FY 09 Per Diem Highlights
How does GSA establish per diem rates for the continental United States (CONUS)?
GSA establishes the CONUS per diem rates providing the maximum reimbursement allowances up to which federal employees are reimbursed by their agencies for expenses incurred while on official travel. The CONUS per diem rate for an area is actually three allowances in one: the lodging allowance, the meals allowance and the incidental expense allowance. Most of the CONUS (about 3,000 counties) are covered by the standard CONUS per diem rate of $109 ($70 lodging, $39 meals and incidental expenses). In Fiscal Year (FY) 09, there are about 400 Non-Standard Areas (NSA) that have per diem rates higher than the standard CONUS.
Since FY 05, NSA rates have been based on the Average Daily Rate (ADR). This data is obtained through a GSA contract with a leading provider of lodging industry economic data. The ADR is a widely accepted lodging-industry measure based upon a property's room rental revenue divided by the number of rooms rented as reported by the hotel property to the contractor. This calculation provides us with the average rate that rooms rent in a given area.
For rate setting, GSA is required by law to use only properties that are certified as being "fire safe" and in compliance with the Hotel & Motel Fire Safety Act of 1990. This requires smoke detectors and automatic sprinkler systems in each guest room.
As in FY 08, GSA still uses:
- Only "fire safe" properties;
- Properties that fall within the mid-price range. This range includes all properties from the lowest to the highest of the mid-price, upper and upper-upscale properties in an area;
- Data from the prior 12-month period. For FY 09, this is from April 2007 through March 2008;
- Business travel week data (Monday through Thursday); and
- Ceilings and floors.
Last Reviewed 1/26/2009