10:06am: Talkline with Hoppy Kercheval

What comes after Christmas is a concern for many in hospitality in West Virginia

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The holiday spending season was winding down at a time that the incoming executive director of the West Virginia Hospitality and Travel Association called “a critical juncture” for the businesses his organization represents.

Richie Heath

“Folks need this legislation to go into effect,” said Richie Heath of the more than $900 billion pandemic relief package, combined with the omnibus federal government spending legislation, that President Donald Trump was threatening to veto just days before Christmas.

In all, the omnibus stimulus totaled more than $2.3 trillion.

“At the end of the day, there’s a number of good things in here that will be critical for a lot of West Virginia businesses surviving,” Heath said.

As written, about $319 billion in the more than $900 billion specifically for pandemic relief, which both the U.S. Senate and U.S. House approved this week, was allocated for small business assistance.

That $319 billion amount included $284 billion for the revival of an expanded Paycheck Protection Program, the program offering potentially forgivable loans to business owners that had two initial rounds earlier this year.

As of the end of June, information from the U.S. Small Business Administration showed more than 17,000 loans had been approved in West Virginia for a total of more than $1.8 billion.

In the new round, PPP eligibility was extended to nonprofit organizations along with TV and radio broadcasting companies and local newspapers.

Restaurants and hotels, specifically, Heath said, would be able to qualify for larger amounts of loan funding, as much as 3.5 times payrolls.

Allocations also covered $20 billion for Economic Injury Disaster Loans and $15 billion for live venues, cultural institutions and independent movie theaters.

A number of tax credits were extended in the legislation and, at tax time, businesses will be permitted to deduct expenses covered previously under PPP to avoid large tax hits.

In general, Heath said in-state travel has helped lodging operations stay afloat during the summer and fall.

Restaurants, though, were another matter.

“Now that the weather has turned, you can’t have outdoor dining. You have limited capacity for indoor dining and, with COVID positives on the upswing, folks being more wary of dining indoors, it’s a real concern for restaurants that you will have a number of closures (after Christmas),” Heath said.

“To that end, I think this relief from Congress couldn’t have come soon enough.”

During an appearance this week on MetroNews “Talkline,” Brian Kassalen with Arnett Carbis Toothman, an accounting and consulting firm, recommended that business owners interested in the new round of PPP funding contact their banks soon even though application details are still pending.

Smaller businesses that can show revenue decreases of 25 percent or more compared with the same quarters last year could potentially qualify for a new PPP loan, even if they received a loan earlier this year, Kassalen said.

This time, there are also broader categories for how the PPP money can be spent, what Kassalen said would be “a much-needed lifeline” as coronavirus vaccination efforts to continue to ramp up across the U.S.

Liability protections for businesses were left out of the federal pandemic relief package.

Heath said that was one issue state lawmakers would be asked to address during the 2021 Regular Legislative Session. Feb. 10 was the sesson’s scheduled start date.

He said such protections were necessary “to clarify that those that have been following the rules and keeping up with both the governor’s and the CDC guidelines and other safety protocols, that they can’t be exposed to a flood of lawsuits, when this is all said and done, based on alleged exposures.”

Heath said other priorities for state lawmakers in the New Year should be the continuation of certain rule suspensions implemented during the pandemic, like those dealing with restaurant alcohol sales, and, if possible, based on the budget, additional business grants.

The West Virginia Hospitality and Travel Association bills itself as the official voice of the food service, lodging, convention and visitor bureau and travel industries in the state.

On Jan. 1, Heath will officially become the Association’s executive director when he takes over for Carol Fulks.

Throughout the holiday season, those with the WVHTA had been calling on state residents to support local businesses with meal orders, gift card purchases and holiday bookings.

“We’re really preparing, as most are, to go into the tough winter months and, for many in the industry, except for winter-based hospitality and travel entities, those winter months can oftentimes be the hardest — as is,” Heath said.

“With the impacts of COVID, it makes it even harder.”





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