When it comes to government contracting, there are opportunities for just about everyone, and this includes the hospitality industry, which has been so hard hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. Through the FedRooms program, hotels, motels and other types of lodging establishments can contact and sell rooms to government employees from just about any agency. Here’s how it works.
FedRooms: A Quick Overview
FedRooms is a program managed by the General Services Administration, which is the government agency that oversees all types of government procurement, including government contracting. If you register for FedRooms, your lodging establishment will be able to provide rooms to the government, such as serving as a FEMA hotel or just offering competitive rates for government employees.
When government or military employees travel, they usually book their stays at hotels, motels and other lodging options that are part of FedRooms. Federal government employees also can use FedRooms to book leisure travel. The hoteliers that are part of this program offer lower rates for these government employees, either at or below the government per diem for travel expenses.
A per diem is a government employee’s allowance for lodging, meals and other expenses. The per diem rates vary based upon location. For instance, lodging in New York City is notably more expensive than lodging in a smaller city or town, so the per diem in New York City will be higher than it might be in Toledo or Omaha.
Signing up with FedRooms and offering these reduced rates to government employees can be a great way to increase occupancy, and just about any type of lodging establishment can apply for the FedRooms program. The caveat – FedRooms only accepts new hoteliers once per year during its annual Request For Approval (RFP) process, and the window to sign up typically lasts from about June until August 1.
FEMA Hotel Registration
In order to qualify for the FedRooms program, your lodging establishment must meet certain requirements. One of the biggest requirements is that your hotel or lodging must be FEMA certified. FEMA certification ensures that your lodging establishment is in compliance with the Hotel and Motel Fire Safety Act of 1990.
To register a hotel with FEMA, you will need to go to https://apps.usfa.fema.gov/hotel/. The first step is to head toward the bottom of the page and click on the “Add a new listing” tab. The system will first check your physical address to ensure that you have not already completed FEMA hotel registration. Once it determines that you are a new property, it will allow you to fill out the application.
The application will ask for some contact information and other basic information about your property, but the main focus of this application is to ensure that your property or properties are fire safe.
ADA Compliance
All lodging establishments accepted into the FedRooms program must not only complete FEMA hotel registration, but they also must be in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act or ADA.
In order to be in compliance with the ADA, your facility will need to have a certain amount of accessible parking, accessible entrances and exits, accessible restrooms, accessible guestrooms and more. To view the ADA checklist for lodging establishments, head to https://www.ada.gov/hsurvey.htm.
Your level of compliance depends upon many factors. A large hotel with hundreds of rooms will face different compliance standards than a small motel or a bed and breakfast inn. For instance, a lodging establishment with 25 or fewer parking lot spaces will not be required to have as many accessible parking spots as a hotel or motel with 400 parking spots.
Likewise, an establishment with 25 or fewer rooms won’t need to be able to provide as many accessible guestrooms as a facility with hundreds of rooms. The ADA regulations are meant to be fair so that customers have accessibility without making it too costly or difficult for businesses to comply.
Other Requirements
Additionally, the FedRooms program has several more requirements that you must fulfill to sign up with this program, as per the FedRooms website, including:
• Offering a competitive rate at or below per diem
• Cancellation policy of 4 p.m. day of arrival or later (for domestic properties) and no more than 24 hours (for international properties)
• You must have earned at least 2 crowns
• No deposit or early departure fees
• Monthly production reporting and payment
• Book FedRooms rate when requested
• Compliance with all terms and conditions
• Complimentary guest room internet
To learn more about FedRooms in general, you can visit the website at FedRooms.com. FedRooms also runs a LinkedIn Group where you can ask questions and gain information about the yearly RFP.
SAM Registration: Your First Step Into Government Contracting
As with all other government contractors, if you want to work with FedRooms or complete your FEMA hotel registration or work with any government agency, you must complete your System for Award Management (SAM) application.
All government contractors need to complete SAM registration. Once approved, you will receive what is known as a Corporate and Government Entities (CAGE) Code. This code is the unique identifier for your business, and SAM registration is the first step that all government contractors must take to do business with any government agency.
At Federal Contractor Registry, we complete hundreds of SAM registrations each year for hoteliers as well as many other types of companies. SAM registration can be extremely time-consuming, taking 10 or more hours to complete; so many people simply hire services such as ours to complete this lengthy and confusing registration document.
Once we complete your SAM registration and submit it to the government, it usually takes just a few weeks to get approval and receive your CAGE code. While we work on your SAM registration, you can work on FEMA hotel registration and learning all you can about the FedRooms RFP process. While all of this can be complicated, once you make it into the system, your efforts can be well worth the time spent to expand your guest list to those government employees.