FedRooms is a government program that negotiates prices in different cities around the country to be used by government travelers. The properties can be used for official business travel and some also offer a discounted rate for personal travel. All properties that participate in the program offer a 4:00 or later cancellation policy which means if plans change at the last minute the traveler won’t be charged for a room they don’t use. Many of the hotels also offer last room availability which means that if there’s a room available they must give it to the traveler at the negotiated rate.
I’ve used the FedRooms program for both business and personal travel. My experiences have all been good. The process for booking the room is very simple and similar to using a commercial site such as Expedia or Orbitz. The properties can also be called directly which may be easier or faster in some cases. If booking online, the website is very user friendly and lists the participating properties by city. The properties can be searched based on city and requested dates. It also allows you to search for properties that can be used for personal travel. One of my favorite features of the site is the map that shows the proximity of the property to the surrounding area. I’ve used this to get me close to where I need to be.
Some properties offer a government rate which may be different than the FedRooms rate. For the government rate the hotel gets to decide how much to charge. Many times the FedRooms rate is considerably less than the rate available to the general public so it’s important to ask for the Fedrooms rate and not just the government rate. This program makes it much easier for travelers to find a nice room at a good rate.
By: Jason Caltrider