Originally Posted by
der_saeufer
Uncle Sam does so many things so poorly, but this is one where I think he's got it right.
The hotel portion of the per diem is a location-based max: you are reimbursed what you spent, up to that amount. You're welcome to spend more out of pocket, but you can't keep the difference if you spend less.
The meals portion of the per diem is also location-based, but it's a flat payment; whether you eat peanut butter from the jar or go to a Michelin-starred restaurant, you get whatever the local rate is. The only time it gets messed with is if a meal is separately paid
by Uncle Sam, e.g. if a conference fee included lunch, you don't get to keep the lunch part of that day's per diem. Free hotel breakfast and airline meals don't count.
There's a reason so many cheapskate civil servants love Residence Inns--free semi-edible breakfast, some dinner-ish food a couple nights a week and a fridge to fill with beer and other dinner supplies means it's easy to spend $15 a day on food and keep the rest if you're so inclined.
I was never that cheap, but I liked making my own dinner for another reason--it makes it easier not to get fat(ter)
You're omitting the fact that the government allows direct reimbursement of expenses if per diems are insufficient to cover the expense (though the reality of getting approval may be another story). This is critical because location-based maximums tend to be out of touch with realities in high-demand markets, and in plenty of cases they only really work if you can book well in advance. Many times I've traveled to the Bay Area and had to pay $500+/night for the likes of a Marriott Courtyard, Hampton Inn, or Hilton Garden Inn in Palo Alto. Government says $239 maximum, which never happens midweek. I don't have expectations of luxury travel, but I'm neither staying in a roach motel nor an hour away from the site just to hit a broad strokes $ limit, nor will I personally fund any portion of a trip my employer asks me to take - I'll just as soon stay home. Doing business costs money. If the trip is a worthwhile investment for the employer, they should pay for the actual cost of reasonable accommodations in proximity to the work site. If the travel doesn't benefit the employer sufficiently relative to the cost involved, then the trip should not be taken at all.