com, the new site

provides a significant opportunity to integrate booking software seamlessly across all platforms.

The purpose of this RFP is to have the successful proponent implement an Online

Referral/Reservation system through the Visit Williamsburg consumer website. The selected

partner will offer potential visitors to the Williamsburg area a means to book major travel

components and/or packages for their vacation

Your proposal will form an integral part of the contract.

Response Guidelines

A signed NDA must be submitted on or before February 18, 2016 to participate. Written proposals must be submitted on or before April 14, 2016 before 5:00pm for

consideration. Late proposals cannot be accepted. Supporting materials such as CDs or USBs are welcome and should be referenced within the written presentation.

Response must be dated and signed by principal of firm. Team must be available to present in-person, between Wednesday, June 1 and Thursday,

June 2 during normal business hours, if invited. Please submit 15 printed copies of your proposal (including CDs or USBs) to: Corrina Ferguson, Director, Destination Marketing Greater Williamsburg Chamber & Tourism Alliance 421 North Boundary Street Williamsburg, VA 23185 757-253-0196 Please also submit one electronic version of your proposal sent via Dropbox or other file sharing means to: [email protected]

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Objective:

The expected deliverable from this RFP will be a proposal for a booking application.

We are seeking the best option for a booking engine that:

supports our primary goal

encourages increased length of stay

is appealing and user-friendly to consumers

is fair and cost effective for our in-destination partners

is simple for in-destination partners to implement

Geography There are no geographic restrictions upon the location of service providers allowed to submit responses. All service providers however, must demonstrate their ability, recommended plan and commitment to serve the account, regardless of location.

At a minimum, this proposal must include the following:

Company Information Name and address of main office and any branch offices, Year established – main office and any

branch offices.

The proposed office that will handle this account.

Primary proposed team to manage account with responsibilities and contact information including senior members.

Management or key personnel bios.

Brief summary of company background/history.

Number of and locations of employees.

Any current or outstanding cases brought against the company by clients within the past five years.

Key resources applicable to the project described in this RFP; i.e. work completed in-house versus out-sourced.

List of all current clients using the proposed software and past clients for the previous three years.

References from three current and three former clients.

Awards/accolades and special certifications.

Company Overview

Please describe the key points of competitive differentiation or advantage for your Destination Booking Engine Software/Services firm and product?

What data and/or tools can you provide to help our company assess the return on investment (ROI) from your product?

Please provide up to two case studies demonstrating the ROI claimed.

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Application Overview Please describe each of the following components of your booking software and reservation process. Describe the booking process, focusing on the customer experience. Topics to include:

Search functionality

Ability to sell all destination products for example lodging, tickets and packages, et al

How does the system sort fare and rate displays i.e., does it show either the lowest available fares and rates, or those with preferred (negotiated) discounts?

Does your system provide real-time availability of inventory for airlines, hotels, or car rentals? Please explain if your system might display availability that is not actually available? If data is ‘cached’, how does the system prevent travelers from booking inventory that is not actually available?

The confirmation process, including possible ticket purchases and mobile ticketing and confirmation capability

Changes and or cancellations to existing reservations, including any fees to consumers

Rail, Rental Car and Air Travel. Does your system display Amtrak in the US in addition to available flights? What other transportation add-ons are available?

Are travelers able to access, print and/or download existing or past itineraries, or invoices for airline tickets purchased through the booking engine? If so, how long are itineraries and/or receipts available after the date of travel?

Describe how the software integrates user-generated content and reviews

Ability to link to business main website if consumer seeks additional information

Types of payment accepted; ability to convert foreign currency

Live-chat feature or other customer support options

User interface

Specify how the appearance of the software can be customized by the destination

Describe the content management system. Can the destination or its partners update content directly?

What are the methods (and alternatives) for destination partners to update prices and product offerings in the system

Explain how the software can integrate with existing features of VisitWilliamsburg.com (for example, TripAdvisor and Google map locations).

How are system partners notified of bookings?

Can the software integrate with a CRM program (e.g. email opt-ins and email user flow) & how does it function?

Does your software have the ability to upload barcodes for etickets?

Explain how/when hotels/attractions are paid for sales

Does your system have the ability to capture ages for individual guests; book time-sensitive admissions or other features?

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Comprehensive reporting on consumer activity and system performance Provide samples of the type of reporting available. Is it customizable?

Can the system report separately on pre-and-post-trip data?

Does the system report on benchmarks, ‘trends’ and summaries, or just booked items?

Can the reporting system generate data tables for export into other reporting systems e.g., Excel?

