GSA sets new per diem rates for Southeast

The General Services Administration on Monday announced new per diem rates for five Southeastern cities. The new per diem rates for federal employees on business travel will be published later this week in the Federal Register. They are:

• Huntsville, Ala.: $67.00 (total maximum per diem $105)
• Jacksonville/Mayport, Fla.: $81.00 (maximum per diem $115)
• Savannah, Ga.: $89.00 (maximum per diem $127)
• Biloxi/Gulfport, Miss.: $61.00 (maximum per diem $99)
• Charleston/Berkeley County, S.C.: $106.00 (maximum per diem $148)

GSA also added the five cities to its Federal Premier Lodging Program, which was integrated into the per diem rate-setting process earlier this year. Under FPLP, hotels guarantee that a certain number of rooms will be available at or below the applicable per diem rates. Previously, there was no guarantee that this rate would be available.

GSA ran a successful pilot version of the program in Boston two years ago and then expanded the program to other cities. Including the five cities already mentioned, recent contracts were also awarded in Washington; Seattle; Portland, Ore.; Chicago; Denver; Jefferson County, Colo.; Baltimore; Memphis, Tenn., and New York. Other contracts are pending in Miami; Atlanta; New Orleans; Detroit and Boston.

To maximize the government's potential to get better hotel rates through greater use of FPLP, GSA officials plan to issue new regulations later this summer that would "strongly encourage" federal employees to choose FPLP properties when planning official travel. For a complete list of per diem rates go to GSA's Web site. Federal employees with complaints about locations where hotels within the area's maximum per diem rate frequently have no vacancies can submit complaints online at GSA's No Vacancy Web site.