[Protest of Secret Service Contract Award]

A firm protested a contract award to another firm under a U.S. Secret Service solicitation, contending that the Secret Service improperly evaluated its proposal. The solicitation was for the rental of an indefinite quantity of hotel rooms to be used by Secret Service personnel assigned to protect presidential candidates. The solicitation required that the rooms be in proximity to Washington National Airport and downtown Washington, D.C. After reviewing the proposals, the Secret Service determined that its needs would best be met by hotels located in downtown Washington because it would afford a better response time to the residences of the various presidential candidates by Secret Service personnel. GAO held that, in making this determination, the Secret Service made its contract award on the basis of evaluation factors not set forth in the solicitation. Accordingly, the protest was sustained. Because the contract was awarded based on the actual needs of the Secret Service, GAO did not recommend that the contract be terminated, but did recommend that the protester be paid proposal preparation costs upon submission of a substantiated claim to the Secret Service.