Are reports/data available in “real time” or, if not, in what time frame?

Does the tool provide the ability to track travelers? If so, please describe.

What kind of data is available for retargeting?

Infrastructure requirements What web browsers and versions are supported?

Does the tool require extensions such as Active X in any browser?

State bandwidth capacity, location and routine maintenance plan for servers.

Is your software fully responsive? Please explain and share links to examples.

Specify the GDS systems with which your system is compatible?

Specify all third party content aggregators used by your tool worldwide, to provide content that is not available in the GDS

Describe how your system accesses travel inventory that is not in the GDS? Specify if different approaches to access different content e.g., screen scraping vs. APIs.

Do you offer an extranet environment for those not wishing to have inventory obtained via the GDS?

Which national companies / chains do you have existing agreements with?

Address if reservations – hotels, entertainment show, etc. – are real time bookings.

What functionality exists to allow the destination and its partners unique urls and/or cookies for advertising and other tracking purposes?

Documentation on security measures in place / Access and transaction security

What security protocols does your software have in place? Is the system Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI-DSS) compliant? Please provide copies of relevant certifications.

How is data secured when it is in the host system and when it is transferred during a transaction?

Describe the physical security of the application and all traveler data? Is there a redundant data center?

What is the disaster recovery plan and when was that plan last tested?

Will your company accept financial liability for damages caused by breaches in its data security system?

Please certify that the software conforms to applicable data security and privacy laws in the US, other applicable regions.

Is there a security/confidentiality notification that end users have to agree to in order to complete their initial booking and profile updates?

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Reliability, Support & Upgrades What support resources are available for (a) individual consumers (b) destination businesses, and

(c) destination staff?

Describe the process of escalating technical problems?

Is there a Service Level Agreement (SLA) governing response and escalation times for problems of different severity levels? If so, please describe?

What procedures are in place to monitor problems throughout the customer base?

How do you communicate service outages and resolutions to consumers?

How do you communicate service outages and resolutions to the destination?

What has been your system uptime, by month, for the last 12 months? Are there financial guarantees applicable to uptimes and/or response times? How is this calculated? In other words, if you claim 90% uptime in a month, how long was the system down?

How often does your software system release product updates? What did the previous two releases contain and when did they occur?

What are expected upgrades and features in the next two releases? What is the reliability of the applications after an upgrade a new release? If something is not working correctly, can the upgrade be undone?

The Usability evaluation process for your booking engine

Does your system allow internal traveler feedback? If so please describe how a traveler would provide such feedback and how the destination can access and/or share such feedback.

What other systems are in place for the evaluation and improvement of the system?

Call Center Does your company offer a reservation and customer support call center?

Where is it located and what are the seasonal hours of operation?

What is the methodology for keeping call center staff as local-aware and current as possible?

What quality assurance programs are in place for the highest possible customer service?

If a call center is not offered, please clearly address alternative customer support options.

Implementation Plan and Timeline

Describe the implementation process and provide a proposed implementation schedule, including all tasks and responsibilities

Identify the individuals who will provide our company with implementation and ongoing product support. If they are not the same person, how is the handoff managed?

List specific training offered, target audience/users

What training and training materials are provided?

What is the process to migrate or convert data from a client’s current system to your system?

What adoption programs are provided? What is the average rate of adoption for the software (a) after six months, (b) after one year? Will the company guarantee a specific level of adoption and, if so, what are the conditions of that guarantee?

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Pricing Outline the structure of your pricing model, including but not limited to:

All costs associated with: o Initial acquisition o Adaptation and implementation o Annual support and licensing o Commissions o Usage fees o Ad hoc software requests o Materials o Supplier travel and associated expenses o Any requirements for content management o System upgrades o Customization o Credit Card fees o Any other expenses

Itemize fixed costs e.g., for implementation, maintenance, customization, training, account management, etc.

State what fees you charge for any type of transaction to both the consumer and the providing business e.g., air booking, other kind of booking, change/cancellation, refunds, exchanges, upgrades, etc. *Note: Finalists will be asked to complete an assignment showcasing several different booking scenarios and the costs associated with each one.

Outline revenue-sharing opportunities and plans to return a portion of revenue/fees to WADMC

Other Items Describe system of tax collections and payments to localities, including managing taxable and non-

taxable components in same transaction and payment standards regarding tax on net or gross sales.

Outline requirements stating booking engine exclusivity.

State required minimum number or value of bookings – monthly and/or annually, if applicable.

What is your confidentiality policy?

State the company’s policy on customer satisfaction guarantees and related liability to all components reserved through booking engine.

