Featured engagement
GSA Per Diem Rate Optimization
For tourism offices, DMOs, and chambers of commerce in communities whose federal lodging rates don't reflect their actual market.
The opportunity
Federal travelers — military, civilian, contractor — generate billions of dollars in lodging demand each year. The rates they pay are set by the General Services Administration through a methodology built around Average Daily Rate data from mid-range hotels in each market. Where the data is current and the rate-setting process has been actively engaged, the rates reflect reality. Where it hasn't, communities are systematically underpaid for federal travel.
Two patterns repeat across the country.
Some communities carry non-standard area designations during peak seasons but drop to the standard rate the rest of the year, even when local market data would support a higher floor. Others sit just barely above the standard threshold — a few dollars away from a designation that would meaningfully change their hotels' federal segment economics.
Each scenario represents money that should be flowing to local hotels, local tax receipts, and local economies — and isn't.
The work
EJG works with communities to navigate the GSA rate-setting process from end to end.
The engagement begins with a community-specific opportunity analysis: a review of the current rate, the underlying ADR data, the hotel inventory and occupancy patterns that GSA's methodology weighs, and the realistic increase achievable based on market conditions. The output is a financial model showing what a successful rate increase would mean — for the hotels in the community, for tourism tax receipts, for the broader visitor economy.
From there, the work shifts to engagement: data preparation, submission strategy, stakeholder coordination across hotels and local government, and direct interaction with GSA through the rate-setting cycle. The methodology is technical, the timing is sensitive, and the documentation requirements are specific. Most communities don't engage at all simply because nobody on staff has the bandwidth or the technical familiarity to do it well.
Engagement model
Two-part fee structure with aligned incentives.
An upfront engagement fee covers the opportunity analysis, financial modeling, and submission preparation. The success-based component is tied to the achieved rate increase — calculated as a percentage of the incremental federal lodging revenue the community will receive in the first year of the new rate. If the rate doesn't increase, the success fee doesn't apply.
The structure exists for a specific reason: it ensures EJG is only working on engagements where the analysis says a meaningful increase is achievable, and it puts EJG's compensation in direct alignment with the client's outcome.
Who this is for
Tourism offices, DMOs, chambers of commerce, and economic development organizations representing communities currently designated as non-standard areas in the GSA per diem schedule, or sitting close to the threshold for non-standard designation.
Communities at the highest priority typically share two characteristics: meaningful federal travel demand (proximity to military installations, federal facilities, contractor populations, or government-adjacent markets) and a current rate that doesn't reflect local hotel ADR.
Next step
The fastest way to know whether your community is a candidate is a brief conversation. EJG provides a no-obligation initial review based on the publicly available GSA data for your designated area, with a written assessment of the opportunity and the engagement structure that would apply.
Request an opportunity review →Questions worth asking.
How long does the GSA rate-setting process take? +
The GSA rate-setting cycle runs annually, with new rates published in mid-summer for the federal fiscal year beginning October 1. Submissions and supporting data need to be in motion months ahead of that. A typical engagement starts the analysis phase in Q1, with submission and stakeholder coordination through Q2, ahead of the GSA review window.
What kind of rate increase is realistic? +
Increases vary widely based on the gap between a community's current rate and what local hotel ADR data supports. For communities barely above the standard rate, achieving non-standard area designation can mean a meaningful annual lift per occupied night. For non-standard areas underpaid relative to seasonal demand, increases tend to be smaller in percentage terms but compound across larger room-night volumes. The opportunity analysis quantifies what's achievable for a specific community before the engagement begins.
Could we do this ourselves? +
In principle, yes — GSA's process is publicly documented and any community can submit data and engage with the rate-setting cycle. In practice, the work requires technical familiarity with GSA's methodology, current ADR data formatted to specification, hotel inventory analysis, and active stakeholder coordination through a sensitive timing window. Most tourism offices and DMOs don't have staff capacity for any of these in isolation, much less all of them simultaneously. Where the work has been done in-house successfully, it's typically because someone on staff has prior GSA-side experience or the office has dedicated specifically to this for a full annual cycle.
How does this interact with our existing relationship with GSA? +
EJG works on behalf of the community and engages GSA directly through the established rate-setting process. The work doesn't replace, conflict with, or require permission from any existing relationship a community has with GSA or its regional offices. In most cases, GSA welcomes well-prepared submissions because it improves the quality of data feeding the rate-setting methodology.
What happens if the rate doesn't increase? +
The upfront engagement fee covers the analysis and submission work regardless of outcome. The success-based component only applies if the rate increases. EJG only takes on engagements where the opportunity analysis indicates a meaningful increase is achievable, so a rate that doesn't move at all is uncommon — but the structure is built to protect the community in either scenario.
Is this a one-time engagement or ongoing? +
Both options exist. A one-time engagement covers a single rate-setting cycle and the achieved increase carries forward in subsequent years until market conditions change significantly. An ongoing advisory relationship makes sense for communities that want sustained engagement with GSA over multiple cycles, particularly if the community is rapidly developing or its hotel inventory is changing.
What information do you need to start an opportunity review? +
The community's name, designated area within the GSA per diem schedule, and a contact at the relevant tourism office, DMO, or chamber. EJG handles the data gathering and analysis from publicly available sources. The initial review is no-obligation and produces a written assessment of the opportunity and recommended engagement structure.