GAO urges GSA to broaden meeting-space list and boost agency awareness

The Government Accountability Office issued a report recommending that the General Services Administration improve the comprehensiveness of its online federal meeting facilities list and take additional steps to increase tenant-agency awareness of that list. The recommendations bind GSA, which manages real property for federal tenants.

GAO's site visits to six GSA-owned and leased buildings revealed that many special-use spaces such as conference rooms could be shared across agencies, offering benefits like reduced costs and enhanced collaboration. Interviewed tenant officials, however, frequently did not know the list existed, limiting the potential for space sharing.

The report notes that the list is incomplete - some tenant agencies have not added their spaces and some GSA rooms are missing. GSA periodically emails agencies to request updates, but turnover in 2025 led to a rise in undelivered reminders, further diminishing awareness.

GAO recommends that the GSA Administrator add all relevant GSA meeting spaces to the list, encourage other agencies to contribute their spaces, and leverage existing programs such as the shared-space pilot and the Space Intake Portal to broaden distribution. GSA has indicated agreement with both recommendations and is developing a plan to address them.

If implemented, the steps could improve utilization of federal real property, support cost-saving objectives, and align with the Thomas R. Carper Water Resources Development Act of 2024, which directed GAO to assess special-use space sharing.