Travel · official-source review · reviewed 2026-10-10
A trip budget built from a guess at lodging and meals is often wrong by the cost of one extra night.
Turn the trip days, the nights of lodging, and two daily rates into a lodging total, a meals total, and a trip total.
Travelers and small teams who want a budget built from published or quoted daily rates.
Use the source document or official route that applies to your situation. This guide does not contact another person or verify external information.
Count the days the trip covers, including travel days. Count the nights of lodging separately.
Use the rate from a quote, a booking, or a published per-diem table for that place and month.
Use a daily meal and incidentals rate you would actually spend, not the cheapest you could eat.
Multiply the nights by the lodging rate, and the days by the meal rate. Add the two totals.
Add a small margin for fees and surprises, and label it so you can see it later.
A four-day trip with three nights at $180 lodging and $68 a day for meals costs $812 in total.
Use your own source and details. The example is not a record about a real person or organization.
U.S. General Services Administration · reviewed 2026-10-10
What this source supports: GSA publishes per-diem lodging and meal rates for federal travel by location and month.
Source limit: Federal rates are a reference for private travel budgets, not a guarantee of your own costs.
These sources support the statements above. They do not show that every person needs this guide. They do not show a specific result.
This guide adds your own rates. Federal per-diem rates are a reference for planning, not a guarantee of your costs or a reimbursement rule.
Federal rates are a reference for private travel budgets, not a guarantee of your own costs.
Use current instructions from the responsible organization. This guide is a planning aid, not an official decision or a substitute for qualified advice.
Turn the trip days, the nights of lodging, and two daily rates into a lodging total, a meals total, and a trip total.
This App adds the rates you enter. It does not look up current per-diem rates, promise a reimbursement, or book lodging.
You enter every number yourself. The sources support the method and the limits. They do not produce a result for your specific case. Keep the original documents next to the sheet you build.
The App computes the worked example with your own numbers, in your browser.
APP 1
Turn the trip days, the nights of lodging, and two daily rates into a lodging total, a meals total, and a trip total.
Free · no account · no upload
Open Trip Per-Diem BudgetThe App runs in this browser. It does not send or save entries. Copy, download, or print only when you choose.
This guide uses short, direct instructions as an ASD-STE100-style writing target. It is not a formal certification.
Companion App: Trip Per-Diem Budget. It runs in this browser and does not upload your entries.
This guide is edited for clarity and checked against the sources it links. It is not a substitute for official instructions or qualified advice. A linked source does not show that every person needs this guide.