Fedrooms.com

[JunieBJones (JBJ)]

I am posting this from a group on linkedin, there are some requirements to be in this fedrooms.com you may not appreciate. But if you work often with gvt contractors and govt employees then it may be worth your while! There is a simple ppt prez you can download to see the form you use to submit monthly reports etc. This is a FREE website.
Stay Afloat in these turbulent times: Ensure you particpate in FedRooms.com and receive government business.
Hotels can also choose to extend their rates to State, Leisure, Government Contractors and small groups and meetings through FedRooms. The room nights are there - bring them in. Go toFedrooms.com and click on hotelier tab to find all the information needed to participate in FedRooms - the only official government program. Or email: hotels@ fedroooms.com if you are already participating, but would like to extend your rates to State, Leisure, Contractors or small groups and receive additional room nights.

 

[Morticia]

The rates here are VERY low. I think $79/night. We're not in the 'zones' so we have to go by the state rate (I think). I almost emailed these folks, then got distracted by something else. Thanls for posting it again.

 

[JunieBJones (JBJ)]

It is not that low near us, which surprised me. I get calls for people saying the per diem is $40!
FYI I have asked the director of this prgm if this would work for B&B's as well and will report back what she says.

 

[Morticia]

It is not that low near us, which surprised me. I get calls for people saying the per diem is $40!
FYI I have asked the director of this prgm if this would work for B&B's as well and will report back what she says..

It is not that low near us, which surprised me. I get calls for people saying the per diem is $40!

So you know they are going to try to pocket the difference.

 

[Copperhead]

Here is the link (below) to the Gov. per diem site. They do have seperate figures for lodging and food costs. They are required to turn in all expense account information so it would be impossible to 'pocket' the difference as someone mentioned. I have heard that some GOV employees will ask to have the breakfast seperated out from their lodging, but I think that it would only be of benefit if the B&B was charging over the lodging per diem and they wanted it to be completely covered on their expense account.
Another thing is that many of these individuals are tax exempt employees. If they are, you must get a completed Exemption Certificate form from them. Our tax office has yet to request these forms but I save each and every one with my charge receipts in case I am ever questioned. Be sure to check with your tax office about this if you do not know the policies in place in your taxing body.
http://www.gsa.gov/Portal/gsa/ep/contentView.do?contentType=GSA_BASIC&contentId=17943

 

[muirford]

Here is the link (below) to the Gov. per diem site. They do have seperate figures for lodging and food costs. They are required to turn in all expense account information so it would be impossible to 'pocket' the difference as someone mentioned. I have heard that some GOV employees will ask to have the breakfast seperated out from their lodging, but I think that it would only be of benefit if the B&B was charging over the lodging per diem and they wanted it to be completely covered on their expense account.
Another thing is that many of these individuals are tax exempt employees. If they are, you must get a completed Exemption Certificate form from them. Our tax office has yet to request these forms but I save each and every one with my charge receipts in case I am ever questioned. Be sure to check with your tax office about this if you do not know the policies in place in your taxing body.
http://www.gsa.gov/Portal/gsa/ep/contentView.do?contentType=GSA_BASIC&contentId=17943.

It really depends on how the per diem is handled at the employer level. When I worked for a defense contractor, we were given a per diem allowance for extended assignments and no accounting was asked for. We just got the amount - x days times per diem. If you saved money eating or sleeping, you pocketed the difference.
This is how crazy they were about this stuff. Before my husband and I were married, we lived together (about 4 years - long story about how bad divorces can be, and no, I wasn't the other woman) - and we were asked to take a temporary duty assignment. We offered to share an apartment but wanted a two-bedroom - cheaper than two one-bedrooms but not standard issue. They finally decided it would be okay to give DH a two-bedroom, since he had kids who would stay with him at times during the assignment. If I wanted to move in there, they didn't want to know anything about it and if I wanted my own apartment they had already arranged for it, and were going to pay for it. I didn't take the second apartment. Sometimes common sense and company/government regs don't go hand in hand.

 

[JunieBJones (JBJ)]

Same reason people share a room and each turn in the rcpt.

 

[tholtan]

It is not that low near us, which surprised me. I get calls for people saying the per diem is $40!
FYI I have asked the director of this prgm if this would work for B&B's as well and will report back what she says..

It is not that low near us, which surprised me. I get calls for people saying the per diem is $40!

So you know they are going to try to pocket the difference.
.

This is simply not true or possible. There are no per diems lower than $60 anywhere. Most are much higher. Hoteliers/InnKeepers may check their per diem on the GSA website:
http://www.gsa.gov/Portal/gsa/ep/contentView.do?contentId=17943&contentType=GSA_BASIC
Tracy Holtan Shook
Senior DIrector Fedrooms

 

[tholtan]

It is not that low near us, which surprised me. I get calls for people saying the per diem is $40!
FYI I have asked the director of this prgm if this would work for B&B's as well and will report back what she says..

B & B's may certainly join if they meet the FedRooms terms and conditons (available on www.fedrooms.com on the hotelier tab). A FEMA number is necessary. If you do not have one, you may apply on FEMA website:
http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/applications/hotel/
Thanks,
Tracy Holtan Shook, Senior Director FedRooms

 

[tholtan]

Any questions regarding FedRooms may be directed our help desk:
help desk 800.226.1741 or [email protected] or look up information on www.fedrooms.com[COLOR= black] [/COLOR]
[COLOR= #5279a9]|[/COLOR]
FedRooms is the only government-managed hotel program, offering best-in-class benefits and hotels worldwide for all Federal and Military travelers. The FedRooms Rate. Ask for it by name. Accept no substitutes.

 

[gillumhouse]

It is not that low near us, which surprised me. I get calls for people saying the per diem is $40!
FYI I have asked the director of this prgm if this would work for B&B's as well and will report back what she says..

