<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by julize:
Assuming Hilton will actually rent you a room at the correct government rate (my biggest challenge) the points are no problem. When requesting the gov't rate I am frequently quoted a figure well above the established federal per diem. </font>
You are making an incorrect assumption that government rate has to be within federal per diem limits. While some hotels do just that (and enjoy somewhat "preferred" status with GSA through the Federal Premier Lodging Program), it's not an obligation. Many "upscale" hotels (and often "upscale wanna-be" properties) have government rates higher than federal per diem. If you insist on staying at such hotels, be prepared to pay the difference out of your pocket. Otherwise, about every location has a number of less upscale hotels that have their rates (government or regular ones) within federal per diem limits.
We've had a very similar discussion in the Starwood forum a couple weeks ago, you may do the search on it if interested.