GSA Per Diem Rates for Federal Travelers: Lodging, Meals, and Incidentals

1. Of fice of Governmentwide Policy GSA’s Per Diem Rate Setting Methodology for the Continental United States Travel Management Policy Office of Transportation and Asset Management

2. What is included in Per Diem? Per diem rates include the following reimbursement allowances for Federal travelers: • Lodging • Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner • Incidentals expenses: Fees and tips (excluding tips for taxis, airport shuttles, etc.)

3. 3 GSA’s Authority to set Per Diem In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 5702, GSA sets per diem rates to fairly reimburse Federal employees for their expenses while traveling to achieve their agencies’ missions. 5 U.S.C. Section 5702 (a)(1)(A) states employees are entitled to: • a per diem allowance at a rate not to exceed that established by the Administrator of General Services for travel within the continental United States… 5. U.S.C. Section 5707 a(b), Adherence to fire safety guidelines in establishing rates and discounts for lodging expenses, states “[S]tudies or surveys for the purposes of establishing per diem rates for lodging expenses … shall be limited to approved places of public accommodation” (e.g. properties with FEMA IDs).

4. Per Diem Rate Setting - History • Subsistence Act of 1926 • CONUS per diem rate of $6; actual expense no more than $7 • Outside of CONUS – per diem rate of $7, average of $8 actual • 1971 – Authority to set CONUS rates transferred from Bureau of the Budget (OMB) to GSA in E.O. 11609 • 1975 – Per diem raised from $25 to $35/day • 1980 - Raised from $35 to $50

5. Per Diem Rate Setting - History • 1986 – P.L. 99-234 permits GSA Administrator to establish locality-based allowances based upon cost surveys • Lodgings-plus system: actual costs for lodging subject to maximum rate plus fixed meals and incidental expense rate • Lodgings-plus extended worldwide in 1990 • 1990 – Hotel and Motel Fire Safety Act • Requires studies done to establish per diem rates use approved places of public accommodation

6. Per Diem Rate Setting - History • 2003 – Federal Advisory Committee held to discuss per diem methodology • Fiscal Year 2005 – current methodology goes into effect

7. Who Sets Per Diem Rates? *Current division of labor in place since 1982. No difference in rates between military/civilian travelers.

8. Types of Lodging Rates • Standard Rate • The base rate for per diem in the continental United States • Increased in FY 2011 from $70 to $77 • Applies to 2,600 counties • Generally reviewed every three years • Non-Standard Rate Areas (NSAs) • Unique areas identified by Federal agencies greater than the Standard Rate • Applies to 393 unique locations in FY13 • Reviewed every year

9. Lodging Per Diem Process Identify area and primary ZIP codes Use updated Fire-Safe hotel list Obtain hotel industry data: Average Daily Rate Analyze hotel industry data Seek/obtain GSA senior management concurrence Publish FY per diem rates Notify Congress of FY rate change Seek/obtain OMB senior management concurrence

10. 10 Primary ZIP Codes FEMA Fire Safe Properties Mid-Range Priced Properties Per Diem Methodology 12K+ properties used; average 30 each NSA

11. Per Diem Methodology • Only data of hotels/motels; no condos, dorms, B&Bs, cabins • No weekend travel rates • Data used: April – March

12. Methodology Example 12 Mid-Price Range *Luxury category properties not included unless priced lower than the highest mid-priced property. **Final Average Daily Rate is weighted by room count of each property in the sample.

13. Per Diem Methodology Standard CONUS Apply NSA Apply NSA Run 13

14. 14 Agency Flexibilities • Actual Expense Allowance • Agency approval • Up to 300% of per diem • Agencies discretion FTR reference: 41 CFR §301-11.300 to 11.306 (www.gsa.gov/ftr)

15. 15 Agency Flexibilities • Conference Lodging Allowance (CLA) • Up to 125% of lodging per diem rate to attend or plan conference (government agency sponsoring conference determines amount) • Federally sponsored • Proposed to eliminate in Fall 2012 – final rule to be issued soon FTR reference: 41 CFR §301-74 (www.gsa.gov/ftr)

16. 16 Requests for Per Diem Reviews Federal Agency Travel Manager notifies GSA of their travelers’ difficulties in finding rooms at the current per diem rate. The letter should include: • Number of trips annually in specific location • Address, ZIPs & rates where they need to stay • Frequency actual expense used

17. 17 Requests for Per Diem Reviews • Requests postmarked by 4/1 or 12/31 • See www.gsa.gov/perdiem FAQs #5 and 6 • Rates can increase/decrease/remain • unchanged

18. 18 Lodging Rate Changes - NSAs FY 2013 • Rates frozen at FY12 levels, except 10 new NSAs FY 2012 • 55 percent of the rates increased; 37 percent decreased (rest remained unchanged) FY 2011 • 82 percent of the rates decreased FY 2010 • 70 percent of rates remained the same or increased FY 2009 • 94 percent increased, 2 percent were unchanged and 4 percent decreased

19. Additional Resources Questions:travelpolicy@gsa.gov E-Mail Notification:www.gsa.gov/travelpolicyemailnotification Websites: gsa.gov/perdiem http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/applications/hotel http://www.twitter.com/GSAtravelpolicy 19

20. Point of Contact Jill Denning Per Diem Program Manager (202) 208-7642 jill.denning@gsa.gov