Table of Contents: 

Introduction

Logging in for the first time

Logging In/Out

Adding trip options

Submitting options

Confirming and Ticketing

Communicating with users

Switching a booking method 

Assigning a trip request to an agent

Updated: Sept 30th, 2024

Introduction 

Welcome to the Mesh Agent Portal, your hub for effortlessly providing travelers with a wide range of trip options using the Mesh Platform. 

We have prepared this guide to help you kickstart your journey with Mesh, and we hope you find it useful.

We're thrilled to partner with you and look forward to this exciting journey together. If you have any questions, please get in touch with our team at support.tmc@meshpayments.com.

Logging in for the first time 

The Mesh platform will send you an email with a relevant URL and a text message with a temporary password. Use these shared credentials to log in for the first time and follow the platform’s directions to change your password. 

 Moving forward, your email and the new password you set will be your credentials for the Mesh agent portal. If you forget the password please click the ‘Forget your password?’ link and follow the instructions. 

Logging In/Out

The Mesh Agent portal is your primary hub for all interactions with our mutual customers. Click the following URL and bookmark it for future reference. 

To log in, enter your credentials and input a six-digit MFA code. 

To log out, navigate to the bottom left corner, click your name, and click logout. 

Notes: 

• The authentication expires after 24 hours, and you must log in again. 
• Contact us if you need to change the phone number where we send your MFA codes.

If authenticated successfully, you will gain access to the Agent portal. 

The screenshot below depicts the portal's simple and intuitive user interface.

When your Agent profile is created in the Mesh backend, we add the company or companies you will service. The navigation bar on the left-hand side will display those companies. If you need to support additional companies, a Mesh representative will add them to your profile.  

The table on the right displays the details of the requested trips and it includes the following columns: 

1. Trip ID
2. Traveler
3. Status (e.g., pending, approved, declined),
4. Request date
5. Assigned Agent
6. Departure date
7. Destination
8. Company name 
9. Company mailbox 

Notes:

• Use the company mailbox to send invoices, receipts, and other related travel documents (e.g., flight tickets, hotel vouchers etc.).
• You can sort the data displayed and use the filters to locate a specific trip. 
• The agent’s column is initially ‘blank’. The column will present information on whether the trip was assigned to an agent or after an agent made changes to an assigned trip. Visit this section to learn how to assign a trip request to an agent.
• The Mesh platform will also send agents an email notification for each trip request. When you click the 'Start booking' button, Mesh will take you directly to the specific trip option page. While you can use this method to provide options, we strongly recommend logging into the Mesh agent portal, locating the relevant trip, and clicking it to add options. This approach helps streamline the service you provide to your customers.

Adding trip options 

When agents click on a trip they are directed to the trip request page. The page is divided into three sections: Traveler Details, Request Summary, and Options. The data displayed originates from the trip request on the Mesh platform. 

Notes: 

• The Traveler details section includes the Travel Policy Group (e.g., All employees, directors, CXO, etc.) which affects the budgets provided to the traveler and the ‘out-of-policy’ related messages.
• The Request summary section may include additional information such as values of custom fields (e.g., department) entered by the Traveler or the Travel Manager. 
• The Options section displays flights, hotels, and additional options if added.

Adding flight options 

A flight option quote includes the following required fields: date/time validity, details (i.e., PNR data from GDS), PNR code, PNR source (e.g., Sabre), cost (i.e., amount, taxes, and currency), cancellation policies with relevant fees, and optional remarks. 

Note: You can not import trip options directly from the Global Distribution System (GDS) because there is no connectivity between the Mesh Agent portal and the GDS. 

To add a flight option click on the 'Add option +' button under the flight section, add the relevant data, and click the ‘Save’ button. 

If the option is added properly, it will appear under the flights section. 

The above options originated from the following PNR ‘cut & paste’. 

Note: The bottom option includes an out-of-policy flag to indicate that the amount exceeds the budget set in the flight policy for this Travel Policy Group.

If you encounter an error message, review the PNR itinerary details and correct them. If the error persists, contact our team at support.tmc@meshpayments.com.

Note: The bottom part of the form includes a clickable link named '+ Add Quote'. 

You can add a quote for a flight (e.g., bundle multiple one-way flights into a single option), a seat upgrade, a luggage fee, any other type of upgrade, and any miscellaneous expenses. When adding such a quote enter the amount, the currency, and relevant remarks. Remember to click 'Save' when you finished adding all the quotes. 

Click on the option to view a detailed breakdown of the associated costs.

To add more options, click the '+ Add option' link. Add all the relevant details, as discussed above, and click save. 

Note: Submit changes, edit, clone, and delete options will be discussed later.

Adding hotel options 

A hotel quote includes the following fields: date/time validity (optional), details (reference # and source), name of the hotel, status (i.e., OK, request, waitlist, unable to confirm), check-in/out date/time (auto-populated from the trip request: time is optional), basis (e.g., B&B, Full, all-inclusive), cost (i.e., amount, taxes, and currency), refund and cancellation policies with relevant fees, and optional remarks.

To quote a Hotel click on the '+ Add option' under the hotel section, add the relevant data, and click the Save button. If the option is added properly, it will appear under that section. 

Note: The top option includes an out-of-policy flag to indicate that the amount exceeds the budget set in the hotel policy for this Travel Policy Group. When you click on an option all its details will be displayed.

Note: The bottom part of the form includes a clickable link named '+ Add Quote'. 

