When a government employee is preparing to go on travel to conduct official government business, one question the person may ask is “Where am I going to stay”? When it comes to selecting lodging, there are many regulations the government has established to try and be cost effective.
The Federal Travel Regulations (FTR) offers guidance concerning lodging for civilian government travelers. Travelers are required to stay at hotels that are at or less than the per diem rate allowed. Per diem rates consist of lodging, meals, and incidental expenses. The per diem rates are released by the General Services Administration (GSA) after they have been reviewed and approved by the Office of Budget and Management (OMB). The rates are reviewed and adjusted accordingly on a yearly basis. The rates are published on the GSA website.
The traveler must stay at a hotel that has been approved as “fire safe” and are registered on the Master List of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). In order to be approved by FEMA, the hotel must submit the Hotel and Motel Fire Safety Declaration form to the U.S. Fire Administration. This approval ensures that if the property should catch fire the proper equipment and evacuation procedures are in place to ensure the safety of the traveler.
If there is a FedRooms property at the TDY location, the traveler must give that property first consideration. FedRooms properties have at least a two star rating, accept government charge cards, are at or below per diem, and on the day of check-in will accept a cancellation at 4:00pm or later. When the traveler makes travel arrangements using the E-Gov Travel System (ETS) a list of FedRooms accommodations will be available to the traveler to aid in the selection process.
By: Sue Burton
The contents of this message are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the Government or my agency.