(A survival guide for operating environment, equipment, and per diem peace of mind)

You’re heading into an operation—boats, ops, early briefs, late stand-downs, and a gear footprint that doesn’t fit neatly into “two beds and a coffee maker.” Let’s kill the stress before you even get your orders:

  • No, the JTR does not prohibit you from staying in a house, apartment, or other rental.
  • Yes, you can use your lodging portion of per diem to do it—if it’s structured correctly.
  • And yes, TDY Rentals focuses on compliance + documentation, so your voucher doesn’t get stuck in the “returned for corrections” abyss.

Myth: “The JTR says you have to stay in a hotel.”

This myth survives because people blur three different things together:

  1. What the JTR actually authorizes
  2. What your orders / Approving Official (AO) directs for a specific mission

Keep in mind that the JTR, governed under Title 10 of U.S. Code, draws from a web of statutory requirements from Title 5, Title 41, and the 1974 Fire Prevention Control Act (FPCA)…and we have to honor the Coast Guard Supplement to the JTR in mind as well, since the CG straddles DHS/DoD boundaries. This is no problem for TDY Rentals!

Let’s handle #1 first…

Coast Guard policy is clear: rentals count as lodging. The Coast Guard Supplement to the Joint Travel Regulations specifically states:


“An apartment, house, or recreational vehicle leased or rented in connection with official TDY qualifies as lodging.”

(COMDTINST M4600.17B, p.2-5)

The JTR backs up the concept in the fine print: a single-family home or apartment is treated as long-term lodging
(JTR p.2-34, 2-37),
and the AO computes the daily lodging cost by averaging the periodic cost over the days you’re authorized lodging per diem.

Translation: a house/apartment isn’t “off-limits.” It’s just lodging—with rules. The bottom line for all U.S. Government Travel is that the Approving Official (AO) has broad discretion when it comes to lodging selection.

“Stay on base” + “the certificate” (what you’re actually remembering)

You’re not imagining it—lots of military folks have lived under a rule that feels like:

“Stay on base. If there’s no room, get a certificate. Then you can stay off base.”

This concept is tied to directed lodging / Government quarters and, in DoD travel world, the Integrated Lodging Program (ILP). DTMO describes ILP as a system that routes travelers to government/DoD preferred lodging first, and if DoD lodging isn’t available, DTS generates a Certificate of Non-Availability (CNA) number
(Defense Travel Management Office).

The Coast Guard-specific twist? ILP doesn’t apply.

The JTR explicitly states: “The ILP does not apply to the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG)…” and it also says Government quarters are available to USCG personnel only if the travel order directs their use
(JTR p.2-31).

However, government quarters can still matter (depending on orders).

If you’re sent TDY to a U.S. installation and quarters are adequate and available, the JTR says a Service member is required to use government quarters. And if adequate quarters are available but you choose other lodging, reimbursement can be limited to the government quarters cost. Despite this stipulation, Coasties are often sent on missions to coastal and riverine environments without on-base berthing options; therefore in practice, many members will be lodging near an operational waterway, but in a private or commercial rental instead of government housing. Thus, the correct take should be: sometimes you must use government quarters when they’re available and directed, and your orders + AO authorization drive what’s required and what’s reimbursable, but hotel-only is still a myth—because the regs clearly allow apartments/houses/RVs when you do it right.

“Can I really use per diem for a house?”

Yes—because per diem is calculated using the actual lodging cost paid, limited to the lodging portion of the locality rate (unless something like AEA is authorized).

The JTR also lays out how long-term lodging is calculated (divide the weekly/monthly cost over the authorized lodging days) as stated above.

“What about sharing a house? Is that allowed?”

Yes…as long as the paperwork is in line. The JTR states:


“For multiple lessees, the long-term (not daily) lodging cost is split equally among the lessees…”

(JTR p.2-34)

This is one of the biggest reasons vouchers get delayed: people pick the right lodging but the receipts fail to accurately reflect it. Choosing a furnished apartment/house doesn’t break the rules. The usual oversights are things like bundling non-allowables into the lodging cost (groceries, etc.).

“Isn’t it required to use the TMC?”

You will find this statement in the 2019 Coast Guard Supplement (COMDTINST M4600.17B):

“B. TMC. It is mandatory policy to use the contracted TMC to make reservations for common carrier transportation (air, train, ship), TDY lodging…” (010201)

However, the very first sentence of the CGS-JTR says “1. PURPOSE. (a). If this Manual conflicts with the JTR, the JTR takes precedence.”  Over the last 6+ years since it was published, the current Supplement has indeed been superseded by more recent editions of the JTR which do permit booking outside of the TMC.

In short, the JTR – which takes precedence over the Supplement – makes specific exceptions for when the TMC is NOT to be used:

“A DoD traveler must make travel arrangements through an electronic travel system when it is available or through the TMC if it is not available. Any DoD traveler who cannot reach the TMC must contact the AO or designee for assistance…lodging may be reserved outside the TMC when arranging for a large number of rooms in advance, such as for training courses, exercises, or conferences, or when safety, health, or security concerns require using specific lodging establishments.” JTR 010201.C.1

Let’s briefly consider some scenarios when clear exceptions preclude the use of the TMC according to the JTR:

  1. Large number of rooms: TMC already has lengthy phone wait times and is not set up to provide rapid response and oversight for travelers headed on time sensitive missions.

