Finding a hotel at or under the GSA lodging cap for your overnight stops shouldn’t require calling three hotels, negotiating a rate, and hoping the person at the front desk knows what a government rate is.
Luckily, FedRooms exists specifically to solve this problem — it’s a federal program that lists hotels pre-negotiated to honor government per diem rates. You book, you show up, you pay at or under the cap.
Here’s what FedRooms is, how it works for military PCS travel, and how to use it to make sure you’re not paying out of pocket on lodging you shouldn’t have to.
Want to know what the military covers on your PCS? Check out our Complete PCS Entitlements Guide.
What Is FedRooms?
FedRooms is a federally managed hotel program administered through the General Services Administration (GSA). Hotels listed in FedRooms have agreed to offer rates at or below the GSA per diem lodging cap for their location to federal government travelers — including active duty military members on PCS or TDY travel.
The key distinction: a hotel advertising a “government rate” is making you a promise they may or may not honor consistently. A hotel in FedRooms has a contract. The rate is guaranteed at booking and cannot be raised at check-in.
Some FedRooms properties also offer rate-at-last-room availability, meaning the government rate is available even when the hotel is close to sold out — something standard discount rates don’t guarantee.
Why It Matters for PCS Travel
Your lodging reimbursement during a PCS drive is capped at the GSA per diem rate for each overnight city. The standard CONUS cap is $110 per night.
If you book a hotel at $130 when the cap is $110, you’re paying $20 out of pocket — per night. On a 5-night PCS drive that’s $100 that didn’t need to come out of your pocket. FedRooms eliminates that gap by ensuring the hotels you book are already at or under the cap.
Our PCS road trip planner automatically shows FedRooms badges on overnight stops where FedRooms properties are available, so you can see at a glance which cities have pre-approved options.
How to Use FedRooms
Active duty military can book FedRooms properties through the Defense Travel System (DTS). When searching for lodging in DTS, look for properties with the FedRooms designation — these are the ones that have contracted to honor the government rate.
If you need help or can’t find a property in DTS, contact the FedRooms help desk directly:
- Email: Hotels@FedRooms.com
- Phone: 833-617-1341 (weekdays, 6am–6pm CDT)
One other thing worth noting: FedRooms added an Extended Stay option in 2026 for stays over 30 consecutive nights — potentially relevant for families using extended TLE.
Don’t want to go through the hassle of using DTS?
Our planning app will create an itinerary for your trip with FedRooms hotel options at every stop.
FedRooms vs. Booking Through Other Sites
Hotels.com, Booking.com, and Expedia sometimes show rates at or below the GSA cap — but those rates aren’t guaranteed to be honored on arrival, and they don’t come with the contract protections FedRooms provides. The FedRooms rate is contractually locked.
For PCS travel specifically, when you have to stay at or under the daily lodging cap, FedRooms is the more reliable choice. If you book elsewhere and the rate changes at check-in, the overage is yours to absorb.
What FedRooms Doesn’t Cover
FedRooms isn’t available everywhere. In rural areas, small towns, and less-traveled corridors, there may be no FedRooms properties. That’s not unusual — the program covers major travel corridors and cities well but won’t have options in every overnight stop on every PCS route.
When FedRooms doesn’t have options for a given stop, you’re looking for hotels that advertise a government or per diem rate — call ahead and confirm before you book, not when you check in.
Plan Your Stops Before You Leave
The best approach is to know your overnight stops and lodging options before you leave, not when you’re tired and 300 miles into the drive. Our free PCS road trip planner generates your day-by-day itinerary, shows FedRooms availability at each stop, and calculates your authorized lodging cap by city.
Don’t want to do the math yourself?
Plug in your move and we’ll calculate your authorized travel days, per diem, and mileage reimbursement in seconds.
Frequently Asked Questions
FedRooms is a GSA-managed hotel program where participating properties have contracted to offer rates at or below the government per diem lodging cap to federal travelers including active duty military. Rates are guaranteed at booking.
Yes. Active duty military members on PCS or TDY travel are eligible to book through FedRooms. You’ll need to show military ID at check-in to confirm eligibility for the government rate.
Yes. FedRooms is a free booking platform — no membership, no fees. You search, book, and pay the hotel directly at the contracted per diem rate.
FedRooms hotels have a contract guaranteeing the rate at or below the GSA cap.
Hotels advertising a “government rate” elsewhere are making a promise with no contract behind it — the rate can change at check-in. They also aren’t guaranteed to be within the GSA rate, a hotel can offer a discount and call it a government rate.
For PCS travel where staying at or under the lodging cap matters for reimbursement, the contract matters.
No. Lodging taxes are not included in the GSA per diem rate and are reimbursable separately as a miscellaneous expense per FTR 301-11.27. Keep your itemized receipt showing taxes paid.
