[Claim for Reimbursement of Travel Expenses]

While on temporary duty for 33 days, a civilian employee of the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) elected to pay lodging expenses at a rate which varied according to the day of the week. The hotel at which he was staying had given him the option of paying a constant daily rate based upon occupancy of the room for a week or more which would have resulted in a greater lodging expense than the variable rate. DLA declined reimbursement at the average variable rate under a regulation which requires that lodging expenses be computed separately each day. However, it urged a favorable decision since the employee had exercised the care of a reasonably prudent person spending his own funds, as required by another regulation, and thereby had saved the Government money. Under regulations, lodging expenses accrue on a daily basis and, ordinarily, actual subsistence expenses incurred each day may not be averaged to avoid exceeding the maximum daily allowance for subsistence. Further, an employee may be reimbursed only actual expenses incurred during any one day if they are less than the authorized amount. GAO held that, if an employee remains in the same accommodations but reduces costs by electing to pay a lodging rate varying daily rather than a weekly rate accruing in equal daily amounts, he may be reimbursed the average of the variable rates paid over the applicable computation period. Accordingly, reimbursement should be based on the employee's average daily lodging costs.