Getting to know the complicated language of the federal government, at least some key “code” words, will help access your potential prospects. Plus, understanding a few of the many regulations will help you to ask them the right questions. I strongly suggest that before your first sales call, learn the basic language and regulations needed to communicate effectively within the government market. Whether you plan to increase your contribution of individual federal travelers or you are going after major contracts, you will need to know some of the basics. I have found that good research and an understanding of some of the regulations can save a lot of frustration. Don’t hesitate to ask questions. Federal employees know how complicated it is to do business with the government and I have found them to be very helpful. In what follows, the term “government traveler” is used as an umbrella term for federal civilian and military employees.

1. Get a FEMA number
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is now part of Homeland Security. What are the requirements? The Hotel and Motel Fire Safety Act of 1990 states that federal employees, when on official travel, should stay in fire-safe accommodations. Each federal agency must ensure that at least 90 percent of travel nights are spent in such properties. Some agencies, such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), require 100 percent of travel nights to be spent in approved accommodations. Similarly, conferences, seminars, and other meetings, funded in whole or in part with federal funds, must be held at facilities with fire-safe accommodations. You can easily sign up online at www.usfa.fema.gov and it’s free. To qualify, your property needs to have an automatic sprinkler system, with a sprinkler head in each guest room, and have smoke detectors in all of the rooms and public areas.

2. General Services Administration (GSA)
The GSA sets CONUS (continental U.S.) per diem rates and federal travel regulations (FTR). After you have obtained your FEMA number, which can take several months, be sure to go to the GSA site (www.gsa.gov) to list your hotel as participating at or below the per diem.

3. Federal Government Per Diem Program
This is an allowance for lodging (excluding applicable taxes), meals, and related incidental expenses. The CONUS is defined as the 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia; per diem rates are established annually by GSA for travelers on official government business to use for their lodging, meals and incidental expenses. As of 2004, the lodging rate is established from information provided by Smith Travel Research based on the area composite ADR combining all hotel tiers. The standard CONUS per diem rate is $60 for lodging (excluding taxes) and $28 for meals and incidentals. More than 450 locations have per diem rates higher than the standard $60. These locations can be found at www.gsa.gov/perdiem.

4. Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE)
This is a vendor ID number and is very important if you plan to sell to the defense agencies. Contact the agency you are interested in or go through the Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC).

5. Central Contractor Registry (CCR)
All U.S. government contractors are required to register in the Department of Defense Central Contractor Registry. You must obtain a CCR if you are participating in bids over $25 million. CAGE codes are either assigned during the CCR process. To register you will need to obtain a Dun and Bradstreet number, also known as a DUNS, which can take about 30 days. Contact Dun and Bradstreet at 800-333-0505.


6. Cost Reimbursement Contractors (CRC)
Cost reimbursement contractors are companies that produce goods and services for the federal government. They actually use more rooms annually than the federal government. There can be a considerable amount of travel between the contractor and the federal agencies involved. These companies are located all over the country not just near major federal installations. Think toothbrushes for the military — who supplies them? There are a number of web sites that list government contractors.

7. Federal Executive Board (FEB)
Each office has an executive director and is sponsored by various departments and agencies. There are 28 locations throughout the U.S. in major cities. They have great demographic information, hold quarterly board meetings and provide regional emergency assistance and interface with Veterans Affairs. The FEB is a great source for finding local contact people and to learn which agencies are doing business in your specific area. You can research the FEB at www.feb.gov.

8. Federal Premier Lodging Program (FPLP)
Sign up! This is a very important initiative for managing the lodging process that is administered by Carlson Travel for the GSA. To apply for FPLP status log onto www.fedrooms.com. Carlson has made it simple to apply.

As you can see, it’s a big business with a code language, lots of acronyms and lots of regulations. Access and success simply requires a basic education in this vocabulary.

1) Research — start with one agency. Do your homework! This is a huge market. Stay focused on the type of business you want. Always remember the value of your time. Obtain directories and organizational charts. Do ask for help! Government employees know their organization is complex. Use the web sites. They are loaded with usable information.

2) Use your local phone book to quickly locate those offices and installations nearest to your hotel. These are typically in the “blue pages” of the phone book.

3) Develop a strong relationship with the mega travel providers such as Omega Travel, SATO, and Carlson Travel. A full listing of federal agencies handled by a Travel Management Center (TMC) can be found on www.gsa.gov.

4) Know exactly what your competition is offering to federal travelers. Does your competitor have a FEMA number? Are they listed with the GSA? You can verify that on www.fullrooms.com.

5) Meet with your in-house government guests, invite them to social activities, and network other opportunities within their organization. They can be your best source to get more business. These folks usually do not travel alone and they return to the same area often.

6) Insist that your front desk agents always ask for the repeat reservation. Most federal travelers frequent the same area on a regular basis. You may even want to consider incentives for front desk agents.

7) Consider military business. The federal fiscal year starts in October. This means that fall is a big time for things to happen, both for wrapping up from the previous budget and for launching new initiatives.

8) The Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) department is found on most military bases. This is a key department since it is involved in all parts of base life, everything from social events to recreation. It’s like the village hall of a military base.

9) Military bases have graduation and parents weekends every eight to ten weeks. You can find the bases nearest to you at www.sgtp.org or www.gsa.gov.Then contact the base billeting office or the procurement office for information.

10) Advertise in local base newspapers for leisure weekend get-a-ways. Federal employees stationed at military installations take regular weekend trips and still look for the government rates. Even if you are a 3- to 5-hour drive away from the base, this can still be good business for you.

11) Visit the Public or Community Affairs Office (PAO) on a military base. This office distributes a weekly newspaper for the base with events and news that can be helpful to you. Use the PAO book to locate the Contracting Offices on a base. You may find that the base can set up contracts under $25,000 without sending them out to bid. The CO can tell you what outstanding contracts they have with companies that visit the base frequently.

12) GovernmentBids.com (www.governmentbids.com) provides you with direct and instant access to thousands of active local, state and federal government bids and awarded listings matched to your business profile. This can provide valuable information as to the scope of a project and contact names. (If you know of BidRadar, they have merged with GovernmentBids.com to give you an even better resource.)

13) GovCon (www.govcon.com), which does have a fee, connects you to contractor profiles and is a great short cut to help you link your North American Industry Classification Code (NAICS) — formerly the Standard Industrial Code (SIC) — and key words to your type of business. GovCon links to the Commerce Business Daily, FACNET, government regulations, databases, contractors, and other sites. 

Here are a few great web sites to assist you in targeting the federal market segment.

http://www.gsa.gov
General Services Administration —This site is a wealth of information, everything from tax to travel regulations. This site contains domestic per diem rates, Top 75 Cities, Federal Premier Lodging Program (FPLP)-awarded properties and more. This is the “everything” site that also has links to other key government sites.

http://www.militarycity.com
This site is a gateway to military news and information including Rest and Relaxation. Send them an article or special package.

http://www.firstgov.gov
This is the official web portal for the United States government. It provides access to statistical information compiled by the federal government. This is a very helpful site with links to other sites.

http://www.sgtp.org
The Society of Government Travel Professionals web site is a wealth of helpful information for travel guidelines, articles, education and research.