The United States General Services Administration (GSA) has announced new fiscal year 2025 per diem rates for government travel in continental U.S.
Effective October 1, the standard lodging rate will increase from $107 to $110. The meals and incidental expenses rate tiers were also revised for FY 2025. The allowance for this category is being increased for the first time in three years. The standard M&IE rate will increase from $59 to $68 and the M&IE rate tiers for non-standard areas (NSAs) will increase from $59-$79 to $68-$92.
The increase in the standard daily lodging allowance is estimated to be worth $100 million to the hotel industry, the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) said in a statement.
Each year, the GSA sets per diem rates for federal agencies to reimburse their employees’ lodging and meals expenses for official travel within the continental U.S. GSA usually calculates per diems based on ADR for lodging and meals from a trailing 12-month period, minus 5%.
The FY25 standard per diem rate for most of continental U.S. is $178, including $110 for lodging and $68 for meals and incidental costs.
For the fiscal year 2025, the GSA identified 296 NSAs with higher per diem rates than the standard rate. The following locations that were NSAs in FY2024 have been moved into the standard continental U.S. rate category:
- Wayne, Ind. (Allen County)
- Canton, Ohio (Stark County)
- Mentor, Ohio (Lake County)
- East Greenwich / Warwick, R.I. (Kent County)
- Waco, Texas (McLennan County)
- Wisconsin Dells, Wis. (Columbia County)
No new NSAs were added for 2025.
Welcoming the raise, AHLA said the increases are an important victory for the association, which has represented its members to make fair per diem rates a perennial federal advocacy priority.
“Government travel is a vital source of revenue for hotels, and it’s critically important that the federal government’s per diem rates reflect market conditions and take into account the economic realities hotels are facing, including the lingering effects of inflation and the nationwide workforce shortage. We appreciate the work done on this issue by GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan and the Biden administration,” said AHLA Interim President & CEO Kevin Carey.
