The Fire Safety Act requires 90 percent of all federal travel nights to be at properties that meet the requirements of this Act.

SUMMARY

The federal travel market is estimated to be valued at approximately $1.6 billion annually. Following several fires in the 1980s, the federal government took efforts to ensure the majority of its employees traveling on official business stay at properties that meet certain fire safety standards. Congress passed the Hotel & Motel Fire Safety Act in 1990 (P.L. 101-391), which requires that 90 percent of all federal travel room nights and 100 percent of all federal meetings must be at "fire safe" properties.

To meet the requirements of the Act, a hotel must have hard wired smoke detectors, and if the property is three or more stories, the property must have an adequate sprinkler system. To prove compliance with the Act, a property must be on the Hotel & Motel National Master List.

Properties that do not comply with the requirements of the Act, or comply but do not appear on the National Master List, risk losing federal government business, including having federal employees on official business as guests.

More than 25,000 properties are listed on the National Master List.  The National Master List is searchable by a variety of parameters and can be found here.

STATUS

As of October 1, 1996, 90 percent of federal travel nights must be spent in properties complying with the Hotel & Motel Fire Safety Act. Additionally, all federally sponsored meetings must be held at properties meeting the requirements of the Act. AH&LA urges all member properties to submit applications to their state fire marshal's office (or appropriate office) for inclusion in the federal government's list of properties.

For information on complying with the Act, for copies of self-certification forms, or to see if your property is already listed on the National Master List, please visit the U.S. Fire Administration “Hotel/Motel Fire-Safe List” Webpage . 

Property owners who would like to register their property on the National Master List may do so by selecting the “Register” link on the USFA Webpage.  The Webpage also describes what safety requirements must be fulfilled by a property, as well as the approval process for hotels and lodges.

(Updated August 2008)