You can add a quote for a hotel (e.g., bundle multiple hotels into a single option), any other type of upgrade, and any miscellaneous expenses. When adding such a quote enter the amount, the currency, and relevant remarks. Remember to click 'Save' when you finished adding all the quotes. Click on the option to view a detailed breakdown of the associated costs.

Add more options 

The upper right corner of the UI includes an ellipsis that allows you to add more options. 

Consider the following scenario. A traveler, prioritizing flight arrangements, initially requested a trip with quotes for flights only. After approval from all parties, the trip was issued with the quoted flight, and then, the traveler contacted you to request more options (e.g., hotel, car rental, train, fees, etc.). 

• Flight option: Add relevant info. The section includes components discussed here!  
• Hotel option: Add relevant info. The section includes components discussed here!   
• Car rental:  Add relevant info. Select the car rental company, car category, and pickup/drop-off dates, then enter the cost and refund policy. Optional fields include the pickup/drop-off time and tax.
• Train:  Add relevant info. Select the departure and arrival cities and the date and time, and enter the cost and refund policy. Optional fields include the railway company, station name, tax, and additional remarks.
• Fees: Quote additional fees such as cancellation, change, and handling.

The quoted options will appear under flights and hotels in the 'Additional Options' section.

Note: When adding the mentioned option, it is a good practice to convey the action taken to the traveler via the Mesh in-app messaging feature (aka Comments). 

Editing, cloning, and deleting options

You may quote multiple options. To make it easier to add options you can use the clone feature. Click on the ‘clone’ icon, change the details of the option, and make sure that each one of your options includes a unique PNR or reference code. 

You can click the ‘edit’ icon to modify an existing option at any point. Remember to save the changes.

To remove an option click on the ‘delete’ icon.

Submitting options

When you are done adding all the options, navigate to the bottom-right side of the trip request page, click the 'Submit' button, and wait for a success message. 

Notes:

• After you submit the first option for a trip your name will appear next to this trip in the ‘agent’ column of the portal’s main page.
• Each trip undergoes an approval process and may pend the decision of different users. The status of each trip will change according to the step advancement of the approval process and the status column on the agent portal will advise progress. 
• Travelers, or other users involved with this request, may ask you to introduce changes (e.g., edit, add, or remove an option) to the submitted options. To alter the options locate the trip in the agent portal, click it, make changes on the trip request form, click the 'Submit Changes' button, and wait for a similar success message.

Confirming and Ticketing

Travelers or other users, involved with the trip request, will select the options they want you to book. Once all users, involved in the approval process complete their approval tasks, the trip will advance to the ‘Approved: Pending issue’ phase and you will be tasked with booking and confirming the various options.  

Note: You can ‘Select’ options on behalf of the traveler. It is imperative to communicate with travelers such actions using the Mesh in-app messaging feature (aka Comments) to ensure they are aware of your involvement. 

To confirm & ticket, search for a trip with the mentioned status, click it, and review the selected options. Pay attention to preferences, notes, and communications, and if needed, click the pencil icon, modify the detail, and click the 'Save option' button to introduce the changes. To finalize this step select the payment methods and enter the confirmation number for each option selected (e.g., flight, hotel, etc.).

The payment method drop-down list includes a few options. Please select the relevant option based on the agreement with the company you serve.  

• Personal CC is a private card that travelers may provide. Such travelers plan to request a reimbursement expense on the Mesh platform. 
• Corporate CC is a company card used to cover trip expenses. 
• Mesh CC is a card used to cover the trip expenses and all related expenses will be presented on the traveler’s dashboard. 
• TMC means that your company is paying for the trip expenses. In such a case, an invoice for recently booked trips is provided periodically (e.g., once a month).
• UATP and Air Plus are payment methods related to the airfare space. 

Please conclude the process by clicking the 'Confirm ticketing' and wait for a success message. 

Adding options to an issued trip

Follow the steps below to add options to a trip with the status ‘Approved: Trip issued’. 

• Locate such a trip on the agent portal and click it.
• Click the ‘View and edit options’ button to navigate to the part of the form that allows you to add options.
• Click the ellipsis and then click the ‘Add flight’, or ‘Add hotel’ option.
• Populate the details in the added option and click save. 
• If needed, add more options. 
• Click ‘Submit changes’. 
• Click the ‘View confirmation form’.
• Use the in-app messaging feature to communicate with the traveler about the offered options and select the relevant options for the traveler. 
• For each selected option add a payment method and confirmation number. 
• Click ‘Confirm ticketing’.

 Communicating with users 

The upper right corner of the trip options form includes an in-app communication tool called 'Comments'. This feature allows agents, Mesh Travel Managers, Mesh Approvers, and Mesh Travelers to discuss trip-related matters. To view and post comments click on the comment icon and use mentions (i.e., @name) to draw a user's attention. 

Note: When other Mesh users leave comments you will also be notified via email. 

Switching a booking method 

The Mesh user interface allows travelers to modify their booking method (e.g., book directly) after receiving options from a travel agent. In case of such a change, the portal will notify agents with a relevant message in the designated section and via email. Agents can then provide additional options, allowing travelers to choose from these new alternatives instead of proceeding with the direct booking method initially proposed. We recommend using the Mesh in-app messaging to communicate with travelers and travel managers. 

Assigning a trip request to an agent  

To manage and divide responsibilities, it is possible to assign trip requests to specific agents. To direct a request, click the kebab menu icon next to the 'Trip ID' and select the appropriate agent.