GSA Sets Per Diem Rates for New Regions

Would you believe that, according to the U.S. government’s calculations, a reasonable rate to pay for a hotel room in Dickinson or Beulah, N.D., in the dead of winter is $118 per night? The cities form one of 10 regions joining the list of destinations that federal employees visit frequently enough to require their own per diem rate. The U.S. General Services Administration recently released the rates, which dictate what government workers are permitted to spend on lodging, for these newly established markets:

–Hancock and Pearl River counties, Miss.: $82
–Stockton, Calif.: $83
–Bakersfield and Ridgecrest, Calif.: $86
–Carlsbad, N.M.: $89
–Sidney and Glendive, Mont.: $90–$96
–Williston, N.D.: $90–$96
–Pasco, Wash.: $93
–Watertown, N.Y.: $99
–Minot, N.D.: $100–$112
–Beulah and Dickinson, N.D.: $104–$118

The rates for North Dakota reflect an ongoing hotel shortage. Developers in the western part of the state, in particular, have struggled to keep pace with growing demand driven by an oil boom.

The GSA calculates per diem rates for more than 350 markets using data from Smith Travel Research.  The agency froze rates for existing markets, as well as the standard rate of $77 for locations not covered by those areas, at current levels though the end of the 2013 financial year as a cost-saving measure. ahla.com