ATLANTA, Ga., Mar. 3 – AAHOA, the nation’s largest hotel owners association, applauded House passage of the American Rescue Plan and urged the Senate to pass the bill forthwith. The ambitious $1.9 trillion stimulus package funds several key initiatives such as increased testing, vaccination, and vital economic assistance that will support an expedited recovery for the hospitality industry.
“The American Rescue Plan not only supports hoteliers and their employees with much-needed economic assistance, it also lays the groundwork for a quicker recovery,” said AAHOA President & CEO Cecil P. Staton. “The additional funding for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), Economic Injury Disaster Loan grants through SBA, and grants for destination marketing organizations, are critical measures that help the hospitality industry right now as we work towards recovery. America’s hotels need people to start traveling again for a true recovery to begin. ARP includes billions for increased testing and a rapidly expanded vaccine rollout which will bolster consumer confidence about the safety of resuming some pre-pandemic activities such as leisure and business travel. America’s hoteliers appreciate the Biden administration’s spearheading this stimulus package and their efforts to initiate a speedy recovery. We urge the Senate to move quickly and pass this bill.”
The bill includes $450 million in Economic Development Administration grants for destination marketing organizations to encourage and promote safe travel, efforts which will dovetail nicely with increased vaccinations and testing to boost consumer confidence. ARP also extends the CARES Act employee retention credit through the end of 2021 while allowing eligible employers to claim a credit for paying qualified wages to employees. The bill also extends employer tax credit for voluntary paid leave from CARES Act through September 2021, increases employer credit from $10,000 to $12,000, and permits credits for leave for a COVID-19 vaccination.
“STR and CBRE estimates point to a recovery timetable for the industry that runs through 2023. ARP is what our country needs right now; however, a sustained and gradually tapered economic stimulus is necessary to ensure a smooth and stable economic recovery for American small businesses like hotels. AAHOA looks forward to continued conversations with the Biden administration and congressional leadership about what that will entail,” concluded Staton.
About AAHOA:
AAHOA is the largest hotel owners association in the world. The nearly 20,000 AAHOA members represent almost one in every two hotels in the United States. With billions of dollars in property assets and hundreds of thousands of employees, AAHOA members are core economic contributors in virtually every community. AAHOA is a proud defender of free enterprise and the foremost current-day example of realizing the American dream
