Register a Group Trip

Register a Group Trip

One Spreadsheet. One Upload. Your Group is Registered!

The guidance on this page is for the administrators of group travel. We recommend you submit your group travel spreadsheet 2 weeks prior to departure or when your participant list is finalized. Students participating on a group trip should check with your trip organizer/leader to confirm your registration.

Download the Group Travel Spreadsheet Template

Administrators

An administrator is the person responsible for compiling the spreadsheet. 

To register your group you will need to complete the Group Travel Spreadsheet Template. The instructions below will show you how to fill out the spreadsheet. In addition, on the spreadsheet, there is a tab labeled “Legend PENN” to help you with each of the columns.

Please Note: We are working with ISOS to continue to make the spreadsheet easier to use. Because of this, we recommend you always check with the directions on this website before completing a spreadsheet. This site will contain the most accurate information on how to complete the spreadsheet. 

If you have a team within your department or school that is interested in an in-person training, contact us, and we will come to your school/department. 

Group Travel Participants

Group travel participants do not need to register! The administrator for your trip will take care of the registration and nothing is needed from you.

If you want to view your travel information you must first create a profile in MyTrips. It is important to set up this profile using your UPenn email address. Once your profile is created you can view your group travel information and add any additional travel information. 

How to Register Group Travel

Step 1: Personal Travel Information

NOTE: Please avoid the Sample row. This row is for reference and should not be removed.
Start entering your travelers on Row 3. 

  1. Column A: Cancellation – should not be touched
  2. Column B: Client Identifier – this should be marked at UPENN for all travelers
  3. Column C: First Name 
  4. Column D: Last Name
  5. Column E: Email Address – this should be the Penn email address for each traveler
  6. Column F: Penn ID – this is the 8 digit number for each traveler (non-Penn travelers should not be included on this spreadsheet)
  7. Column G: Phone – this should be the phone # used by the traveler when they are abroad
  8. Column H: Affiliation – this represents the role of each traveler on this trip (a dropdown is provided to mark for each traveler as Student, Faculty, Staff or Other)
Step 2: Trip Details

NOTE: Each of these fields utilizes a dropdown. These dropdowns MUST be used in order for your travelers to be registered.

  1. Column I: Group Trip – this is a Y or N dropdown; please select Y for all spreadsheets (same for all travelers)
  2. Column J: Sponsoring School – this is the school or center who is responsible for funding/organizing the trip (same for all travelers)
  3. Column K: For Credit – this is a Y or N dropdown to acknowledge if the trip is a course for credit or not (same for all travelers)
  4. Column L: Purpose of Travel – this is a dropdown where the purpose of trip can be identified (same for all travelers)
  5. Column M: Record Locator – to make a unique record locator start with the initials of the group administrator [limit 2 characters], then the month and year of the start of the trip [MM/YY], followed by the primary destination city name [15 character limit], then a trip number starting at 01 [2 characters]. e.g. ab0119nairobi01
    Each traveler must have their own Record Locator. Make the first one, then drag the cell down to the rest of the travelers so that excel automatically populates different numbers for each traveler. e.g. ab0119nairobi01, ab0119nairobi02, ab0119nairobi03 etc…
Step 3: Accommodation Details

For registration of your group’s travel, the accommodations are the required trip details. If your group will travel to more than one city/location, just add more columns (see Step 4). 

  1. Column M: Hotel Name 1 – this is the name of the place your travelers will lay their head at night, e.g. the Marriott Madrid, or Tent in Desert. 
  2. Column N: Hotel Address 1 – ideally this is the most complete address you have. Minimum requirement: City, Country.
  3. Column O: Hotel Check In Date 1: this is the check in date for your travelers. These dates can vary by traveler if necessary. 
  4. Column P: Hotel Check Out Date 1: this is the date your travelers check out. 
Step 4: Additional Accommodations (if necessary)

When your trip is staying in more than one location, simply add columns to your spreadsheet. Label them just as columns M-P are labeled, with a 2 replacing the 1 at the end of each column name, then refer to Step 3 on how to complete the fields. 

Step 5: Submit Your Spreadsheet

SAVE YOUR COMPLETED EXCEL SPREADSHEET. 

Email your completed spreadsheet to travelsafety@pobox.upenn.edu with the subject line “Group Travel Submission Form“. We will review your spreadsheet to ensure it complies with the ISOS requirements and then send it to ISOS. Once received, your travelers will receive a registration notification from ISOS, typically within one week.  

Spreadsheet Support

We know that completing a group spreadsheet can be daunting, so below we have listed five of the most common errors that some of our group administrators make while registering their travelers. 

You can use these tips to help guide you while registering your group trip.

  1. Incorrect Record Locators: The record locator is a unique identifier specific to each group trip and its travelers. Group spreadsheets must follow the prescribed naming convention when creating your trip’s Record Locator: 1) Start with the initials of the group creator [2 characters], 2) The month & year of the start date of the trip [mmyy], 3) The primary destination city name, 4)  A trip number starting with 01 [2 characters].
    • Traveler 1: js0920marrakech01
    • Traveler 2: js0920marrakech02
    • Traveler 3: js0920marrakech03
  2. Incorrect Date Format: Travel dates should be entered in the following format: YYYY-MM-DD. Changing the format can prevent your trip from being registered.
  3. No Penn IDs: Only current student, staff and faculty with Penn IDs should be included on your group spreadsheet. If you do not have Penn IDs for your travelers, you should reach out to your travelers directly to obtain them.
  4. No Phone Numbers: Although we encourage our trip administrators to enter the local phone numbers of their travelers on their spreadsheets, we understand that some phone numbers can be difficult to obtain at the time of registration.
  5. Failure to Utilize Dropdown Options: The fields below all have dropdown options that MUST be utilized for your travelers to be registered.

If you are still having trouble, please review our Travel Registry FAQs.