The Department of the Air Force has selected IHG Hotels & Resorts and Centinel Public Partnerships to take over on-base lodging at Air Force installations under a 50-year lease. The transition is expected to be complete by fall 2027, starting with 23 installations in the first phase.
If you’re PCSing to an Air Force base — now or in the next few years — here’s what this means for you.
What’s Actually Changing
The Air Force Inns program — the system that has operated on-base lodging at Air Force installations for decades — is being replaced by a commercial partnership:
- IHG Hotels & Resorts will act as the hotel and management operator.
- Centinel Public Partnerships will own, develop, and manage the physical properties.
This isn’t a completely new concept. Centinel and IHG have been running the Army’s Privatization of Army Lodging (PAL) program since 2009, with over 70 hotels and 12,000 rooms across 40 Army installations. The Air Force is following the same model.
The first 23 installations slated for transition are:
- Altus AFB, Oklahoma
- Barksdale AFB, Louisiana
- Beale AFB, California
- Buckley Space Force Base, Colorado
- Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona
- Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Georgia
- Edwards AFB, California
- Eglin AFB, Florida
- Goodfellow AFB, Texas
- Hurlburt Field, Florida
- Joint Base Andrews, Maryland
- JB Charleston, South Carolina
- JB Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska
- JB McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey
- Little Rock AFB, Arkansas
- MacDill AFB, Florida
- Maxwell AFB, Alabama
- Nellis AFB, Nevada
- Robins AFB, Georgia
- Seymour Johnson AFB, North Carolina
- Shaw AFB, South Carolina
- Sheppard AFB, Texas
- Travis AFB, California
Remaining installations will transition in subsequent phases, with no confirmed timeline yet for phase two and beyond.
What This Means for TLE and PCSing
Your entitlements don’t change.
You’re still authorized up to 21 days CONUS per JTR Table 5-13, the daily cap is still $290, and the standard PCS lodging rate is still $110/night. The operator of the on-base lodging facility doesn’t affect what you’re authorized.
What may change over time is the quality and availability of on-base lodging. The PAL program on Army installations generally produced newer, more hotel-standard facilities than the old Government-managed lodging. If the Air Force transition follows the same pattern, the rooms themselves should improve — which might not matter if you’re staying somewhere nice like Kirtland AFB, but let’s say there are plenty of others bases that desperately need the upgrade.
The Government quarters rule still applies: if on-base lodging is available at your installation, you’re required to use it before booking commercial lodging for TLE. That rule doesn’t change just because IHG is running the desk instead of Air Force Inns. Get a non-availability confirmation number before booking off-base if on-base lodging is full.
What About IHG Loyalty Points?
Under the Army’s PAL program, guests can earn IHG One Rewards points on stays. Whether the same will apply under the Air Force agreement hasn’t been confirmed yet.
It’s worth watching though — if it works like Army lodging, you’d be earning hotel points on your TLE stay. We’ll update this post if that changes, but for now, it doesn’t hurt to sign up for an IHG One Rewards account (it’s free) and ask to add your number to your reservation.
Timeline
The DAF and IHG/Centinel expect to finalize the lease agreement and complete the operational transfer by fall 2027.
The first 23 installations will transition as part of a phased approach designed to keep lodging operational throughout. If you’re PCSing to one of the installations on the list before fall 2027, you’re still be dealing with Air Force Inns as usual — nothing changes for you until the transition is complete at your specific installation.
If your installation isn’t on the first-phase list, which is oddly the case for some large bases like Scott AFB, there’s no confirmed timeline yet for when it transitions. The DAF has said additional installations will follow in subsequent phases.
What Stays the Same for Now
- Your TLE entitlement and authorized days are unchanged
- The Government quarters requirement still applies
- Book through your installation’s lodging office as you normally would
- Non-availability numbers are still required before booking commercial lodging
- Lodging taxes are still reimbursable separately per FTR 301-11.27
For the full picture of your PCS lodging entitlements, see our complete PCS entitlements guide and our guide to using a vacation rental for TLE.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. Your TLE entitlement is set by the JTR, not by who operates the lodging facility. You’re still authorized up to 21 days CONUS, the daily cap is still $290, and the standard PCS lodging rate is $110/night. The operator change doesn’t affect any of that.
The DAF expects to finalize the lease and complete the operational transfer by fall 2027, starting with 23 installations. Additional installations will follow in subsequent phases with no confirmed timeline yet. If you’re PCSing before fall 2027, Air Force Inns operates as normal at your installation until the transition is complete there.
Yes — the Government quarters rule doesn’t change. If on-base lodging is available, you’re required to use it before booking commercial lodging for TLE. If it’s full, get a non-availability confirmation number from your installation’s lodging office before booking anything off-base.
Not confirmed yet for Air Force installations. Under the Army’s PAL program — which uses the same Centinel/IHG partnership — guests can earn IHG One Rewards points. If the Air Force follows the same model, points would likely be available. We’ll update this post when it’s confirmed.
The first 23 installations are Altus AFB, Barksdale AFB, Beale AFB, Buckley SFB, Davis-Monthan AFB, Dobbins ARB, Edwards AFB, Eglin AFB, Goodfellow AFB, Hurlburt Field, JB Andrews, JB Charleston, JB Elmendorf-Richardson, JB McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, Little Rock AFB, MacDill AFB, Maxwell AFB, Nellis AFB, Robins AFB, Seymour Johnson AFB, Shaw AFB, Sheppard AFB, and Travis AFB.
