Emergency Lodging Services FAQs

GSA’s Emergency Lodging Services (ELS) program provides temporary lodging accommodations in support of emergencies and/or disasters. ELS enables Federal and State agencies to quickly secure lodging accommodations and services for first responders, government employees, support personnel, and evacuees; resulting from an emergency or disaster.

ELS can be utilized for both planned and unplanned events that require a federal or state coordinated response. All disasters, emergencies, Continuity of Operations (COOP) events, and National Security Special Events are covered by ELS. The ELS Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) offers accommodations, housing, and support services for federal agencies, state/local governments, and first responders.

Agencies execute a funded Task Order, and place reservation requests with the ELS contractor. The awarded contractor secures lodging at negotiated rates, reserves accommodations, and manages billing for all agency users. The contractor also manages the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Transitional Sheltering Assistance (TSA) program during Declared Disasters.

GSA Lodging Program Management Office, under the Center for Travel Management, administered a Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) with a contractor under the GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) 561599-L. Federal and State agencies may become authorized users of the BPA.

The GSA Lodging PMO manages the relationship, and BPA, with the awarded contractor, Corporate Lodging Consultants, Inc. (CLC). CLC has over 30 years of lodging management experience and has directly supported over 500 emergency response efforts for the American Red Cross, FEMA, state National Guard, and many other agencies. CLC sources lodging properties (hotels, extended stay properties, corporate housing, apartments, etc.), negotiates discounted rates, and provides auditing and reporting.

If you are a hotel, or apartment community, and would like to participate in ELS, please visit Corporate Lodging Consultants website at www.clclodging.com. You may also contact the Emergency Lodging Services Hotline at 800-321-0455.

Emergency Lodging Services may be utilized by any Federal Government Agency, and state and local government agencies requesting to become an authorized user of the BPA. Detailed instructions on how to become an authorized user and execute a task order can be found on ELS’s page at gsa.gov/els. Additionally, on our website we have a link to the Task Order Template which is a guide for agencies to outline their requirements that will be a part of the funded task order.

Once your agency is authorized to use the ELS-BPA, they should designate a central point of contact to establish a task order with the ELS vendor, CLC. The task order should include all your agency’s requirements, ordering instructions, payment instructions, reporting and auditing requirements, and must be executed by a Contracting Officer. Payment of all services under this task order is the sole responsibility of the specified ordering activity.

An evacuee can either be a Federal employee or private citizen who has been displaced from their workplace or home by a disaster or emergency, and as result, requires lodging. Specific determinations of evacuee or relief/emergency support personnel status will be determined by the ordering agency.

It depends if you are on TDY in an area determined by your agency to be affected by an emergency, disaster, or associated planned event. You must first check with the appropriate officials within your agency. If your TDY is confirmed to be affected by an emergency, disaster, or an associated planned event, your agency may authorize you to use this BPA due to the difficulty of securing lodging accommodations.

If you are on TDY travel in an area that your agency has determined is NOT impacted by an emergency, disaster, or an associated planned event you must use your approved travel management system. You should use your normal travel management systems for routine TDY travel.

National Security Events include any event of national or international significance deemed by the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to be a potential target for terrorism or other criminal activity. Examples of such events are: Papal visits, dignitary visits, or political events (ex: National Conventions, Inaugurations).

A planned event may be a training or readiness exercise in preparation for an emergency or disaster. ELS can provide lodging for these types of events.