GSA has announced that standard federal travel per diem rates will increase in fiscal 2014 to $83 from $77 for lodging in fiscal 2013 while meal and incidental reimbursements hold steady in the range of $46 to $71 a day.
Lodging rates overall are up on the order of 2 percent but within that average there is substantial variation, with increases in some destinations and decreases in others varying in many cases by season.
GSA is also doing away with its conference lodging allowance, which reimbursed an additional 25 percent on top of per diem for conferences, something the agency says could save $10 million a year.
The lodging rates are largely based on an average daily rate measure that factors room rental revenue divided by number of rooms rented, and about 400 locations have higher per diem rates than the standard rates.
Some of the increase reflects a pent-up rise since fiscal 2013 rates had been frozen at 2012 levels following the GSA conference scandal and the resulting pressure from OMB and Congress to hold down federal travel.