Share any potential conflict of interest in existing or pending business relationships.

Describe audit procedures for annual audit of your booking engine services for the destination, including receipts and distribution, which is required by WADMC.

Confirm we will have access to and own all data collected in your system over the life of our relationship

Group Bookings: Address how system allows for customized group bookings and pre-set package sales to groups, and could function as the housing bureau for groups and/or events using more than two properties in the area with associated tracking options.

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Decision Making Criteria

The following criteria will be used as a guide when evaluating proposals:

supports our primary goal

encourages increased length of stay

is appealing and user-friendly to consumers

is fair and cost effective for our in-destination partners

is simple for in-destination partners to implement

Understood and provided all items requested in RFP - with appropriate level of detail.

10

Destination Booking Engine Software/Services Firm Experience - current clients include other tourism industry destination marketing businesses; demonstrated effectiveness with similar projects; references; apparent strengths and weaknesses; capacity to perform

15

Staff experience - Demonstrated experience of key personnel in projects of similar scope and nature; DMO or other tourism business experience

15

Appeal to consumers – software is user-friendly; company customer service plan (call center, user-support)

25

Cost competitiveness- is best alternative for the entire Williamsburg area based on overall value-cost proposition; all pricing and commission structure will be reviewed.

25

Proposed technology – operational benefits; flexibility; ecommerce system; adaptability into the Visit Williamsburg business

25

Booking engine features – ability to sell tickets, packages, transportation services, etc.; ease of use

25

Implementation approach and methodology, including project timing, staff training, partner business training and transition from the existing application

15

Total 155

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Bidder Certification (Bidder must sign and return with proposal.)

I certify that this information is complete and correct to the best of my understanding and that I am authorized to submit this information on behalf of the company. ________________________________________________ _______________________ Authorized Signature Date ________________________________________________ Title ________________________________________________ Print/Type Name _______________________________________________ Print/Type Company Name

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Method of Selection

Following receipt of written proposals, the GWCTA may thereafter select those service providers that qualify as finalists. Finalists will be asked to travel to Williamsburg, Virginia at their own expense to share a presentation in-person. Specifics about the presentation will be shared with finalists at the time of their notification. Final section of the winning agency(s) shall be based on a combination of both the written and in-person proposals.

Award of Contract

Selection shall be made of one or more offerors deemed to be fully qualified and best suited among those submitting proposals on the basis of evaluation factors included in the Request for Proposals, including price if so stated in the Request for Proposal. Negotiations shall be conducted with the Offerors so selected. Price structure shall be considered, but will not be the sole determining factor. After negotiations have been conducted with each Offeror so selected, GWCTA, upon formal approval by the Williamsburg Area Destination Marketing Committee shall select the Offeror which, in its opinion, has made the best proposal, and award the contract to that Offeror. Should GWCTA determine in its sole discretion that only one offeror is fully qualified, or that one offeror is clearly more highly qualified and suitable than the others under consideration, a contract shall be negotiated and awarded to that offeror. Greater Williamsburg Chamber and Tourism Alliance (GWCTA) nor the Williamsburg Area Destination Marketing Committee (WADMC) will not furnish a statement of the reason why a particular proposal or presentation was not deemed to be the most advantageous. At any time during the negotiations GWCTA may terminate all negotiations and re-advertise the requirement. The reason for such termination shall be made part of the file. The award document shall be a signed contract incorporating by reference all the requirements, terms and conditions of the RFP and the Contractor’s proposal as negotiated.

Rejection of Proposals

The Williamsburg Area Destination Marketing Committee (WADMC) reserves the right to reject any or all proposals received and the right to choose parts of the RFP to execute. Non-acceptance of a proposal means that one or more others were deemed more advantageous to WADMC / GWCTA or that all proposals were rejected.

Ownership of Materials All proposals become the property of the WADMC upon receipt. Selection or rejection of the proposal will not affect this right. WADMC and GWCTA shall have the right to use all ideas or adaptations of the ideas contained in any proposal received in response to this RFP. Disqualification of a proposal does not eliminate this right.

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General Terms and Conditions

1. RECEIPT AND OPENING OF PROPOSALS - It is the responsibility of the offeror to assure that the proposals are delivered to the place designated for receipt of proposals prior to the time set for receipt of proposals. No proposals received after the time designated for receipt of proposals will be considered. 2. IDENTIFICATION OF A PROPOSAL ENVELOPE/PACKAGE - A special envelope is NOT furnished, therefore, the signed proposals should be returned in an envelope or package sealed and identified as a sealed proposal and addressed as directed on page 13 of this solicitation. 3. APPLICABLE LAWS AND COURTS – This solicitation and any resulting contract shall be governed in all respects by the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia and any litigation with respect thereto shall be brought in the courts of the Commonwealth. The Contractor shall comply with applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations. 4. ANTI-DISCRIMINATION/VIRGINIA FAIR EMPLOYMENT ACTS – By submitting their proposals, all offerors certify that they will conform to the provisions of the Federal Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, as well as the Virginia Fair Employment Act of 1975, as amended, where applicable.

