Claim for Additional Per Diem

An agency requested a decision as to whether an employee may be reimbursed per diem allowance based on commercial lodging rates which exceed actual lodging expenses. The employee was assigned to temporary duty, and was authorized to travel by privately owned vehicle at her convenience, with reimbursement not to exceed the cost of travel by common carrier. While at the temporary duty station, the employee occupied a camper. She was reimbursed at the rate of $23 per day, which included $7 for lodgings and $16 for meals and miscellaneous expenses, but claimed reimbursement at the rate of $35 per day on the grounds that if she had traveled by common carrier she would have stayed in commercial lodgings costing at least $19 per day. GAO found that the employee was authorized reimbursement for per diem at a rate of $35 on the lodgings-plus basis contained in Federal Travel Regulations. Under this system, the traveler's per diem is computed on the basis of the average amount the traveler pays for lodgings, plus an allowance of $16 for meals and expenses, not to exceed the maximum per diem rate of $35 per day. It was held that while the employee could have been reimbursed for higher lodging costs if she had traveled by common carrier and stayed in commercial lodgings, she was entitled to reimbursement for only those lodging costs actually incurred. Accordingly, the claim for additional per diem was denied.