Why GSA Lodging Rates Change by Month
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In this guide
Book a trip to San Francisco in September and check the same city's per diem rate in February, and you'll get two different lodging figures for the exact same hotel market. That's not an error in the data — it's GSA deliberately tracking how hotel prices actually move throughout the year in cities where they swing hard.
TL;DR
In resort, convention and other high-demand cities, GSA sets a different lodging cap for each month of the fiscal year, rising in peak season and falling in the off-season. M&IE never changes by month — only lodging does. Always use the rate for the specific month you're actually staying, not an annual average, since using the wrong month can under- or overstate a claim.
Why GSA bothers with monthly rates at all
In resort and convention cities, GSA lodging caps move with the season — higher when hotels are genuinely more expensive due to demand, lower in the off-season when the same rooms cost less. A flat annual rate would either overstate the real cost most of the year (if set to match peak season) or understate it during the busiest travel months (if set to match the average). Monthly rates let GSA track actual market pricing far more closely than a single annual figure ever could.
Examples of real seasonal swings
- San Francisco's FY2026 lodging cap runs $259 for most of the year, rising to $272 in the autumn conference season.
- Ski towns in Colorado and Utah can swing by well over $100 a night between winter peak season and the summer off-season.
- Beach and resort destinations along the Gulf Coast and in Florida typically peak in winter months and drop through the summer.
| Month | Typical demand pattern | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Peak season (varies by destination) | Highest hotel demand — conventions, holidays, ideal weather | Use the higher published rate for that month |
| Shoulder season | Moderate demand | Often matches or sits close to the standard rate |
| Off-season | Lowest hotel demand | Use the lower published rate — don't default to the peak figure out of caution |
How to read a seasonal lodging table
M&IE doesn't change by month
Only lodging is seasonal; the M&IE rate for a given city is fixed all year regardless of month. That's an important distinction when you're building a trip total by hand — you need to check the specific month for lodging, but the meals-and-incidentals figure stays constant across the whole fiscal year for that destination. See our full M&IE breakdown for how that flat figure is itself split into breakfast, lunch, dinner and incidentals.
“Some locations have lodging rates that fluctuate throughout the fiscal year based on the season, and travelers must apply the rate in effect for the specific dates of lodging.”
— U.S. General Services Administration, per diem guidance, gsa.gov
Trips that straddle a season change
A trip that starts in the off-season and runs into peak season — or vice versa — needs each individual night priced at that specific month's rate, not a blended average across the stay. This is exactly the kind of detail that's easy to get wrong in a manual spreadsheet and trivial for a proper calculator to handle automatically.
Let a calculator apply the right month automatically
Our per diem calculator reads each night's specific month and applies the correct lodging cap automatically, so a multi-night trip that straddles a season change is totalled correctly without you having to manually look up two different monthly rates and split the calculation yourself.
Do all GSA cities have seasonal lodging rates?
No — only cities and counties where GSA's survey shows genuine seasonal demand swings, typically resort towns, ski destinations, and major convention cities. The standard CONUS rate never varies by month.
Does M&IE change with the season?
No — only the lodging portion of per diem varies by month. The M&IE rate for a given city stays the same throughout the fiscal year.
What rate do I use for a trip that spans two different seasons?
Each night should be priced at the rate published for that specific month — you don't average the two rates together.
How often does GSA update seasonal lodging rates?
GSA reviews and republishes rates, including seasonal figures, at the start of each new fiscal year, typically effective October 1.
Calculate it now
Use the free GSA per diem and IRS mileage calculators.