A.) During the performance of this contract, the Contractor agrees as follows: i.) The Contractor will not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, religion, color, sex or national origin, except where religion, sex, or national origin is a bona fide occupational qualification reasonably necessary to the normal operation of the Contractor. The Contractor agrees to post in conspicuous places, available to employees and applicants for employment, notices setting forth the provisions of this nondiscrimination clause. ii.) The Contractor, in all solicitations or advertisements for employees placed by or on behalf of the Contractor, will state that such contractor is an equal opportunity employer. iii.) Notices, advertisements and solicitations placed in accordance with federal law, rule or regulation shall be deemed sufficient for the purpose of meeting the requirements of this section.

B.) The Contractor will include the provisions of A above in every subcontract or purchase order over $10,000 so that the provisions will be binding upon each subcontractor or vendor.

Ethics in Public Contraction By submitting their proposals, all offerors certify that their proposals are made without collusion or fraud and that they have not offered or received any kickbacks or inducements from any other offeror, supplier, manufacturer or subcontractor in connection with their proposal, and that they have not conferred on any GWCTA or WADMC employee having official responsibility for this procurement transaction any payment, loan, subscription, advance, deposit of money, services or anything of more than nominal value, present or promised, unless consideration of substantially equal or greater value was exchanged.

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Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 By submitting their proposals, offerors certify that they do not and will not, during the performance of this contract employ illegal alien workers or otherwise violate the provisions of the federal Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. Antitrust By entering into a contract, the Contractor conveys, sells, assigns, and transfers to the GWCTA All rights, title and interest in and to all causes of action it may now have or hereafter acquire under the antitrust laws of the United States and the GWCTA, relating to the particular goods or services purchased or acquired by the GWCTA or WADMC members under said contract. Cancellation of Contract The WADMC reserves the right to cancel and terminate any resulting contracts, in part or in whole, without penalty, upon 60 days written notice to the Vendor. The Vendor may cancel the resulting contract period upon 60 days written notice to the WADMC. Any contract cancellation notice shall not relieve the Vendor of the obligation to provide services in progress prior to the effective date of cancellation.

Obligation of Offeror By submitting a proposal, the offeror covenants and agrees that he has satisfied himself, from his own investigation of the conditions to be met, that he fully understands his obligation and that he will not make claim for, or have right to, cancellation or relief from the contract because of any misunderstanding or lack of information.

Changes to the Contract WADMC may order changes within the general scope of the contract at any time by written notice to the Vendor. Changes within the contract may include, but are not limited to things such as the limitation or expansion of the scope of the contract. The contractor shall comply with the notice upon receipt. Contractor shall be compensated for any additional costs incurred as the result of such order and shall give the WADMC a credit for any savings If the parties fail to agree on an amount of adjustment, the question of an increase or decrease in the contract price or time for performance shall be resolved in accordance with the procedures for resolving disputes provided by the Disputes Clause of this contract or, if there is none, in accordance with the disputes provisions of the Commonwealth of Virginia's Vendor's Manual. (Even though this is not a purchase made by state government.) Neither the existence of a claim

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or a dispute resolution process, litigation or any other provision of this contract shall excuse the Vendor from promptly complying with the changes ordered by the Marketing Resource Task Force or with the performance of the contract generally. The parties may agree in writing to modify the scope of the contract. An increase or decrease in

price or terms of the contract resulting from such modification shall be agreed to by the parties as

a part of their written agreement to modify the scope of the contract.

Assignment of Contract/Use of Subcontractors A contract shall not be assignable by the Contractor in whole or in part without the written consent of the GWCTA or WADMC. The Contractor shall, however, remain fully liable and responsible for the work to be done by his subcontractor(s) and shall assure compliance with all requirements of the contract.

Invoices/Commission Checks - Invoices for items or services ordered, delivered and accepted and commission checks shall be submitted by the Contractor to:

Williamsburg Area Destination Marketing Committee C/O Greater Williamsburg Chamber & Tourism Alliance

421 N. Boundary St. Williamsburg, Virginia, 23185

Payments will be processed within 30 days of receipt of invoice.

