FEMA Approved Hotel

The ClubHotel Inn & Suites in Nashville is FEMA approved (#TN0092).

FOR TRAVELERS There is a regulatory requirement in the Joint Federal Travel Regulation/Joint Travel Regulation that requires all Federal employees on official travel to select a hotel that is approved by the Federal Emergency Manage- ment Agency ( FEMA ). Where did this requirement come from and what hap- pens if there are no FEMA - approved hotels at your desti- nation? The Hotel and Motel Fire Safety Act of 1990, Public Law 101-391, is an Act of Congress aimed at im- proving fire safety in hotels , motels, and other places of public accommodation. The Act states that Federal em- ployees, when on official travel, should stay in fire-safe accommodations. Additionally, each Federal agency must ensure that at least 90% of travel nights spent in the US are in such properties. All conferences, semi- nars, and other meetings, funded in whole or in part with Federal funds, must be held at facilities with fire-safe ac- commodations. The law pertains to only CONUS and non-foreign OCONUS-located hotels . Exactly what are fire safe accommodations ? For the purposes of the Act, every guestroom in a hotel or motel and each apartment/condominium must have an AC- powered smoke alarm. These are commonly called hard-wired. An alarm that is solely battery-powered is not acceptable. If the building is more than three stories in height, it must also have an automatic sprinkler sys- tem. How do you know if a hotel is fire safe? The U.S. Fire Administration compiles a list of such properties. Fire safe means that it is listed in the National Master List of Fire Safe Hotels and Motels. The list is available on the internet at http://www.usfa. fema .gov/hotel/. If you do not have internet access, you may call (301) 447-1358, or consult the Official Airline Guide or the Federal Travel Directory. For DTS participants, ho- tels listed in the DTS display are annotated as " FEMA Approved ”; therefore, verification can be made prior to selection. Some hotels explain that they have been “grandfathered” and are exempt from the requirement because they were built before the law was enacted. There are no exceptions for any hotel to be listed on the master list for any reason. They must comply with all of the requirements to be listed. Hotels that cannot meet the requirements are not listed. So, what happens when there are no FEMA approved hotels at your destination? You may elect to stay in a non- FEMA approved hotel if there are no other hotels available. However, under the law, agencies are re- quired to ensure that 90% of all lodging nights in the US are in approved hotels , and they must establish proce- dures to ensure this. Agencies are assumed to meet that 90% threshold if the travel management processes are designed to book commercial lodging in approved places of public accommodation, whenever available. The law was enacted to keep government employees safe. There are many perils in travel these days, so staying in a FEMA approved hotel can provide some peace of mind. Someone is looking out for your safety! “Why do I have to stay in a FEMA approved hotel?” What to do if DTS Times Out? DTS users ask why the system times out before they have completed their document. DTS is set to time-out if there is a pause of 15 minutes after the last keystroke. This is a security function built into the system to en- sure no one can modify documents if the user walks away from the com- puter. If DTS is timing-out repeatedly in less than 15 minutes, you may have a computer problem. Contact your local IT department for assis- tance. How to Update Your DTS Profile? To update your personal profile infor- mation in DTS, you must access “Additional Options” while creating an authorization or voucher. In “Additional Options”, select “Profile” and update any change including your Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) and Government Travel Charge Card (GTCC) information. The Timeline for Submitting Travel Vouchers Amendments? If you make a mistake on your voucher or forget to add an author- ized expense to your voucher when you return from TDY, don't worry. You have up to six years after you incur an expense to file or amend a voucher. The six year statute of limi- tations for claims against the govern- ment is found in Section 3702 of Title 31 of the U.S. Code

The following form is used to request GSA to add your property to the Listing of Properties at the Lodging Per Diem Rate. Upon completion and submittal of this form, your property will be listed within a few weeks on the following websites: we:
--The Offical Airline Guide's Hotels at Perdiem listing , and;
--Innovata's FedTravel.com FEMA approved hotel listing with an ICON indicating Government Per Diem Rate.
There is no charge for these listings.

By submitting this request to GSA you are:
1. agreeing to offer the existing Lodging Per Diem rate to Government travelers on Official Business; and,
2. validating that your property meets the fire and life requirements of the Hotel and Motel Fire Safety Act of 1990 by providing a Fire Safety Approval Number (FEMA Approval No.) that is assigned by the U. S. Fire Administration

Notice!!

Please do not submit the following request form unless your property has a VALID FEMA Approval Number. They will not be processed.
If you do not know whether your property has a FEMA Approval Number, check the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) U. S. Fire Administration website for verfication and application information.

FOR MULTIPLE PROPERTY SUBMITTALS:

Please use the Excel spreadsheet template form and submit an e-mail with the listing of your properties to: property.list@gsa.gov. If so, click HERE to download the template