WASHINGTON, D.C. — AH&LA is concerned with the new fiscal year’s federal per diem rates starting Oct. 1, 2005— slated to go down in some locations— that could negatively impact business. The standard Continental U.S. per diem rate for lodging, last raised in 2000, will increase to $60 per night from $55, and a majority of rates on the per diem schedule are also increasing. To that end, AH&LA has made some of the following suggestions for hoteliers who believe their localities may be undervalued in the FY2005 per diem rate schedule: Work with federal government agency contacts in your respective community; ask federal travelers at your hotel to contact the General Services Administration (GSA); gather statistical data to amplify an argument for higher rates; if available, contact the hotel’s national sales representative at the hotel chain for his or her imput; and visit the web about current and historical per diem rates.