Washington, D.C. – August 12, 2016 – The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA) today issued the following statement on the federal per diem rates for FY2017 released by the General Services Administration (GSA). The government body also announced the formation of a new inter-agency working group that will review the issue of per diem boundaries.

“Government travel is incredibly important to the hotel industry, generating thousands of jobs and billions in travel spending that supports communities around the country,” said Vanessa Sinders, Senior Vice President of Government Affairs for AH&LA. “The American Hotel & Lodging Association works closely with the General Services Administration to ensure that lodging per diem rates align with market conditions and also reflect good value for the government. Since the government per diem rates are often used as a guide by other organizations in setting their travel standards it is imperative that we strive to ensure fair and reasonable rates are established.”

“As an industry, we hope that this new working group will engage closely with the travel industry and allow for thorough input and consultation. AH&LA will continue advocating with both the GSA and this new group to ensure hotels can best accommodate the needs of government travel.”
 

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Serving the hospitality industry for more than a century, the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA) is the sole national association representing all segments of the 1.9 million-employee U.S. lodging industry, including hotel owners, REITs, chains, franchisees, management companies, independent properties, state hotel associations, and industry suppliers. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., AH&LA provides focused advocacy, communications support, and educational resources for an industry of more than 54,000 properties generating $176 billion in annual sales from 5 million guestrooms.