SOLUTION: TDY Rentals can provide a tailored and specific command interface that shows detailed information about lodging locations, contact information, payment status, etc. as well as immediate customer service response to all inquiries.

  1. Health: Hotels are not designed for TDY lodging. They lack kitchens, laundry, and other accommodations that detract from the long-term health and welfare of the servicemember and thereby negatively affect mission accomplishment.

SOLUTION: TDY Rentals quickly accesses the local economy to find appropriate lodging in comfortable environments.

  1. Security Concerns: Many hotels are foreign owned entities (e.g. IHG – Holiday Inn is British owned); booking with them places Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and unit/personnel patterns of life into the hands of foreign entities. Furthermore, concentrating all travelers in dense hotels increases force protection and hostile surveillance concerns.

SOLUTION: TDY Rentals is a U.S. Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Company. All employees are U.S. citizens, and many possess either active or former security clearances ranging from secret to TS-SCI. We vehemently protect clients’ informational security and, in turn, national security. Furthermore, we can align the traveler’s specific personal needs to meet mission needs.

While the terms “hotel” and “lodging” are often conflated by readers of the JTR, they are not synonymous concepts. TDY travelers can stay in several distinct types of commercial lodging, and a hotel represents only one of the policy-compliant options available. TMCs are mission-limiting in that they only have access to hotels and lack the ability to directly book commercial lodging. TMCs also cannot book commercial lodging for the length of tenancy that many missions require. Therefore according to the JTR, one MUST book directly through commercial lodging: 

“If a traveler cannot book commercial lodging using the TMC (including the electronic travel system) then the traveler must book directly with the commercial lodging facility (JTR 010201.C.1).

The JTR makes numerous references to non-hotel accommodations (to include but not limited to: 020303-G, Table 2-16, and 054203).

What about fire safety?

Fire safety requirements apply when booking hotels or non-hotels, but along with this comes convoluted regulatory reasoning, which is why many people believe that hotels are the only reimbursable lodging – despite the JTR specifically stating otherwise.

JTR requires that “A traveler on TDY must reserve lodging compliant with U.S. Fire Administration Guidelines” (JTR 020303) and references Title 5 USC 5707a.

Title 5 requires that “approved places of public accommodation…[meet] the requirements of the fire prevention and control guidelines described in section 29 of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974” (15 U.S.C. 2225).

Title 15 further goes on to define the “requirement that hard-wired, single-station smoke detectors be installed in accordance with National Fire Protection Association Standard 74” and requires “an automatic sprinkler system…except those places that are 3 stories or lower.”

However, the Title 15 requirement that lodging be “listed by the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency” only applies to HOTELS. The online FEMA list contains only hotels, with FEMA conceding that listing other dwellings (which can and do meet the requirements) would be too exhaustive. This makes sense…imagine if the agency had to list all the thousands of dwellings in a given city that aren’t fire-traps! So, while apartments and other such dwellings may not be listed, they are specifically not PRECLUDED from meeting the requirements.

SOLUTION: All of TDY Rentals’ contracted lodging meets the FEMA requirements and count many FEMA employees among our roster of satisfied TDY Rentals customers.

A few other things to consider

The 2026 National Defense Authorization Act should give pause to any commander blindly using hotels and commercial lodging without taking servicemember welfare into account:

  • Section 526 creates a requirement to audit “unreimbursed expenses.” These expenses are commonly found in hotels (wifi fees, health club access fees, telephone calls, etc) and are not reimbursable under JTR standards. TDY Rentals has no un-reimbursed expenses.
  • The act also addresses the “Privatized Housing Algorithm” that hotels and other commercial lodging providers often use to superficially inflate lodging prices above market rates for service members while offering the same property less expensive elsewhere. TDY Rentals CONSTANTLY combats this. We know of multiple unscrupulous competitors that charge more without providing more value. We hate this and never do it!

In sum, here’s a quick checklist before your orders drop. If you remember nothing else, remember this:

  • Hotel-only is a myth. Rentals qualify as lodging for TDY.
  • ILP doesn’t apply to USCG, but your orders can still direct quarters.
  • If quarters are directed/available and you ignore it, reimbursement can be limited.
  • Team houses are viable, but costs must be split correctly (especially for long-term leases).
  • When the Coast Guard Supplement Manual conflicts with the JTR, the JTR takes precedence.
  • There are clear exceptions to using the TMC to book lodging.

How does TDY Rentals fit your peace of mind?

Your lodging plan shouldn’t be another tactical problem set.

You don’t have to stay in a hotel.

You do have to stay compliant.

TDY Rentals takes the guesswork out of the process. We build our services around mission-ready lodging + JTR/Coast Guard-compliant documentation so your reimbursement is as frictionless as your ops tempo will allow.

Check out our long-term TDY page and get started today!