WASHINGTON (August 12, 2021) – American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) President and CEO Chip Rogers released the below statement after the General Services Administration (GSA) announced it would freeze FY2022 federal per diem rates for government travel in the Continental United States at FY2021 levels, which are based on pre-COVID-19 rates.

“AHLA thanks the General Services Administration (GSA) for setting fair FY2022 per diem rates that recognize the devastating impact COVID-19 continues to have on hotel employees and small businesses. This is a big win for hoteliers across the country, as government travel supports tens of thousands of jobs and billions in travel spending, and many private sector organizations also base travel reimbursements on federal per diem rates. Freezing per diem rates at pre-pandemic levels is vital to the hotel industry as we continue down the long and uneven road to recovery. We are grateful for GSA’s work to ensure reasonable per diem rates for FY22, and we look forward to welcoming back our government guests as travel resumes.”

BACKGROUND ON PER DIEM RATES
Each year, the General Services Administration (GSA) sets a per diem rate to reimburse employees’ lodging expenses for official travel within the continental U.S. Normally, GSA calculates per diems based on the average daily rate (ADR) from the previous fiscal year, less five percent.

As a result of pandemic-related shutdowns, capacity restrictions and safety precautions, calculating per diem rates the normal way would have led to an artificially low rate that would have only exacerbated the economic crisis facing hoteliers.

The FY22 CONUS per diem rate is $151, which includes $96 for lodging and $55 for meals. This is the same as FY21. The FY22 rates will be available on the GSA website tomorrow morning.