Per diem is $70 for me.

 

[egoodell]

I work outside the B&B at University of Virginia which received state money. Our per dieum for med students (which I keep telling them is not realistic) is $40 a night, but we are not allowed to house them in motels. We have to seek out B&Bs who are out-of-the-way or people's homes.
They are given per dieum for food but are NOT ALLOWED to lump it together. Money allotted for breakfast can only be used for breakfast, same with lunch and dinner. They are not allowed to put it all together and pay for dinner.
Riki

 

[mooseberry]

It is not that low near us, which surprised me. I get calls for people saying the per diem is $40!
FYI I have asked the director of this prgm if this would work for B&B's as well and will report back what she says..

It is not that low near us, which surprised me. I get calls for people saying the per diem is $40!

So you know they are going to try to pocket the difference.
.

This is simply not true or possible. There are no per diems lower than $60 anywhere. Most are much higher. Hoteliers/InnKeepers may check their per diem on the GSA website:
http://www.gsa.gov/Portal/gsa/ep/contentView.do?contentId=17943&contentType=GSA_BASIC
Tracy Holtan Shook
Senior DIrector Fedrooms
.

One guest told me theirs was still $99.00, but less then last year.

 

[Copperhead]

I work outside the B&B at University of Virginia which received state money. Our per dieum for med students (which I keep telling them is not realistic) is $40 a night, but we are not allowed to house them in motels. We have to seek out B&Bs who are out-of-the-way or people's homes.
They are given per dieum for food but are NOT ALLOWED to lump it together. Money allotted for breakfast can only be used for breakfast, same with lunch and dinner. They are not allowed to put it all together and pay for dinner.
Riki.

Riki - this is quite a different topic than the one you are speaking of which is mostlikely governed by the university, not the Federal Government.

 

[greyswan]

Our area per diem rate is $70 plus tax and we have 2 guest rooms that we use for that rate. If the guest brings in the tax exemption form we'll file it and deduct the tax. We currently include breakfast for that rate, but have tho't about doing a separate charge.. then that may be a problem with our B&B status as breakfast is complimentary and may bring up the issue of food tax, too. We are still debating about adding other fees (additional for spouse)

 

[Copperhead]

Our area per diem rate is $70 plus tax and we have 2 guest rooms that we use for that rate. If the guest brings in the tax exemption form we'll file it and deduct the tax. We currently include breakfast for that rate, but have tho't about doing a separate charge.. then that may be a problem with our B&B status as breakfast is complimentary and may bring up the issue of food tax, too. We are still debating about adding other fees (additional for spouse).

Our area per diem rate is $70 plus tax and we have 2 guest rooms that we use for that rate. If the guest brings in the tax exemption form we'll file it and deduct the tax. We currently include breakfast for that rate, but have tho't about doing a separate charge.. then that may be a problem with our B&B status as breakfast is complimentary and may bring up the issue of food tax, too. We are still debating about adding other fees (additional for spouse)

The Gov. per diem rate here is currently $95, and I do rent many nights at this rate. I will accept this rate for 1 person only, traveling on business and only Sun - Thrusday, unless they are staying several days which then I have no problem adding the weekend if available. The tax exemption forms that I have recieved are only expempting them from paying state tax, local taxes are still to be collected. I do have a group coming next month from one of the state universities and she said her exemption is for all taxes so this does vary I guess.
I have limited this rate to only 1 guest because I found that if we accept 2, the spouse ends up staying around all day thus using more energy and taking up more of my time (usually more needy). I too have thought about seperating the breakfast from the lodging as this has been a topic covered on this forum. But I too have issues regarding our B&B status, so I will stay as I am.

 

[Samster]

Our area per diem rate is $70 plus tax and we have 2 guest rooms that we use for that rate. If the guest brings in the tax exemption form we'll file it and deduct the tax. We currently include breakfast for that rate, but have tho't about doing a separate charge.. then that may be a problem with our B&B status as breakfast is complimentary and may bring up the issue of food tax, too. We are still debating about adding other fees (additional for spouse).

Our area per diem rate is $70 plus tax and we have 2 guest rooms that we use for that rate. If the guest brings in the tax exemption form we'll file it and deduct the tax. We currently include breakfast for that rate, but have tho't about doing a separate charge.. then that may be a problem with our B&B status as breakfast is complimentary and may bring up the issue of food tax, too. We are still debating about adding other fees (additional for spouse)

The Gov. per diem rate here is currently $95, and I do rent many nights at this rate. I will accept this rate for 1 person only, traveling on business and only Sun - Thrusday, unless they are staying several days which then I have no problem adding the weekend if available. The tax exemption forms that I have recieved are only expempting them from paying state tax, local taxes are still to be collected. I do have a group coming next month from one of the state universities and she said her exemption is for all taxes so this does vary I guess.
I have limited this rate to only 1 guest because I found that if we accept 2, the spouse ends up staying around all day thus using more energy and taking up more of my time (usually more needy). I too have thought about seperating the breakfast from the lodging as this has been a topic covered on this forum. But I too have issues regarding our B&B status, so I will stay as I am.
.

Yes, interesting how the tax exemption varies. I had a State employee stay here on business and that guest was only exempt from the local lodging tax and she brought the appropriate form. Just had 3 local government employees from various locations around the State here for a professional conference and they had the exemption forms for both State sales tax and our local hotel/motel excise tax. I have their forms with their paperwork if ever needed. My tax forms have entries for exemptions, of course.
Back to the topic - our Fed rate is $92 which was higher than I thought it would be actually.

 

[scrambled_eggs]

So has anyone used fedrooms.com on here? I am just curious how much business it brings. I am thinking of offering government rates from October thru May.