U.S. Government on Track to Spend 20% Less on Hotels in 2012

Federal agencies are on track to spend $228 million on hotels this year, 20% less than 2011 and 26% less than 2010. For the first three quarters of 2012, the government spent $171 million on lodging, $44 million less than this point last year, based on data from the Federal Procurement Data System. The reductions appear to be in response to increased scrutiny of travel by federal employees, cancelations following the scandal over a 2010 GSA conference near Las Vegas, and a directive from the Office of Management and Budget to reduce travel budgets to 30% of 2010 levels. As an example of how agencies are meeting these requirements, the Internal Revenue Service’s planned to spend 27% less on travel in 2012 by using teleconferencing and webinars as an alternative to in-person conferences and training sessions. federaltimes.com