Clarification of Terms If any prospective offeror has questions about the specifications or other solicitation documents, the prospective offeror should contact the contact the person named on the face of the solicitation, no later than five days before the opening date. Any revisions to the solicitation will be made only by addendum issued by this contact. Term This Agreement shall commence upon a date to be finalized and shall continue until project is satisfactory completed unless earlier terminated as provided herein.

Confidentiality This Agreement or any documentation produced as a result of said agreement may be subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). To the extent permitted by law, and subject to the provisions of FOIA, the following shall apply: Contractor and WADMC acknowledge that during terms of this Agreement either party may have access to each other’s proprietary or confidential information, as necessary to complete the

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respective obligations of Contractor and WADMC as contained in this agreement. Contractor and WADMC specifically agree to maintain a strict policy of confidentiality and nondisclosure for all business and trade secrets of the other party. Neither party will misuse or appropriate such proprietary or confidential business information and will not disclose any details of the Agreement, unless both parties agree. The Agreement does not apply to information which (a) is in the public domain at the time such information is disclosed or which after the time of the disclosure has become part of the public domain through no violation of this agreement, (b) is required to be disclosed by judicial order, (c) is learned through a third party, under no confidentiality obligation to the party who owns the information or (d) is known to the receiving party prior to disclosure by the disclosing party, as evidenced by written record. These provisions shall survive the expiration or termination of this Agreement.

Independent Contractor WADMC hereby employs Contractor as an independent contractor and the parties agree that WADMC shall not be obligated or liable hereunder to any party other than Contractor. Contractor shall employ and direct all personnel required in performing this agreement. Such personnel shall not be employees of or have any contractual relationship with GWCTA/WADMC. All of the services hereunder will be performed under Contractor's supervision and all personnel engaged in the Work shall be fully qualified to perform such services. Contractor shall be fully responsible for all acts and omissions of its subcontractors and of persons and organizations directly or indirectly employed by them and of persons and organizations for whose acts any of them may be liable to the same extent that Contractor is responsible for the acts and omissions of persons directly employed by Contractor. Except as hereinabove provided, nothing in this agreement shall create any contractual relationship between WADMC and any subcontractor or other person or organization having a direct contract with Contractor, nor shall it create any obligation on the part of WADMC to pay or to see to the payment of any monies due any subcontractor or other person or organization, except as may otherwise be required by law. WADMC may furnish to any subcontractor or other person or organization, to the extent practicable, evidence of amounts paid to Contractor on account of specific work done.

Warranties Contractor represents and warrants that it has full power and authority to enter into and fully perform this Agreement, and that no services or material furnished hereunder will in any way infringe upon or violate the rights of any third party, including without limitation rights of patent, trade secret, trademark, copyright, or privacy. WADMC represents and warrants that it has full power and authority to enter into and fully perform this Agreement, that any information about its products and services furnished to

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Contractor will be accurate and complete, and that no services or material furnished to Contractor hereunder will in any way infringe upon or violate the rights of any third party, including without limitation rights of patent, trade secret, trademark, copyright, or privacy. Indemnity and Limitation of Liability Contractor agrees to indemnify, defend and hold harmless GWCTA/WADMC, its divisions, members and subsidiaries from and against any and all losses, liabilities, damages, judgments, awards and costs (including reasonable legal fees and expenses) arising out of or related to any claim, proceeding or suit instituted by a third party (i) that arises out of a breach by Contractor of its representations and warranties under this Agreement or (ii) that alleges that GWCTA’s use, possession, or ownership of Contractor's work product, or any license granted there under, infringes or violates the copyright, trade secret, patent, or other proprietary right of any third party; provided, however, that the foregoing shall not apply to any use of the work product by GWCTA/WADMC that is inconsistent with the terms of any third party license of which GWCTA/WADMC has been advised by Contractor. Contractor shall defend and settle at its sole expense all suits or proceedings arising out of the foregoing, provided that GWCTA/WADMC gives Contractor prompt notice of any such claim after learning of same. Contractor shall not settle any third party claim in any way that prevents GWCTA/WADMC from continuing the use of Contractor's work product as provided herein without GWCTA’s prior written consent. In all events, GWCTA/WADMC shall have the right to participate in the defense of any suit or proceeding through counsel of its own choosing at its own cost.

NOTWITHSTANDING ANYTHING TO THE CONTRARY CONTAINED HEREIN, NEITHER PARTY SHALL BE LIABLE TO THE OTHER FOR ANY CONSEQUENTIAL, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, LOST PROFITS) EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY THEREOF.