FedRooms is the U.S. government's own hotel programme, run through GSA. It is not a discount code and not a loyalty perk. It is a set of negotiated rates that are contractually guaranteed to sit at or below the federal per diem for the location, with the fee structure and cancellation terms fixed in advance.
This page covers who can actually use it, what the guarantees are, and which chains carry it, the last of which we counted ourselves from GSA's published property list rather than repeating the round number.
Who Can Use It, And Who Cannot
GSA states the programme "is available to all U.S. government and military personnel."
That is the whole eligibility test, and it is worth being blunt about the other side of it. Note too that this is the rate for official travel: a service member on holiday wants the military leisure rate instead, which most chains state is explicitly not for duty travel. If you are not travelling on official government or military business, the government rate is not available to you. Hotels verify it. A government rate booked without eligibility is repriced at the desk, and unlike a lapsed corporate code this one is checked routinely, because the rate is tied to a federal travel authorisation rather than to a company name.
Lists elsewhere on the internet present "GOV" as though it were a public discount code. It is not.
What FedRooms Actually Guarantees
The value here is less the headline rate than the terms attached to it:
| Guarantee | What GSA states |
|---|---|
| Rate ceiling | Always at or below per diem for the location |
| Added fees | No early departure, resort or booking fees |
| Cancellation, domestic | Until 4 p.m. on the day of arrival |
| Cancellation, international | 24 hours prior to arrival |
| Minimum stay | None |
| Loyalty points | Earn at your usual property |
| Compliance | Federal Travel Regulation compliant, so no additional approvals |
The same-day cancellation is the part experienced government travellers value most. A rate that is $10 cheaper but forfeits a night when a meeting moves is not cheaper.
New for 2026, GSA has added FedRooms Extended Stay for longer trips. Look for rates labelled "FedRooms for Extended Stay" in your booking tool, or ask your travel management company for one by that name.
Which Chains Carry FedRooms
GSA says "over 12,000 FedRooms properties available in more than 3,000 markets globally". We downloaded GSA's published property list and counted, because the interesting information is the distribution rather than the total.
The July 2026 list holds 12,290 properties, and the shape of it is not what chain size would predict:
| Chain family | FedRooms properties | Share of list |
|---|---|---|
| Hilton | 3,356 | 27% |
| IHG | 2,830 | 23% |
| Choice Hotels | 1,273 | 10% |
| Best Western | 1,121 | 9% |
| Marriott | 913 | 7% |
| Wyndham | 741 | 6% |
| Hyatt | 508 | 4% |
| Extended-stay brands | 338 | 2% |
| Radisson | 249 | 2% |
| Independents and others | 961 | 8% |
Two things stand out.
Hilton and IHG together are half the programme. If you travel on government business regularly, those two chains are where the FedRooms inventory is, and concentrating loyalty there is a rational response to the data.
Marriott is the world's largest hotel group and carries only 7% of FedRooms properties, well behind Hilton and IHG and barely ahead of Wyndham. Whatever the reason, the practical effect is that Marriott is a thinner option on government travel than its overall size suggests.
The Cross-Programme Gap Worth Knowing
Put this next to the two membership programmes and a pattern appears:
So the right programme depends less on the chain you like than on why you are travelling. On official travel, Hilton and IHG. On personal travel at upscale brands, AAA. On personal travel at midscale and economy, AARP.
Where FedRooms Sits Geographically
The list spans 102 countries, but it is overwhelmingly domestic: 11,059 of the 12,290 properties are in the United States, with Canada next at 110 and Australia and the United Kingdom at about 100 each.
Within the United States it covers all 50 states plus territories. The concentrations follow federal activity rather than population alone:
Virginia at 451 is the tell: it ranks far above its population, which is what a map of federal and defence facilities looks like.
How to Book It
FedRooms is not bookable by typing a code into a hotel website. GSA gives two channels:
Booking outside those channels does not get you the FedRooms terms. GSA's own wording is to book through the approved channels to guarantee the rate. A hotel's own "government rate" may be at per diem but without the fee and cancellation guarantees that make FedRooms worth asking for.
If something goes wrong at the property, GSA directs travellers to raise it with the front desk first, then the travel management company, then the FedRooms help desk.
Per Diem, Briefly
FedRooms rates are pegged to per diem, so it helps to know where per diem comes from:
Rates are published by fiscal year and by locality, and a locality is defined by city and often by county, with the higher applicable rate used where a facility straddles a boundary. Check the current figure for your destination before assuming a rate is compliant.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a FedRooms code I can enter on a hotel site?
No. FedRooms is a rate loaded into government booking channels, selected in your agency's booking tool or requested by name through its travel management company. There is nothing to type on a public hotel website.
Can I use a government hotel rate if I am not a government employee?
No. Eligibility is official U.S. government or military travel, and it is verified at check-in. A government rate booked without that is repriced at the desk. This is one of the more consistently checked rate types in the industry.
Is FedRooms cheaper than the hotel's own government rate?
Not necessarily on the nightly figure, since both are capped at per diem. FedRooms differs in the terms: no resort, booking or early departure fees, cancellation until 4 p.m. on the day of arrival domestically, no minimum stay, and Federal Travel Regulation compliance without extra approvals.
Which chains have the most FedRooms hotels?
Hilton with 3,356 properties and IHG with 2,830 together make up half the programme. Marriott, despite being the largest hotel group globally, carries 913.
Do FedRooms stays earn loyalty points?
Yes. GSA lists earning at your usual property as one of the programme's features.
Does FedRooms work outside the United States?
Yes, across 102 countries, though thinly: about 1,230 of the 12,290 properties are outside the U.S., and the international cancellation window is 24 hours rather than same-day.
Sourcing
The programme terms, eligibility and booking channels on this page come from GSA's FedRooms page. The property counts, chain breakdown and geographic figures are our own count of GSA's published accepted-properties list for July 2026, which GSA notes was last updated 29 June 2026.
Chain families were grouped by brand name, so a property whose name does not identify its parent falls into "independents and others". The list changes monthly and the counts here are a snapshot of that file, not a live figure.