Hospitality Relief Program Will Funnel $7 Million to Impacted Small Businesses
Applications for the Hospitality Industry Relief Program are now open. This program dedicates $7.1 million of the Municipality’s CARES Act allocation to businesses in the hospitality industry that have experienced economic hardship due to the COVID-19 health emergency and related emergency shutdowns. Funds will be distributed as grants that hospitality businesses may use for payroll, rent, utilities, vendor payments, and other business-related expenses.
The Municipality (MOA) partnered with its industry partners the Alaska Cabaret, Hotel, Restaurant and Retailers Association (CHARR) and the Alaska Hospitality Retailers Association (AkHR) to distribute the funds. Qualified businesses will be eligible for one of three tiers of relief grants:
Tier A: Tier A businesses are bars, which were required to close under Emergency Order EO-15, and hospitality businesses most impacted by COVID-19. Tier A-eligible businesses will receive $30,000.
Tier B: Tier B businesses are generally restaurants, breweries, and other alcohol-based businesses impacted by COVID-19 and related closures and were significantly restricted by Emergency Order EO-15. These businesses will receive $15,000.
Tier C: Tier C businesses are hospitality businesses generally impacted by COVID-19 and related emergency orders. These businesses will receive $7,000.
Hospitality businesses with liquor licenses will apply for grants through CHARR, while all other hospitality businesses will apply for grants through AkHR. Both organizations will have application portals and program details available:
- Alaska CHARR: alaskacharr.com
- AkHR: muni.org/hospitalitygrant
Grant awards will be made on a rolling basis. The application period closes on November 30, 2020 at 11:59 p.m. Application information will also be available on the MOA’s COVID-19 Municipal Grant Program webpage.
